,transcriber's note3 ,obvious printer errors corrected silently4 ,correspondence included in the ',memoir' has been indented4 ,a notice of another book by one of the editors has been shifted to the end4 ,small capitals have been replaced by full capitals4 ,italics are indicated by underscores4 ,illustration3 ,yours faithfully1 ,w4 ,g4 ,elmslie ,,professor ,w4 ,g4 ,,elmslie1 ,d4,d43 ,,memoir ,,and ,,sermons4 ,,edited ,,by ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d41 ,,and ,a4 ,n4 ,,macnicoll4 ,,second ,,edition4 ,london3 ,,hodder ,,and ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4 ,,mdcccxc4 ,printed by ,hazell1 ,watson1 ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury4 ,,advertisement4 ,my share in this book has been the writing of the brief introductory ,memoir1 with the exception of the pages relating to ,regent ,square and ,willesden4 ,these have been contributed by ,mr4 ,a4 ,n4 ,macnicoll1 who has also given me the benefit of his advice throughout4 ,i have also to acknowledge the kindness of ,principal ,dykes1 who has read the proofs1 and of the friends who have1 amid pressing engagements1 enriched the volume with their reminiscences4 ,the many correspondents who sent help of various kinds are warmly thanked4 ,there was abundant material for a larger biography1 and some of it will be utilised in another way4 ,but it was thought desirable that the memorial volume should be issued at a moderate price1 and that it should1 so far as possible1 consist of ,professor ,elmslie's own work4 ,w4 ,r4 ,n4 99 99 99 99 99 ,for the selections from ,dr4 ,elmslie's sermons which are contained in this volume ,i am entirely responsible4 ,these sermons were seldom fully written out1 and some of them required considerable amplification4 ,in every case the thought of the writer has been rigidly preserved1 and the wording has been left1 as far as possible1 untouched4 ,in cases where ,i have had the benefit of short-hand reports ,i have1 with the slightest alteration1 printed the sermons as they were delivered4 ,two ,sunday ,readings are reprinted from ,good ,words1 and an article on ,genesis from the ,contemporary ,review4 ,a4 ,n4 ,m4 ,,contents4 ,,page ,,memoir #a ,,sermons4 ,i4 ,,christ ,,at ,,the ,,door #ha ,behold1 ,i stand at the door1 and knock3 if any man hear ,my voice1 and open the door1 ,i will come in to him1 and will sup with him1 and he with ,me4--,,rev4 iii4 #bj4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,dark ,,enigma ,,of ,,death #ib ,,st4 ,,john xi4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,dorcas #ajh ,,acts ix4 #cf-dc4 ,,iv4 ,,unfulfilled ,,christian ,,work #aah ,and unto the angel of the ,church in ,sardis write2 ,these things saith ,he that hath the seven ,spirits of ,god1 and the seven stars2 ,i know thy works1 that thou hast a name that thou livest1 and art dead4 ,be watchful and strengthen the things which remain1 that are ready to die3 for ,i have not found thy works perfect before ,god4--,,rev4 iii4 #a1 #b4 ,reading the last clause a little more literally will more fully bring out the meaning3 ,for ,i have found no works of thine fulfilled before my ,god4--,r4,v4 ,v4 ,a ,,lesson ,,in ,,christian ,,help #acc ,wherefore lift up the hands which hang down1 and the enfeebled knees2 and make straight smooth paths for with your feet1 lest that which is lame be turned out of the way2 but let it rather be healed or1 in order that that which is lame may not be caused to go astray1 but may rather be healed4--,,heb4 xii4 #ab1 #ac4 ,,vi4 ,,joseph',s ,,faith #adi 7,preached on ,sunday ,evening1 ,october #bjth1 #ahhi1 in ,st4 ,john's ,wood ,presbyterian ,church47 ,by faith ,joseph1 when he died1 made mention of the departing of the children of ,israel2 and gave commandment concerning his bones4--,,heb4 xi4 #bb4 ,,vii4 ,,the ,,brazen ,,serpent #afb ,he ,hezekiah removed the high places1 and brake the images1 and cut down the groves1 and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that ,moses had made3 for unto those days the children of ,israel did burn incense to it3 and he called it ,nehushtan4--#b ,,kings xviii4 #d4 ,,viii4 ,,the ,,gradations ,,of ,,doubt #age ,,psalm lxxiii4 ,,ix4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,queen ,,esther #aib 7,preached in ,balham ,congregational ,church1 on ,sunday ,evening1 ,august #aath1 #ahhi47 ,,esther iv4 #ac-ag4 ,x4 ,,the ,,example ,,of ,,the ,,prophets #bje ,take1 my brethren1 the prophets1 who have spoken in the name of the ,lord1 for an example4--,,james v4 #aj4 ,,xi4 ,,the ,,making ,,of ,a ,,prophet #bbj 7,preached at ,nottingham1 before the ,congregational ,union of ,england and ,wales1 on ,monday ,evening1 ,october #hth1 #ahhh47 ,in the year that ,king ,uzziah died ,i saw the ,lord sitting upon a throne1 high and lifted up1 and ,his train overspreading the temple floor4 ,seraphs were poised above1 each with six wings1 with twain veiling his face1 with twain veiling his feet1 and with twain hovering4 ,and those on one side sang in responsive chorus with those on the other side1 saying1 ',holy1 holy1 holy is the ,lord of hosts4 ,the fulness of the whole earth is ,his glory4' ,and the foundations of the threshold trembled at the sound of that singing1 and the house was filled with incense smoke4 ,then cried ,i1 ',woe is me6 for ,i am a dead man2 because ,i am a man of unclean lips1 and ,i dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips2 for mine eyes have seen the ,king1 the ,lord of hosts4' ,then flew one of the seraphs unto me1 having in his hand a burning ember1 which with a tongs he had taken from off the incense altar2 and he touched my mouth with it1 and said1 ',lo1 this hath touched thy lips2 and thine iniquity is taken away1 and thy sin purged4' ,thereupon ,i heard the voice of the ,lord1 saying1 ',whom shall ,i send1 and who will go for us8' ,then ,i cried1 ',see me2 send me4'--,,isaiah vi4 #a-h 7annotated74 ,,xii4 ,,for ,,and ,,against ,,christ #bcj ,he that is not with ,me is against ,me3 and he that gathereth not with ,me scattereth4--,,luke xi4 #bc4 ,he that is not against us is on our part4--,,mark ix4 #dj4 ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,prophecy ,,of ,,nature #bdj ,when ,i consider ,thy heavens1 the work of ,thy fingers1 the moon and the stars1 which ,thou hast ordained2 what is man1 that ,thou art mindful of him8 and the son of man1 that ,thou visitest him8 ,for ,thou hast made him a little lower than the angels1 and hast crowned him with glory and honour4 ,thou madest him to have dominion over the works of ,thy hands2 ,thou hast put all things under his feet4--,,psalm viii4 #c-f4 ,but now we see not yet all things put under ,him4--,,heb4 ii4 #h4 ,,xiv4 ,,christian ,,giving #bdh 7,preached in ,willesden ,presbyterian ,church1 ,september #bdth1 #ahhb47 ,o death1 where is thy sting8 ,o grave1 where is thy victory8 ,the sting of death is sin2 and the strength of sin is the law4 ,but thanks be to ,god1 which giveth us the victory through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,therefore1 my beloved brethren1 be ye steadfast1 unmovable1 always abounding in the work of the ,lord1 forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the ,lord4--#a ,,cor4 xv4 #ee-h4 ,now concerning the collection for the saints1 as ,i have given order to the churches of ,galatia1 even so do ye4 ,upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store1 as ,god hath prospered him1 that there be no gatherings when ,i come4 ,and when ,i come1 whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters1 them will ,i send to bring your liberality unto ,jerusalem4--#a ,,cor4 xvi4 #a-c4 ,,xv4 ,,our ,,lord',s ,,treatment ,,of ,,erring ,,friends #bfg ,,sunday ,,readings4 ,i4 ,read ,ps4 cxxxviii41 and ,john xiii4 #a-ag4 ,,the ,,self-,,asserting4--,john xiii4 #d1 #e4 ,,ii4 ,read ,job xvi41 and ,matt4 xxvi4 #ca-df4 ,,the ,,unsympathetic4--,john xiii4 #a-c4 ,,iii4 ,read #b ,sam4 xxiv41 and ,john xxi4 #ae-bc4 ,,the ,,wilful4--,john xiii4 #f-aj4 ,,iv4 ,read #a ,sam4 xxiv41 and ,luke xxii4 #dg-fb4 ,,the ,,faithless4--,john xiii4 #aa4 ,v4 ,read ,isa4 xl41 and #a ,cor4 xiii4 ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,magnanimity4--,john xiii4 #ab-ag4 ,,xvi4 ,a ,,hymn ,,of ,,heart',s ,,ease #bhd ,,sunday ,,readings4 ,lord1 my heart is not haughty1 ,nor mine eyes lofty3 ,neither do ,i exercise myself in great matters1 ,or in things too high for me4 ,surely ,i have behaved ,and quieted myself2 ,as a child that is weaned of its mother1 ,my soul is even as a weaned child4 ,let ,israel hope in the ,lord ,from henceforth and for ever4--,ps4 cxxxi4 ,i4 ,read ,job xxvi41 and #a ,cor4 xiii4 ,,the ,,source ,,of ,,unrest4 ,things too high for me4 ,,ii4 ,read ,ps4 xxxvii41 and ,matt4 xi4 ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,rest4 ,lord my heart is not haughty1 nor mine eyes lofty4 ,,iii4 ,read ,ps4 lxxiii4 and ,heb4 xii4 ,,calm ,,after ,,storm4 ,surely ,i have behaved and quieted myself4 ,,iv4 ,read ,ps4 xlvii4 and ,phil4 ii4 ,,victory ,,by ,,surrender4 ,as a child that is weaned of his mother3 my soul is even as a weaned child4 ,v4 ,read ,gen4 xxxii4 and ,rev4 vii4 ,,the ,,recompense ,,of ,,faith4 ,let ,israel hope in the ,lord from henceforth and for ever4 ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,first ,,chapter ,,of ,,genesis #cjb ,,memoir4 ,although ,dr4 ,elmslie was not destined to a long career1 and died with the greater purposes of his life work almost entirely unfulfilled1 very few men in the ,nonconformist churches of ,great ,britain were better known and loved4 ,the expectations of many in his native ,scotland were fixed on him from the first2 in ,england no preacher of his years had a larger or more enthusiastic following4 ,among students of the ,old ,testament he was beginning to be known as a master in his own subject1 and as one likely to accomplish much in the reconciliation of criticism and faith4 ,add to this that he possessed the rarer charm of an almost unique personal magnetism--that many were attached to him by the chain which is not quickly broken1 the bond of spiritual affinity1 and it becomes necessary to apologise only for the imperfections1 not for the existence1 of this memorial4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,william ,,gray ,,elmslie was born in the ,free ,church ,manse of ,insch1 ,aberdeenshire1 ,october #eth1 #ahdh1 the second son of the ,rev4 ,william ,elmslie1 ,m4,a41 and ,may ,cruickshank1 his wife4 ,writing to his parents from ,berlin more than twenty years after1 he says1 ,how thankful ,i ought to be that ,i was born in dear old ,scotland1 and in the humble little ,free ,church manse of ,insch6 ,his father was famous for his shrewd1 homely1 genial wisdom4 ,he was a native of ,aberdeen1 and had the strong sense and quick perception for which ,aberdonians are known4 ,by no means without the nobler enthusiasms of ,christianity1 he had shared in the fervour of the ,disruption movement1 and was the popular and successful minister of a congregation large for the district1 and including many members of earnest ,christian principle4 ,mr4 ,elmslie was the father and counsellor of the whole parish2 his advice was sought by members of all ,churches1 and cheerfully given4 ,if there was any danger of his practical nature becoming somewhat too hard and worldly1 the influence of his wife was a corrective4 ,dr4 ,elmslie's mother--a beautiful and accomplished woman--was a religious enthusiast4 ,i recognised1 writes her son1 from the ,new ,college1 ,edinburgh1 mamma's review in the ,free ,press by the words 'wrestling believing prayer4' ,they were indeed characteristic1 and it was the rare union of mystic elevation and warmth with perfect comprehension of ordinary life that gave ,dr4 ,elmslie his separate and commanding place among the teachers of his time4 ,the austerity1 the somewhat chilly rigour which characterised manse life in the ,free ,church were not found at ,insch4 ,the children never suffered from the want of affection--what the ,french call le besoin d'tre aim4 ,all the best was brought out in them1 and in the case of our subject the brightness and sweetness of his disposition procured for him more than ordinary endearments4 ,two lovingly preserved letters in a large round child's hand give a better idea of the home than anything ,i can say4 ,the first describes a visit to ,huntly and the home of ,duncan ,matheson1 the great evangelist1 who did yeoman service in the ,crimean ,war4 ,,insch1 ,july #adth1 #ahef4 ,,my ,,dear ,,mamma1--,i am always glad when ,i hear that you are all keeping well4 ,i have such a long string of news that ,i do not know where to begin1 for ,i was at ,huntly1 and saw so many things there4 ,i will now tell you the most of what ,i saw4 ,i first saw the ,bogie1 and a few sheep being washed in it4 ,when ,i arrived at ,huntly1 and had walked a short distance1 ,mr4 ,matheson and ,i met his dog ,dash4 ,when ,i got to the house ,i was first shown the ,bugle1 then the ,drum1 and three swords2 one was broken after killing five ,russians1 and the man who had used it killed4 ,and then ,i saw the ,rifle1 and fired it off1 though without shot4 ,when ,i got out of the house ,i went to a shop where ,i bought a gun and ,almonds1 and on our way home ,miss ,matheson and ,i called on the ,lawsons1 and brought ,johny and ,jamie home1 where we met ,william ,brown1 with his ,aunt ,mrs4 ,douglas1 waiting us4 ,when we went into the house there were two pistols which ,william and ,i took1 and frightened some boys with them4 ,i saw a piece of the rock of ,gibralter4 ,i saw a piece of wood made into stone1 and two teeth--one a shark's1 and the other an ,alligator's-- hardened into stone4 ,there were medals and coins of the various countries of ,europe1 a piece of a church in ,sevastopool1 and a thing which the ,russian soldiers wear on their coats4 ,i also saw a brush which the ,turks use for brushing themselves4 ,i also saw an idol and a great many pictures of the ,virgin ,mary4 ,i saw a small picture-book with all the different priests of ,rome4 ,our ,rabbits are all quite well and growing4 ,i am your aff ,son1 ,,william ,,gray ,,elmslie4 ,,my ,,dear ,,mama1--,i am glad to hear that ,papa is keeping better4 ,how ,i would like to be with you1 and see the beautiful scenery and the many rabbits4 ,tell our cousins to come here some time soon1 and let them see our rabbits if they will come4 ,i send some ,heather and some broom which we got on the hill beside ,john ,davison1 and took tea with him4 ,i enclose what ,i got down of the forenoon sermon4 ,i am your aff son1 ,w4 ,g4 ,,elmslie4 ,p4,s4--,we sometimes receive to small dinners1 but sometimes pretty good4 ,w4 ,g4 ,,elmslie4 ,the religious forces of the time were those of that ,evangelicalism which has been the base of so many powerful characters1 even among those who have afterwards rejected it1 like ,cardinal ,newman and ,george ,eliot4 ,these were reinforced by the influences of the ,disruption1 then at their strongest4 ,it was something to be born at such a time1 a time when1 to use the words of ,lacordaire1 there was a noble union of heroic character and memorable achievement4 ,the pecuniary poverty and spiritual opulence of ,scotland1 on which ,carlyle has said so much1 were then seen at their best4 ,if a cautious1 reticent race1 impatient of extravagant action and unmeasured speech1 is to be found anywhere1 it is among the peasants of ,aberdeenshire2 but when possessed and stirred by religious feeling they are capable of unyielding firmness and unstinted devotion4 ,these qualities were remarkably brought out at the ,disruption4 ,the religious life of ,new ,england1 pictured by ,harriet ,beecher ,stowe1 must have been similar in many things1 and ,dr4 ,george ,macdonald1 who was born in ,huntly1 a few miles from ,insch1 has rendered some aspects with incomparable beauty and tenderness in his first works4 ,the preaching was intensely theological4 ,the great highways of truth were trodden and retrodden4 ,texts were largely taken from the ,epistles1 and the doctrines of grace were accurately and thoroughly expounded4 ,freshness1 style1 and the other qualities now held essential to popular sermons were unknown4 ,but the preaching did its work1 nevertheless1 as ,dr4 ,macdonald says1 because it was preaching--the rare speech of a man to his fellows1 whereby they know that he is in his inmost heart a believer4 ,as the result1 every conscience hung out the pale or the red flag4 ,dr4 ,macdonald complains of the inharmonious singing1 but others will testify with ,mrs4 ,stowe that the slow1 rude1 and primitive rendering of the metrical ,psalms excited them painfully4 ,it brought over one1 like a presence1 the sense of the infinite and the eternal1 the yearning1 and the fear1 and the desire of the poor finite being1 so ignorant and so helpless4 ,not less impressive was the piety to be found among the peasants4 ,there were ,david ,elginbrods in their ranks1 men among whom you felt in the presence of the higher natures of the world--and women delivered from lonely1 craving solitude by the ,eternal ,love that had broken through and ended the dark and melancholy years4 ,these were to be found not only among the prominent ,church members1 but among others willing to be unknown1 to be stones sunk in the foundation of the spiritual building4 ,under such influences the boy became a ,christian almost unconsciously4 ,there was no crisis in his life1 that ,i can trace4 ,when a mere boy he writes to his parents1 during their absence from ,insch1 that he had conducted family worship according to their desire4 ,it required a great deal of previous thought and prayer1 too1 for ,i have found that is useful1 and not study only1 in preparing for the service of ,god4 ,yet ,i have good cause to be glad and thankful that ,i am able to do it2 and ,i feel it a real relief and privilege to commit all to the care of ,god4 ,at this time he visited an aged member of his father's ,church1 and prayed with her4 ,he repeats with pride the compliment paid him in return1 ,ye ken hoo to be kind and couthy wi' a puir auld body4 ,his faith and vision grew clearer1 but in cruder shape those thoughts were his from the beginning that haunted him to the very end4 ,the intellectual atmosphere of the place was much more quickening than might be thought4 ,insch is a cosy little village enough1 and though not in itself beautiful1 has picturesque bits near it4 ,but even in summer sunshine it can hardly be called lively1 and in winter1 when the snow is piled for weeks on hill and field1 and the leaden-coloured clouds refuse to part1 it could not well look duller4 ,but the ,free ,church manses of the district were full of eager inquiry4 ,the ministers were educated men1 graduates of the ,university1 and in some cases had swept its prizes4 ,their ambition was satisfied in the service of ,christ4 ,there was a noble contentment with their lot which it is inspiring to think of2 but they cherished a righteous ambition for their children1 and spared no toil and no self-denial to open the way for them4 ,from three ,free ,church manses in that neighbourhood1 all at first included in the same ,presbytery1 have gone forth men whose names are familiar to the ,english people4 ,from the manse of ,keig1 ,professor ,robertson ,smith2 from ,rhynie1 ,mr4 ,a4 ,m4 ,mackay1 of ,uganda1 the true successor to ,livingstone1 whose early death is announced as these sheets are passing through the press2 and from ,insch1 ,professor ,elmslie4 ,the educational facilities of the district were of almost ideal excellence4 ,the parish teachers1 when salaries were increased by certain wise and liberal bequests1 were almost without exception accomplished scholars4 ,they took pride in a promising pupil1 and would cheerfully work extra hours to ensure his success4 ,their fees were sufficiently moderate1 one pound being enough to cover all expenses for a year4 ,at these schools a boy might remain till he had reached the age1 say1 of fourteen or fifteen1 when he might go to ,aberdeen to compete for a scholarship1 or bursary as it was called4 ,of these1 perhaps forty were offered every year1 varying from #ce a year for the ,university course1 downwards4 ,it was thought wiser to go for the last year or two to the ,grammar ,school in ,aberdeen1 to receive the last polish2 but often lads went in from their native glens1 and defeated all competitors4 ,elmslie was trained at first in the ,free ,church school at ,insch1 then at the parish school1 under the ,rev4 ,james ,mc,lachlan4 ,he then proceeded to the ,aberdeen ,grammar ,school1 where he was two years1 under the ,rev4 ,william ,barrack1 a teacher of rare attainments and enthusiasm4 ,he carried off one of the highest honours1 and in #ahfd entered the ,university of ,aberdeen4 ,it is1 or was1 the ambition of every hopeful youth in the ,north to wear the student's gown4 ,oh that ,god would spare me to wear the red cloakie6 said ,john ,duncan1 afterwards the well-known ,professor of ,hebrew in the ,new ,college1 ,edinburgh1 when weakened by an early illness4 ,the life of the ,aberdeen student has never1 perhaps1 been rendered with sufficient fidelity1 save in ,alec ,forbes1 and ,dr4 ,walter ,smith's ,borland ,hall1 and it may have changed in some respects since ,elmslie's time4 ,then it was emphatically a period of plain living and hard work4 ,eight shillings a week sufficed to cover many a student's expenses for board and lodging1 amounting to less than #aj for the twenty weeks of the session1 and the summer was spent at home4 ,the spirit of the place was democratic in the extreme4 ,there were a few students who came out of wealthy families1 but any claim to respect on this ground would have been fiercely resented4 ,george ,macdonald tells of an aristocrat among the students condemned and sentenced by a meeting presided over by the pale-faced son of a burly ploughman4 ,the high spirits of youth would at times break out in coarse and even ferocious excesses1 but these were rare1 and the characteristic of the place was a limitless persistency of application4 ,most of the men felt that this was their one chance4 ,if they could distinguish themselves1 there were scholarships to be had which would open the path to ,oxford or ,cambridge1 or give them a fair chance in other fields of life4 ,some yielded to temptation1 and became wrecks2 others1 after a period of obscuration1 recovered themselves2 a few soon abandoned the quest for ,university honours1 and busied themselves with other lines of reading and study2 but ,elmslie set himself1 without flinching or turning aside1 to his task4 ,evil did not lure him4 ,there was no stamp of moral dfaillance on that clear brow4 ,his watchful parents were still with him1 for they set up another home in ,aberdeen1 and were constantly with their children4 ,it ought1 perhaps1 to be mentioned that ,elmslie's father was an enthusiastic total abstainer1 in days when the practice was quite unfashionable1 and in many parts of the country entirely unknown4 ,in this his son warmly sympathised1 maintaining the principle of abstinence to the end of his life1 and carrying out the practice even during his studies in ,germany4 ,he wrote home1 when assistant in ,regent ,square1 ,glad you are getting on so famously in the temperance line1 and do hope it will have a permanent and wide influence4 ,but the secret of his ,university success was his indefatigable labour at the prescribed tasks4 ,although he might well be termed l'esprit soudain1 he was capable of the long-continued and daily application which belongs to the rare union of ardour and patience4 ,he had the characteristic of his countrymen--nothing could daunt him from fighting the battle out4 ,his success accordingly was great and growing4 ,in a class which numbered1 perhaps1 an unusual proportion of brilliant men1 he steadily made his way to the front4 ,he distinguished himself by taking prizes in almost every department of study1 specially excelling in mathematics1 and closed his career by carrying off the gold medal awarded by the ,aberdeen ,town ,council to the first student of the year1 in ,april1 #ahfh4 ,the victory was not gained without a price4 ,from the first his studies brought on some occasional headaches1 and the first triumph resulted in a serious illness1 which his wise and skilful physician1 ,dr4 ,davidson1 of ,wartle1 warned him would reappear twenty years later--an ominous prophecy1 which was but too exactly fulfilled4 ,the chief intellectual force in the ,northern ,university at that time and long after was ,dr4 ,alexander ,bain1 the ,professor of ,logic4 ,in after life ,dr4 ,elmslie frequently referred to his influence4 ,but other chairs were also occupied by powerful men4 ,geddes infected many with his own enthusiasm for ,greek literature2 ,fuller and ,thomson were admirably efficient teachers of mathematics2 and to name no more1 ,jeems ,nicol1 the ,professor of ,natural ,history1 with his hoarse voice1 his homely kindness1 and his thorough knowledge of his subject1 was a universal favourite4 ,thomson was1 perhaps1 the most original and cynical character of them all1 and his dry wit had a great attraction for ,elmslie4 ,the ,rev4 ,thomas ,nicol1 of ,tolbooth1 ,edinburgh1 a distinguished minister of the ,church of ,scotland and one of the most outstanding of ,professor ,elmslie's classfellows1 wrote thus to his father3 ,since ,dr4 ,elmslie's death ,i have often gone back to the days1 just twenty-five years ago1 when we first met at the bursary competition1 and in the ,bageant class at ,king's ,college1 ,aberdeen4 ,even from the first he was one of the most winsome and attractive members of the class1 full of fun and mirth1 with a perennial smile on his beautiful and finely formed face1 and with a cheery word for everybody4 ,i can see him to-day1 with his neat ,highland cape and the college gown over it1 coming through the quadrangle1 as distinctly as if it were yesterday1 and it is easier for me preserving that picture because we have met so seldom of recent years4 ,he is associated in my mind with another of our classfellows1 who achieved distinction early1 and early met an heroic and tragic death--,i mean ,mr4 ,william ,jenkyns1 ,c4,i4,e41 who died with ,sir ,louis ,cavagnari1 at ,cabul4 ,your son and he were unlike in some things1 but in delicacy of features1 and expressiveness of countenance1 and slimness of figure one associates them at once together4 ,when ,i was helping to get up funds for the memorial of ,mr4 ,jenkyns now in the ,university ,library at ,aberdeen ,i well remember the cheerfulness with which ,mr4 ,elmslie contributed1 and the kindly words of affection and esteem which accompanied his contribution4 ,of both it might most truly be said that 'being made perfect1 in a short time they fulfilled a long time4' ,like others of my classfellows1 ,mr4 ,bruce1 our first ,bursar1 now minister of ,banff1 ,w4 ,l4 ,davidson1 ,,ll4,d41 minister of ,bourtie1 and our mutual friend ,john ,smith1 of ,broughton ,place ,church here1 and many more1 ,i watched your son's career with the deepest interest1 and as ,i have said1 took quite a pride in the career of usefulness and honour which by his ability and hard work he shaped for himself in ,london4 ,we really felt as if he were our own somehow1 and as if we had a share in all the honours he was gaining1 both as a literary and as a public man4 ,the ,rev4 ,w4 ,a4 ,gray1 of ,elgin1 who was brought up in a neighbouring ,free ,church manse1 says1 ,what characterised him then was his intense sense of fun1 his perception of the comic side of things1 especially in regard to people1 and his never-failing stock of anecdotes1 almost always humorous1 never malicious4 ,coming several years after ,elmslie to the ,university of ,aberdeen1 ,i only knew him from a distance4 ,to an outsider his prominent quality was winsomeness4 ,there was no jealousy in ,aberdeen of fairly won success2 if there had been1 ,elmslie would have disarmed it4 ,then1 as always1 he took his victories with the utmost simplicity4 ,he was always humble1 with the humility which is very consistent with strenuous effort and even great ambition4 ,the sons of ,free ,church ministers in those days1 however great their ,university successes might have been1 generally desired no higher position than that of their fathers4 ,it was1 no doubt1 the wish of his parents that ,elmslie should be a minister1 and his inclination fell in with that4 ,at the same time there were counter-inducements2 for one1 many ,aberdeen students had been winning high distinction at ,cambridge1 the senior wranglership having fallen to some of them1 and his teacher and some of his relatives were anxious that he should try his fortunes there4 ,he had himself a strong bent to the medical profession4 ,whatever line he had taken in life he would have been successful4 ,a well-known revivalist preacher1 also a professional man1 is understood to have counselled him to go in for a business life4 ,one who knew him well has remarked to me1 since his death1 that his true pre-eminence would have been shown in a scientific career4 ,but his life1 and especially its closing years1 made it plain that his own choice was wise4 ,a new era opened for him when he went as a theological student to the ,new ,college1 ,edinburgh4 ,the ,free ,church possesses a theological seminary in ,aberdeen which assuredly did not lack for able ,professors1 but the number of students is small1 and the more ambitious men usually go to ,edinburgh4 ,in ,edinburgh the ,free ,church ,college 7known as ,new ,college7 had for its first ,principal ,dr4 ,chalmers1 and in succession ,dr4 ,cunningham and ,dr4 ,candlish1 the three greatest of the ,disruption worthies4 ,it had also some notable men among its ,professors4 ,when ,elmslie went up ,candlish was at the head4 ,his appearances were only occasional1 as he was also minister of ,free ,st4 ,george's1 ,edinburgh4 ,but although his contribution to the vitality of the ,new ,college was necessarily small1 it was real4 ,mr4 ,gray writes3 ,he gave no lectures1 his work being confined to the examining and criticising of the students' discourses4 ,there was always a considerable interest in these criticisms1 and a good turn out to hear them4 ,they were usually strongly put1 both in the direction of censure and of praise2 but any one who knew the ,doctor's methods1 and made allowance for vigour of phrase1 could depend on a true and perceptive estimate of the merits or demerits of a sermon4 ,sometimes he could be savage enough4 ,fancy a man tomahawked with the following1 delivered with the well-known burr1 flash of eye1 and protrusion of underlip3 ',all ,i have got to say about this discourse is' 7raising his voice7 'that one half should be struck out1 and' 7lowering it again7 'it doesn't matter which half4' ,this may have compared with another historic criticism1 attributed to ,dr4 ,cunningham when addressing the author of a certain ,latin thesis3 ',of this discourse ,i have only to say two things--the writer has murdered the ,latin tongue1 and perverted the glorious ,gospel of ,christ4' ,but ,candlish was one of the kindest of men4 ,how well ,i remember the little figure1 with the gold spectacles flashing beneath the big hat2 the loosely fitting coat2 the wide trousers1 lapping two or three inches above the shoes1 which were usually set off by a foot of loose lace2 the gruff greeting1 which usually changed into a warm1 hearty smile if he were accosted4 ,among the ,professors1 ,elmslie evidently appreciated ,dr4 ,davidson and ,dr4 ,rainy1 while conscious of receiving benefit from others4 ,the longest personal sketch he ever wrote was an article on ,professor ,davidson in the ,expositor 7,january1 #ahhh74 ,in this he says1 ,his singular and significant influence does not consist in what he does1 but in what he is4 ,it is not the quantity or the contents1 but the quality and kind of the thinking4 ,it is not even the thought1 so much as the mind that secretes it4 ,it is not its clearness nor its profundity1 not its reserve nor its passion1 not its scepticism nor its superiority of spiritual faith2 but it is the combination of all these1 and the strange1 subtle1 and fascinating outcome of them4 ,the central and sovereign spring of ,dr4 ,davidson's unique influence in the literature1 scholarship1 and ministry of the ,church is his personality4444 ,if the ,church of ,christ within our borders should pass through the present trial of faith without panic1 without reactionary antagonism to truth1 and without loss of spiritual power1 a very large part of the credit will belong to the quiet but commanding influence of the ,hebrew chair in that college which rises so picturesquely on the ancient site of ,mary of ,guise's palace in ,edinburgh4 ,of ,dr4 ,rainy he has nowhere written at length1 but he was wont to speak of his smouldering passion1 and the great ideas with which he inspired the receptive among his students4 ,dr4 ,elmslie1 though resolute and even daring on occasion1 was a warm admirer of statesmanship1 and ,dr4 ,rainy's skilful piloting of the ,free ,church through many troubles he would often praise1 emphasizing strongly1 at the same time1 his belief in the ,principal's perfect honesty and singleness of purpose4 ,there are many kind allusions in his letters to ,dr4 ,blaikie1 to whom he was specially grateful for having introduced him to practical mission work4 ,in this he was always intensely interested1 maintaining that on this ground the true battle of ,christ must be fought4 ,blaikie gave us a capital lecture1 its only fault being that there was too much matter1 so that we could not get down even a mere abstract of the substance4 ,,edinburgh1 #ahfh4 ,things are still going on capitally4 ,at the hall ,davidson is most admirable1 and ,blaikie every day coming out even better and better4 ,for instance1 speaking of the fondness the early apologists displayed at pointing not to the lives1 but to the deaths of ,christians1 he added1 ',and indeed1 gentlemen1 ,i cannot help saying that in the course of my experience as a minister ,i have always noticed the hush and breathless attention such a subject ever commands1 and ,i have found nothing make a deeper impression1 or act more powerfully as a means of producing good1 than a description of a triumphant death-bed4' ,this is practical1 true1 and useful4 ,elmslie threw himself with intense energy into the work of his classes4 ,at first he found it difficult to maintain the place he had achieved at ,aberdeen1 for he had able competitors1 but his unweariable diligence and quick apprehension soon put him at the head4 ,in one of his earliest letters from ,edinburgh he writes1 ,on ,wednesday evening ,i did first copy of my essay with a headache coming on1 which came on with such heartiness that ,i went to bed1 and ,i could not go to college on ,thursday4 7,n4,b4 ,it is remarkable that when ,i have no mamma to nurse me my headaches never come to such extremes as they do when ,i have a fall-back4 ,this one was bad enough1 but not one of the desperate kind47 ,there was only one cure for these headaches1 and he could never bring himself to take it4 ,it would be tedious to go over the story of his successes4 ,by this time his younger brother1 ,leslie1 had entered the ,university of ,edinburgh1 where his triumphs were scarcely less than those of his senior at the ,new ,college4 ,so used did the household at ,insch become to telegrams announcing new prizes and scholarships1 that at certain periods of the year the faithful mother had telegrams of congratulation already filled up1 waiting to be despatched4 ,many students of theology are more impressed by the preaching they hear than by their ,professors1 and ,edinburgh has always been known for pulpit eloquence4 ,but it was the reverse with ,elmslie4 ,no preacher seems to have had any great power over him4 ,he attended the ,free ,high ,church1 then ministered to by ,mr4 ,william ,arnot2 but though he admitted the freshness and fertility of the preacher's mind1 he was not a warm admirer of his sermons4 ,he often listened to ,dr4 ,charles ,j4 ,brown1 in the ,free ,new ,north1 and liked him3 he seems such a fine-hearted man4 ,one day he went to hear a fellow-student1 and missed the way to the church4 ,he turned aside into the ,barclay ,church1 where ,mr4 7now ,dr47 ,wilson was preaching4 ,i like ,mr4 ,wilson very much4 ,he is thoroughly practical1 both in his preaching and in his prayers4 ,for instance1 in the one after the chapter he prayed for boys and girls at school1 that they might be helped with their lessons when they were difficult1 and that they might learn obedience and courtesy and be made blessings to their teachers2 also for those persons who had not had a good training in their youth1 and felt it now in showing a good example to the children1 and especially for those parents and children who were troubled with bad tempers4 ,after remarking on the great predominance of young people in the congregation1 he says that the sermon was delivered with a great deal of energy and action1 and that the idea of the preacher seemed to be to bring religion down on the every-day life1 that it might become the motive power in work4 ,on coming out ,i accosted an intelligent-looking man1 and said1 ',was that ,mr4 ,wilson8' ',yes1' he said1 and added1 with a proud smile1 ',and didn't you like him8' ,i answered1 ',very much indeed1' whereupon he looked exceedingly gratified and prouder than ever4 ,i wish there were more such pride4 ,on another occasion he writes1 ,at present ,i had sooner hear ,dr4 ,candlish than any one4 ,he is so strong and honest1 and wide in his sympathies4 ,his address to the students was full of passion and feeling1 and sympathy with the difficulty of believing some of our ,calvinistic doctrines1 such as eternal ruin1 heathens' doom1 etc4 ,he went a very great length indeed1 and ended by saying it was too hard for him1 and his heart drew him the other way1 and all he could do was to fall back on his loyalty to ,christ4 ,it was more a picture of his own heart's struggles than the ,principal's address4 ,but his usual note is1 ,heard --------1 in -------- ,church3 middling4 ,in #ahga he gained the ,hamilton ,scholarship in a most brilliant manner1 his marks being so extraordinary that as they came in the secretary of the ,senatus thought there must be some mistake4 ,his fellow-students1 he writes1 were overwhelmingly kind in their congratulations1 and he himself seems to have rejoiced in this success more than in any other of his life4 ,one thing was that in his after-work he would not have the same amount of anxiety and despair that weighed him down in his preparations4 ,but the chief thing was the joy it would give at home4 ,i need not tell you1 he writes to his mother1 how sweet your letter was to me1 telling me of your joy on receipt of the telegram4 ,when no letter came in the morning you cannot think how disappointed ,i was1 for1 to confess the truth1 ,i had been thinking all ,sabbath of the pleasure of reading the home letters1 and in them getting the real joy of the scholarship4 ,for1 except the pleasure of knowing the gladness caused at home1 there is not much satisfaction otherwise in it4 ,it is strange how soon1 after the first surprise of getting it1 the delight of getting it passed away1 and ,i think there was more enjoyment in the working for it than in the having it4 ,this incident may stand as typical of many others1 and of his prominent place among men not a few of whom were of real mark4 ,his comradeships among the students filled a large place in his life4 ,of all his friends the most intimate and best loved was ,mr4 ,andrew ,harper1 now ,lecturer on ,hebrew in ,ormond ,college1 ,melbourne4 ,i regret much that exigencies of time make it impossible to include1 for the present at least1 any of his letters to this brother of his heart4 ,they were always together1 for ever disputing1 and never quarrelling1 very close to one another in heart and mind4 ,two years before ,dr4 ,elmslie's death ,mr4 ,harper visited this country4 ,the friends resumed their ancient intercourse1 visited ,switzerland in company1 and found that the changes of the years had only drawn them nearer4 ,some of the best life in the ,new ,college has always been found in the ,theological ,society--an association of the students who gather to discuss controverted questions1 and do not fear to go into them thoroughly4 ,these meetings were greatly relished by ,elmslie4 ,among the leading members in his time was ,professor ,robertson ,smith1 whose amazing keenness in debate is often admiringly mentioned in his letters home4 ,the first time ,elmslie spoke in the ,society was in connection with a discussion whether the ,free ,church should return to the ,establishment on the abolition of patronage4 ,he took the negative side1 and was complimented on both sides for the ability and ingenuity of his speech4 ,the speculative daring in the ,society at a time when outside the old orthodoxy was hardly questioned partly amused and partly pleased him4 ,he speaks of entertaining ,dr4 ,davidson very much by telling him that the men at the ,theological fathered all their heresies on ,dr4 ,candlish's ,fatherhood of ,god1 by1 as they expressed it1 carrying out its principles to their logical conclusions4 ,the subjects themselves1 however1 were the main thing and took abiding possession of his heart4 ,i intend1 he says1 to still go on studying these themes of ,christ more deeply1 for they have interested me intensely4 ,by the way1 ,i believe what will be of more value to me than the scholarship1 and also far more satisfactory1 is the feeling ,i have that in preparing for it ,i have made an immense addition to my knowledge in several departments1 and done it so thoroughly that it will never pass away4 ,two subjects have so interested me that ,i mean to go on studying them--namely1 the ,person of ,christ1 and the ,early ,apostolic ,church4 ,on his work and influence at ,new ,college the letters of ,professor ,drummond and ,dr4 ,stalker will give a distinct impression1 but ,i cannot leave the subject without giving room to what was almost before everything with him--his work among the poor1 and especially among their children4 ,they show the brilliant and courted student in another light1 and it is worth mentioning that the larger proportion of his letters home is made up of such stories4 ,his pupils in the ragged school greatly interested him1 and his letters from ,edinburgh are largely filled with picturesque incidents of his experience among them4 ,edinburgh seemed to him more terrible in its undress than ,aberdeen4 ,i never saw such miserable squalid faces1 intermingled with roughs and coarse-looking women4 ,there was a humorous side to it1 also1 which he does not fail to give account of4 ,one day in the ,sunday-school a little boy behind indulged in an occasional pull at his coat-tail1 or a facetious poke at his back1 to all of which demonstrations he preserved an appearance of utter unconsciousness4 ,when the school was over1 and they were waiting their turn to get out1 he turned round and said1 not with a very ferocious countenance1 ,now1 which of you young rascals was pulling at my tails8 ,of course1 this occasioned immense amusement1 and one bright-eyed little fellow said it could not have been so4 ,oh1 well1 he said1 it is strange2 ,i wonder if the forms could have done it4 ,this was a very tickling idea1 and immediately the little fellow said1 ,sir1 ,i gave you a poke4 ,he said1 ,that is honest1 now1 and ,i suppose some other one took the tails4 ,yes1 sir1 it was me1 said another merry young monkey1 with a comical look4 ,he answered1 ,i know you are not good scholars4 ,how do ,i know that8 ,oh1 you never heard of good scholars pulling the teacher's tails6 ,this was a very striking view of things to them1 and they did not know whether to be impressed or amused4 ,the quickness of the city children1 and their readiness of sympathy1 specially struck him4 ,but the main issue of the work was practical4 ,i cannot help saying that ,i feel that this work will do me real good1 and will give me an actual1 and not a mere theoretical interest in the work ,i have before me4 ,and that is a thing very much needed4 ,one other thing ,i may mention here4 ,we have been having worship once a day very regularly1 and to me at least it has been very pleasant and very useful4 ,and now good-night to both4 ,i shall be very sorry to leave my poor little bairns1 for ,i have come to like them exceedingly1 especially of late2 they have become so numerous that ,i have to put some of them on the floor--nearly fifty last night4 ,i don't know how it is1 but ,i have a strange sort of feeling1 as if they were having a deeper interest in what ,i say than ,i ever saw before2 perhaps it is because ,i think ,i have myself4 ,since ,christmas-time ,i have told them every night about ,jesus1 and only stories that directly illustrated ,his love and work1 and ,i feel a difference in the way they listen2 some of them especially sit so very still and quiet1 with such an earnest1 solemn look on their faces4 ,some nights ago ,donald ,english 7who made the disturbance the first night ,i began71 as ,i was beginning1 took hold of my hand and said1 ',oh1 tell's about ,jesus again1 the night6' ,i often end by asking them to pray ,jesus1 before they go to bed1 to make them ,his little ones2 and several times1 as they went out1 some of them have put their hand in mine and whispered1 ',i'll ask ,him the nicht4' ,last ,sabbath1 when ,i was speaking of ,jesus having died for our sakes1 they were all sitting so very attentive1 but three little boys in one corner began quarrelling about a bonnet1 and disturbing me by the noise4 ,i stopped twice and looked at them1 but they always began again4 ,presently ,i stopped for the third time1 and was going to speak to them1 when one of the boys1 who had been very attentive1 rushed at them1 and before ,i could interfere dragged one of them on to the floor1 and commenced a furious onslaught of blows and abuse for interrupting me4 ,i had hard work in persuading him to stop4 ,another very funny thing was the looks of reproachful indignation which some of the attentive ones had been casting at the disturbers1 previous to the final outbreak4 ,it was terribly annoying at the time1 especially as ,i saw that many of them were very deeply interested4 ,when ,i was ending ,i spoke of how ,jesus deserved to be loved1 and that they should ask to be made to love ,him4 ,one little girlie whispered1 ',i will ask ,him1 for1 oh1 ,i do want to love ,him6' and when ,i said it was time to go away they cried1 ',oh1 dinna' send's away yet1 tell's mair about ,jesus2' and then they came round me1 and made me promise to tell them 'bonnie stories about ,jesus' next ,sabbath4 ,i have found that nothing interests them more than what is directly about ,jesus4 ,i could not help telling you all these little things1 but ,i never had the same sort of feeling in teaching a class before1 and ,i would like you to remember sometimes my poor little children down in the ,canongate4 ,i wish ,i could take them all into a better atmosphere1 for it is sad to think of their chances of ever becoming good in such an evil1 wretched place4 ,harper and ,i have been having many nice talks4 ,i mean to preach often in the summer--,i want to4 ,here he describes an incident of open-air preaching4 ,a friend was speaking1 and ,elmslie was managing the audience4 ,,edinburgh1 ,jan4 #bcrd1 #ahgb4 ,during this the man ,i had heard swearing at ,f-------- came up to ,s--------1 who was standing a few yards off1 and spoke to him4 ,i went up just in time to hear him say1 ',that fellow cannot even talk grammar4' ,i replied1 ',we don't come here to teach grammar4' ,he was rather taken aback1 but replied1 ',well1 ,i could have said all your man said in half the time4' ',then wait till he is done1 and you shall have the next turn4' ',no1 no1 ,i don't want that2 if ,i spoke ,i should oppose you4' ',i am ready for that2 will you do it8' ,i said2 ',we don't come here to argue4' ',no2 you are wise to decline to argue with me4' ,i answered1 ',pooh6 are you so conceited as to suppose that our arguing would make any difference to ,christianity8 ,why1 it has been argued hundreds of times over by men a deal wiser than you or me1 and you see ,christianity has not gone to the wall4' ,by that time ,i saw ,i was going to win1 and got very cool and at my ease1 while he got excited and put out2 then he started on a new tack by saying1 ',and what good do you expect to do to humanity by preaching here1 and disturbing us8' ,i said1 ',well1 perhaps1 for one thing1 we will get some drunken characters like those' 7pointing to some7 'to give up the drink1 and be decent1 and keep their wives and children from starving4' ',well1 that may be1 but speaking like yours will never do it4' ,i answered1 ',no1 you are quite right1 but we are young1 you see1 and some of us have not much voice1 and some have not much sense2 but we are just trying to find out who of us can do the thing1 and so1 you see1 we are just doing as well as we can4' ,he looked rather amazed at my frankness1 and said1 ',well1 ,i'm sure ,i have not any ill-will to you1 but ,i don't believe in religion1 and there are such a lot of hypocrites4' ,i said1 ',yes1 there are a great lot1 but that's just a reason why you should believe in the goodness of religion4' ',how do you make that out8' ',why1 you never heard of people making imitation of the stones and stuff like that' 7pointing to the gutter71 'but it is sovereigns and things like that they make counterfeits of4' ',ay1 but ,i hate hypocrites1 and say1 ,down with them4' ',so do ,i2 and if you could down with all the religious hypocrites you would do more for ,christianity than we can by preaching here4' ',ah6' he said1 'if that's your opinion you should not take to street preaching2 they are all hypocrites4' ',oh1 nonsense6' ,i replied4 ,he exclaimed1 very bitterly1 ',look at --------' 7mentioning a recent scandal72 'what good has that man done8' ,i answered1 ',more than ever you or ,i have4' ',i would like to hear how4' he sneered4 ',why1 you know1 for one thing1 he did manage1 whether his preaching was sense or nonsense1 to persuade a lot of drunken working men to give up drink and go to the kirk1 and not waste their money in the public-house2 and now you go and ask their wives and bairns whether ,r-------- has done any good in the world4' ',ay1 but what do you say to1' etc48 ',that it was a great sin and shame to him2 but that is no reason for refusing to own that he has done a vast deal of good before he did that piece of ill2 and besides1 ,i doubt if you or ,i are so good as to throw stones at him1 etc41 etc4 ,now ,i've listened to your criticisms on us1 and pretty hard some of them were1 so you will come up with me now1 and hear what we've got to say4' ,he said1 ',well1 ,i must say ,i like your way of taking things2 ,i never heard them put in the way you have done2 but ,i have not time now to come up2 ,i have to take tea in half an hour with a mate4' ,i said1 ',still1 you'll promise to come back next ,sunday and hear us1 and ,i may tell you1 in secret1 we shall have better speakers next time1 and if you like1 after the meeting is over1 ,i'll have a talk with you4 ,i never did meet one of your side before1 but ,i've read some of your books4 ,we won't call it a discussion1 for ,i've not had any experience at arguing1 and ,i suppose you are an old hand4' ,he gave a queer laugh1 and said1 ',any way ,i never came across anybody on your side with half your sharpness and common sense2 and besides1 ,i must say you are honest about it4' ,and then we shook hands1 and he promised to come along next ,sunday4444 ,by the way1 in my talk with the ,deist my 'heretical' reading came in useful to me2 for if ,i had not come through all that1 ,i could not have heard his attacks on religion and kept my coolness1 or taken them up the way ,i did2 so it is some good2 it will give me confidence in myself for the future--another good thing4 ,pleasant interludes in his ,new ,college life were a session spent at ,aberdeen ,university1 as assistant to the ,professor of ,natural ,philosophy1 ,mr4 ,david ,thomson1 and two sessions spent at ,berlin in the study of theology4 ,at ,aberdeen he had in his class ,mr4 ,chrystal1 now the celebrated ,professor of ,mathematics in the ,university of ,edinburgh1 whose abilities he repeatedly refers to in his letters4 ,his work was enjoyable1 and his relations with ,professor ,thomson of the most cordial kind4 ,he was tempted in various ways to alter his life purpose1 was offered a professorship of ,natural ,philosophy with a large salary in the ,colonies1 and was specially tempted to enter the medical profession4 ,his closest friend at the ,university1 ,mr4 ,james ,shepherd1 now a medical missionary of the ,united ,presbyterian ,church in ,india1 was pursuing his professional studies1 and with him he frequently visited hospital patients1 finding a double interest in the work4 ,thus he writes3-- ,,aberdeen1 ,march #adth1 #ahgj4 ,as to ,medicine1 ,i have read up most of the text-books prescribed here1 so that ,i am really very well up on the subject1 and ,jim ,shepherd says ,i would make a capital doctor4 ,i went along with him to the ',dissecting-room1' ',anatomical ,museum1' ',infirmary1' and ',incurable ,hospital1' and he did his best to sicken me 7as you remember befell me three years ago71 but ,i was all right1 so he says ,i am now 'hardened'6 ,it was very interesting seeing all the poor ill folk1 and it was a real pleasure to speak to them1 and joke with them1 and leave them cheery4 ,in ,germany it is evident even from his meagre notebooks that he thoroughly enjoyed life1 and entered into it with his usual zest and brightness4 ,but everything was subordinated to study4 ,he made himself master of the language1 and did his best to profit from the lectures he attended4 ,his good parents were naturally alarmed at the effects which ,german practice and thought 7more dreaded then1 perhaps1 than now7 might have upon their son4 ,he warns them against uncharitableness4 ,there is nothing so difficult1 he says1 as to convey a true and fair picture of the religious state of a people4 ,just as one's opinion of a person's character is often wholly changed on coming in contact with him1 so actual life in a country alters one's estimate of it1 and differences of circumstances and training condition the development of thought4 ,he comes to the conclusion that it is not a breach of charity to say that the ,germans are in a lower state religiously than ,scotland1 but asserts that at the same time there are many good and spiritual men among them1 and that ,germany is not so much more irreligious than1 for example1 ,london4 ,he quotes ,dorner as saying of missionary work1 ,you send more money1 but we send more men4 ,at that time he was beginning to understand ,dorner's lectures1 and says they are very good and very useful1 especially for ,germany4 ,for instance1 he has been defending the doctrine of the ,trinity1 the personality of the ,holy ,ghost1 the ,divinity of ,christ1 and eternal punishment4 ,he is very practical and thorough4 ,his attachment to ,dorner grew as is witnessed by the following letter3-- ,dorner is a thoroughly good and very able man1 and ,i have found your remark true1 for ,i have already got a great deal of good from his lectures on ,romans4 ,he is at present lecturing on the #dth chapter1 and since ,i began to understand him ,i have enjoyed his lectures very much2 formerly the first few chapters of ,romans seemed to me almost unintelligible1 but ,i now see not only the meaning of the separate verses1 but the grand line of thought and argument running through the whole1 and ,i have a far clearer conception of many of the grandest ,gospel doctrines than ,i had before1 and especially of the nature of ,christ's sacrifice for sin1 and the necessity lying on ,god to punish sin4 ,i wish ,i could send you some extracts from the lectures to show you how very good they are1 but ,i can only give you one illustration4 ,on iii4 #bh--which ,luther translates1 ',we conclude1 then1 that a man is justified by faith alone1 without the deeds of the law'--he remarked that the ,romanists misrepresent the meaning of this1 and accuse ,luther of ,antinomianism1 but 7he added7 ,luther's position is simply this3 ',the fruit does not make the tree1 but a good tree cannot be without fruit4' ,when he was lecturing on iii4 #be1 where the question comes up whether ,christ was merely the ,altar for the propitiatory sacrifice or ,himself the ,sacrifice1 he quoted ,dr4 ,chalmers and another ,scotch theologian with extreme approval1 viz41 ,morison--do you know who he is8 7,dorner took strongly the view that ,christ was ,himself the ,sacrifice47 ,it is a great pleasure to hear him reading the verses of the passage he is to examine1 for he does it with such earnestness and impressiveness that they seem to have double the meaning that they have ordinarily2 he has a great deal of eloquence in him1 and ,i like him very much4 ,i always read ,meyer's ,commentary on ,romans before going to the class1 so that ,i am studying ,romans very thoroughly1 and as the other ,professor ,i attend is lecturing on ,paul's ,teaching1 and has been lecturing on his ,life1 ,i shall know a good deal more of ,paul before ,i come back4 ,on ,wednesday1 the #ith1 ,i bought two ,commentaries--,de ,wette on ,psalms1 and ,meyer on ,romans2 they were rolled up in a sheet of paper taken out of an old book1 containing some sixteen pages4 ,i happened to glance at it in unfolding it1 and my attention was caught by these words1 in ,german1 of which the following is a translation3 ',look upon your children as just so many flowers1 which have been lent to you out of ,god's garden2 the flowers may wither or die1 yet thank ,god that ,he has lent them to you for one summer4' ,i thought at once that ,i had surely known the style long ago1 and on glancing down the pages ,i was not at all surprised to find where the letter broke off--',s4 ,r4-- ,aberdeen1 ,march #gth1 #afcg4' ,was it not strange to come in that odd way on a ,german translation of ,samuel ,rutherford's ,letters8 7,see if you can find the passage47 ,i also notice1 in the bookseller's catalogue1 that ,bunyan's works are all translated1 also ,spurgeon's1 ',schonberg-,cotta ,family1' ,mrs4 ,henry ,wood's novels1 etc4 ,in the autumn of #ahgc ,mr4 ,elmslie came to ,london4 ,four years previously ,dr4 ,dykes had assumed the pastorate of the church at ,regent ,square4 ,his health made it necessary for him to receive1 from the commencement1 assistance in his work4 ,he was always anxious to secure the services of young men who might be trained under him for high achievements in later years4 ,he heard of ,mr4 ,elmslie's brilliant promise and invited him to fill the position1 then vacant1 of assistant to himself4 ,the invitation was accepted1 and ,mr4 ,elmslie settled in ,london4 ,at ,regent ,square he flung himself into the work of the congregation with eager sympathy4 ,he rapidly became popular and was made welcome in every home4 ,in ,dr4 ,dykes he found a wise and kind helper1 to whom he became warmly attached4 ,he appreciated his methods of working and his power as a preacher2 but most of all he was struck by that grace of devotional fervour which gave ,dr4 ,dykes' prayers so constraining a power to draw the souls of his people into communion with ,god4 ,nothing could have been brighter and happier than the life of the young preacher in his new surroundings1 and his contagious enthusiasm and energy reacted on all who knew him4 ,here in ,london1 at the busy centre of so much of the world's activity1 his eager1 questioning spirit found material for its restless enquiries2 whilst that knowledge of human nature and its needs1 which lay at the back of his most powerful spiritual work in later years1 was slowly moulded by the opportunities of this time4 ,he describes in a letter to his mother the opening of his pulpit work at ,regent ,square4 ,his chief fear was for his voice3 ,it looked such a distance1 he writes1 to the faces in the end gallery4 ,he got a friend to sit at the far end of the church1 just over the clock1 with a handkerchief which he was to wave if the speaker were inaudible4 ,the subject of his sermon was1 ,the blood of ,jesus ,christ cleanseth us from all sin4 ,it is curious that the only despondent note that sounds through his correspondence at this time is the lamentation that he is unfitted for the pulpit4 ,repeatedly he expresses the fear that he will never make a preacher4 ,he feels stiff and ill at ease4 ,official trappings of any kind he always disliked2 and the pulpit robes1 which he afterwards1 as far as possible1 discarded1 he even then1 as he told ,dr4 ,dykes1 detested4 ,i find it1 he writes1 most hopeless to get anything ,i much care to say1 and even then it is a perplexity generally to see what really is the reason4 ,i am at the very point of giving over preaching altogether4 ,again1 ,i am more sure than ever that ,i am not a preacher1 ,romps with ,mr4 ,turnbull's children's singing-class are1 on the whole1 the most satisfactory occupation ,i know of4 ,these doubts and discouragements are not surprising4 ,from the very first ,dr4 ,elmslie conceived of the ,christian ,faith in a deep1 comprehensive way1 and its ideals of purity and holiness touched and warmed his nature at many points4 ,just because the outline was so large the filling-in took years to accomplish4 ,it was only by continuous and patient self-analysis1 by long observation and study of his fellow-men1 that he was able to meet the needs of humanity1 at all points1 with a message which no one interpreted more largely4 ,his sermons at ,regent ,square are sketches and outlines which experience alone could embody and complete4 ,i have been much struck1 in preparing a selection of his sermons for the press1 with the growth of their composition4 ,the sermon1 for example1 which stands first in this volume is1 ,i think1 the earliest he ever wrote4 ,but the sermon1 as it was last preached and is now printed1 is not the sermon as he wrote it4 ,the latter1 though in outline identical1 has been emptied of its original contents and re-filled out of the abundance of a heart which had grown in deeper knowledge of human needs and the approaches of ,divine compassion4 ,his greatest satisfaction he found in his intercourse with the young men in the congregation4 ,at the ,young ,men's ,society1 he writes1 ,i have been chairman for some time1 and have to sum up3 it costs me no preparation1 and yet how they listen1 and how ,i feel ,i can sway them as ,i please6 ,i enjoy that kind of speaking4 ,it was at the close of these weekly discussions that ,mr4 ,elmslie and ,i used often to meet4 ,our homeward paths were not identical1 but we used to imagine that we were alternately escorting one another home as we spent a measurable portion of many a night upon the pavement1 heedless of the thinning traffic1 in keen debate over some of those deep insoluble problems which1 ,i am glad to think1 trouble his eager heart no longer4 ,i have long believed1 he writes1 thinking to be more unhealthy than fever1 cholera1 bad drains1 etc4 ,i would give a good deal to be only an animal now and then4 ,almost the first hopeful word about his preaching in ,regent ,square occurs in the following passage2 it is interesting otherwise3-- ,on ,monday evening ,i was at ,mr4 ,bell's4 ,he pressed me to stay2 thought ,i should not be a ,professor2 meant for a preacher2 would have great power2 something quite peculiar about my sermons2 made ,christ and everything so real1 and near1 and helpful2 and my prayers always did him good1 etc41 etc4 ,curious1 that in my sermons tells with everybody1 for it comes from my line of reading and thinking at college1 especially from the ,german books on ,christ1 such as ,strauss2 they made me trust ,him as a ,person rather than a doctrine2 besides1 ,i know ,i have come to regard ,him all round differently in consequence4 ,i have had to pay dearly for the reading1 and have often wished ,i had not1 so it is a little comfort to find that my coming through it makes me more helpful now4 ,the following is worth quoting as an instance of his ready resource3-- #dh1 ,,regent ,,square1 ,tuesday4 ,,my ,,dear ,,folks1--,on ,saturday morning a shabby man called1 said he was a cousin of ,dykes1 needing money too1 etc41 just come from ,america--awkward ,dykes on ,continent4 ,i saw he was an impostor1 so resolved to get rid of him4 ,i answered1 ',it is awkward4' ,then he said1 ',what is to become of me8 ,i look to you1 sir4' ',nothing will come of that1 ,i fear4' ',but are you not ,dr4 ,dykes's assistant8' ',yes1 ,i assist him1 but not his relatives4' ',well1 but1 sir1 what would you advise me to do8' ',to say ,good morning1 and not lose more of your time here4' ,as he got up he rubbed his stomach and said1 ',i have had no breakfast to-day4' ',very hard that mine is over1 and my landlady does not like to have to make a second2 do you often go without food8' ',many and many a time1 sir4' ',ah1 the doctor says it is good for the health6 ,i wish ,i looked as well-fed as you do1 going without breakfast4 ,it must be economical4 ,good morning4' ,and we parted with mutual grins4 ,among the congregation at ,regent ,square ,mr4 ,elmslie formed many friendships4 ,he conceived a warm regard for ,professor ,burdon-,sanderson 7now of ,oxford7 and his wife2 and other names might be mentioned of those who became lifelong friends4 ,among men who have since become well known1 he saw something of ,professor ,g4 ,j4 ,romanes1 who was then an occasional visitor at ,regent ,square4 ,about this time he describes a meeting with ,macdonell of the ,times1 whom he speaks of as full of light4 ,on the same occasion he met ,dr4 ,marcus ,dods for1 ,i think1 the first time4 ,dods1 ,i like very much1 is his brief comment4 99 99 99 99 99 ,two years after his first arrival in ,london ,mr4 ,elmslie settled in ,willesden as minister of the ,presbyterian ,congregation there4 ,when he left ,scotland in #ahgc he had formed no resolve to sever his ecclesiastical connection with that country4 ,circumstances and inclination1 however1 kept him in the south4 ,he was much impressed with the type of congregation which represented ,english ,presbyterianism at ,regent ,square4 ,for many members of the session he had a warm respect and friendly admiration4 ,he was interested in the experimental position of a ,church1 such as the ,presbyterian one in ,england1 comparatively young and small4 ,the appeal that came to him from ,willesden was direct and urgent4 ,it is not to be wondered at that he yielded1 at first rather reluctantly1 to its pleading4 ,the next eight years of his life were spent in active ministry in this little metropolitan suburb4 ,when ,mr4 ,elmslie came to ,willesden the place was much less populous than it has since become4 ,the streets were only partially lighted4 ,the road from the ,junction ,station to the little village of ,harlesden1 which is now a continuous row of shops and houses1 passed then between ragged hedges1 under a canopy of elms4 ,the ,presbyterian ,church was not built1 but services were held in a hall1 which was the first building the ,scotch residents put up4 ,mr4 ,elmslie took rooms near the site of the prospective church1 but shortly after moved to the little house in ,manor ,villas which belonged to the chapel-keeper and his wife--,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,oxlade--a worthy couple1 who returned the respect with which he regarded them by a loving admiration for the best man1 as they phrased it1 whom they ever knew4 ,on ,november #bcrd1 #ahge1 ,mr4 ,elmslie was duly ordained4 ,his dear mother was present at the service1 and many friends4 ,i had been with him during the earlier part of the day4 ,among other subjects of conversation we had been anticipating an episcopal discussion on the ethics of betting4 ,he recognized the difficulty of the subject1 and as he got more hopelessly perplexed in his effort to justify an absolute prohibition of the practice on grounds which could be intellectually defended1 he turned1 ,i remember1 to his mother with a look of comical helplessness3 ,here am ,i going to be ordained1 and ,i don't even know why it's wrong to bet4 ,the congregation under his watchful care grew and prospered4 ,a more united body of people never kept together in corporate life1 and this happy result was due in chief measure to the unwearied tact and resource of the young minister4 ,in the spring of the following year the new church was completed and opened for public worship4 ,mr4 ,elmslie seemed to be able to draw into it men of all shades of religious opinion1 and some even whose family traditions were at variance with evangelical orthodoxy4 ,one of the distinguished sons of a famous ,unitarian household was a fellow-worshipper with ,ned ,wright the evangelist4 ,throughout the whole of the little community which he ruled1 for young and old alike1 there was life1 energy1 and kindly charity4 ,he felt that the path of ,christian living was not to be trodden without ardent effort2 and his example was at once a stimulus to the strong and an encouragement to the weak4 ,your prayers1 said a lady to him at this time1 always make me feel that it is a terribly difficult thing to be a ,christian--but you can't think what a lot of good they do me4 ,the year after 7#ahgg7 ,mr4 ,elmslie commenced mission work4 ,the ,london and ,north ,western ,railway ,company had just built an ,institute for their employs who are housed in large numbers in what is known as the ,railway ,village1 at ,willesden ,junction4 ,above the recreation rooms in the new building was a large hall1 which was placed at the disposal of ,mr4 ,elmslie1 by the directors1 for ,sunday services4 ,he willingly took advantage of this kindness to gain a further hold on men whose hearts1 in many cases1 he had already reached4 ,an engine-driver1 who had been long ill1 remarked to a friend about him3 ,he comes here1 has a long chat1 and tells me about many things2 but never lets me feel he knows more than ,i do4 ,the services then commenced are still continued under the oversight of ,mr4 ,elmslie's successor4 ,four years later another mission was started from ,willesden which has since grown into an independent charge4 ,the district of ,college ,park came into being beneath ,mr4 ,elmslie's eyes1 and its spiritual needs attracted his attention4 ,he applied to the ,london ,school ,board for use of a schoolroom in which to hold ,sunday services4 ,the application having failed he bought1 in the following year1 along with his office-bearers1 the site for a hall and church4 ,the hall was at once built1 and by the kindness of ,mr4 ,andrew ,wark1 and other friends to whom ,mr4 ,elmslie made a personal appeal1 the money to meet the cost was subscribed4 ,the church has been more recently completed4 ,one noticeable feature in his work at ,willesden was his power to attract the young4 ,i remember his saying on one occasion1 half jestingly1 that he liked to make children happy1 as he knew how miserable they would be when they grew up4 ,he meant that the strain of living was bound to tell1 and that children should have all the happiness which can be enjoyed in the elasticity of youth4 ,i do not know which were more attractive to the young people of ,willesden--his children's sermons1 or the sweets which he used to produce from mysterious stores when they came to visit him4 ,both were excellent and both did good4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the following contains an interesting account of his pastoral work1 and is worth quoting at length3-- ,though it is late1 and the text for ,sunday 7,communion7 has not been fixed yet1 ,i am going to tell you a very sad story1 that has made me think of many things4 ,over a year ago ,mrs4 ,x--------1 on my recommendation1 engaged as governess a ,miss ,y--------1 a great friend of ,mrs4 ,z--------1 who asked that she might be very kindly treated1 because she had had a deal to bear1 and was all but disgusted with religion4 ,she was a bright young girl1 very pretty and graceful1 clever in talk and repartee4 ,often ,i wished to find a way of showing her some kindness1 but naturally that was hardly possible4 ,however1 ,i knew that both ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,g-------- were good to her4 ,she was to have left last ,saturday1 but took suddenly unwell--had to go to bed4 ,on the same day ,i called in at ,mrs4 ,g--------'s on my way to say good-bye to ,miss ,y--------2 learning of her attack1 ,i did not go on4444 ,mrs4 ,g-------- had given her some eau-de-,cologne1 and she had liked it much1 so ,i took with me my little spray bottle4 ,her mother was with her2 she looked wretchedly ill in face1 eyes1 and hands1 but spoke in a very firm voice1 and that made me think there was certainly no immediate danger4 ,i at once told her about the spray bottle1 and making her shut her eyes1 applied it on her temples4 ,she said it was delicious1 and took it in her hands4 ,i cannot try to describe her talk1 for it was broken by moments of wandering1 when she said very odd things1 and in the midst she grew sick1 and ,i had to go outside2 she was too ill then to say much4 ,i deemed it kind not to remain1 but had a short1 simple prayer4 ,she said1 very earnestly1 ',thank you so much for that6' ,i told her ,i would come again1 and she must not fear to say to me all she wished4 ,she answered1 ',yes1 come again4' ,thursday was a very busy day1 for ,i had many engagements in ,london4 ,though ,i tried hard1 ,i could not get home early1 but it would have made no difference4 ,she had been delirious night and day1 with occasional intervals1 and died at a quarter to three in the afternoon4 ,she was only twenty-three4 444 ,j-------- ,g-------- went up and held her hands4 ,she struggled for a moment or two1 and then let her head down1 and while he spoke to her1 quieting her1 she said she was going to be good and sleep now4 ,her wild eyes shut at last1 and she was in a sleep1 such as she had not had since ,saturday4 ,the mother and ,mrs4 ,g-------- stole out1 leaving only a sister1 thinking it was recovery2 but it was death4 ,in ten minutes1 with a little sigh1 she ceased to breathe4 ,mr4 ,g-------- was her great friend1 and she died in his arms4 ,you can hardly think how sad her death has made me4 ,so many forlorn things are about it that ,i have no time to write4 ,those lonely nights of agony and death-like sickness1 that she had said nothing about at the time1 believing herself dying1 a governess among strangers1 etc4 ,two things ,i am glad of--that ,mrs4 ,g-------- was with her one night1 and that ,i thought of the spray bottle4 ,she said to me1 ',you had ,mrs4 ,g-------- to nurse you2 is not she an angel8' and ,i said1 ',yes1 as much as if she had wings1' and ,i meant it4 ,then her sisters told me that all that last night and day1 till close on the end1 my little bottle was never out of her hand2 the coolness of the air and the softness of the spray relieved her sickness so much4 ,once1 when in a spasm she jerked the bottle on the floor1 she cried1 for fear it was broken4 ,the mother has sent a message asking if she may keep it1 since it was the last thing in her child's hand1 and the last that gave her any pleasure4 ,it seems1 too1 that she spoke more than once of my prayer for her4 ,before the mother left last night to go home1 she said to ,mrs4 ,g--------1 ',i shall always love you and your husband for what you have done for my child4 ,your kindness to her and the preaching she heard in your church did her so much good4 ,she came to you with her life embittered1 and with her religious beliefs nearly gone4 ,only a month ago she told me they had all come back again1 and she understood ,christ better1 and believed in ,him more1 because of the way ,mr4 ,elmslie preached of him1 and we all have seen that this last year at ,willesden has been the happiest in all her life4 ,if she had been taken a year ago our recollections would have been very1 very sad2 now it is different1' and then the poor lady burst out crying4 ,to-day ,i tried hard to get some white roses to lay on her ere the body is taken home1 but ,i could only get some smaller white flowers1 and maiden-hair ferns4 ,mrs4 ,g-------- had also got a basket of flowers1 and ,i think the sight of them will comfort the old folks at home a little1 as also a letter ,i have sent the poor mammy1 saying some kind things about her lassie4 ,many other touching things the poor girl said and did come to my mind1 and ,i could tell you more1 but there is not time4 ,i called it a sad story1 but in some ways it is not sad4 ,indeed1 ,i almost think that it is death alone that makes life at all sacred4 ,all these things have made me think that ,christ's account of the judgment must be quite real4 ,i mean the ',inasmuch as ye did it to one of these1' etc41 for that is just how we would feel1 that is just how the poor mother of the dead girl felt4 ,there is nothing to thank ,god for more than to have been able to do a kindness to a dying soul4 ,to think that a poor troubled soul has gone out of the pain and tiredness of life straight into the arms of ,god from yours1 with the touch of pitying hands fresh on it2 to feel ,god sees that1 and knows those hands were yours1 seems to me to bring you and ,god very near to each other4 ,if it be true that ,he loves 'the souls that ,he hath made1' surely ,he must love you for loving them4 ,i do not think it would matter very much about other things1 if you had loved a good deal4 ,if a little child said1 as you were being turned away1 ',he made me so happy6' and another1 ',he fed and clothed me2' and another1 ',he held me so gently in the agony of death1' even if he were a very sinful man1 what could ,god do to him who had been good to the 'little ones'8 ,the ,apostle ,john had thought of it1 and said1 ',he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in ,god1' and ,paul must have been in the same mind when he wrote #a ,cor4 xiii4 ,they were very bright and happy1 those ,willesden days with their expanding usefulness2 and before ,mr4 ,elmslie left the district his life had been crowned by the commencement of that heart-union with another which seemed to more than double the separate influence of each for good4 ,he worked unremittingly1 and even his holidays were not given to idleness or rest4 ,when he came to ,london he knew little of ,french1 and one of his first holidays was spent in ,paris1 where he worked at the language with conscientious thoroughness1 and obtained an adequate mastery over its difficulties4 ,he returned to ,paris on another occasion for further study1 and one late summer he spent in ,rome studying ,italian4 ,his second visit to ,paris was very helpful to him in more ways than one1 especially in the influence exercised upon him by ,bersier4 ,i find that the #cj ,i spent on going to ,paris is going to pay me far more than ,i thought of1 not merely in ,french1 though ,i rejoice in that daily1 but in preaching4 ,perhaps you remember me saying that ,i had got several hints from the style of ,bersier1 who spoke1 not read--mainly in letting out1 adopting a free1 direct style1 variation1 etc4 ,since coming back ,i have had constantly to preach very badly prepared2 but ,i knew that 7partly in consequence7 ,i was much more free1 bold1 and roused4 ,on ,sunday ,i was very ill-prepared1 nothing written1 even order of thoughts not fixed2 and ,i did not stick1 even1 to the line intended2 but feeling this1 ,i let out tremendously in vehemence and language4 ,i saw how it took1 and several spoke4 ,yesterday two old folks were on the sermon1 and then they said1 ',but ever since you came back from ,paris you have been so much improved1' etc41 etc4 ,and indeed1 ,i have heard more of my sermons during the last few weeks than ever before4 ,so ,i owe a debt to ,m4 ,bersier4 ,another item1 however1 is1 ,i fancy1 that ,paris made some things a little more real to me than they were before4 ,during all these years ,mr4 ,elmslie's reading was wide and various4 ,at the same time it was not difficult to see that the subject that interested him most was the study of man1 and the books that attracted him were those that threw light upon the actions and passions of men4 ,when he returned from ,paris for the first time1 for example1 the author of whom he was most full was ,rousseau--not ,rousseau the philosopher and speculative thinker--but the ,rousseau of the ,confessions--with their strange candour and unblushing avowals4 ,he read little of the works of the great imaginative masters of ,english prose or verse4 ,if he did read a volume of ,tennyson or ,ruskin1 for example1 his criticisms were always brilliant and penetrating2 but he never nourished his spirit upon their loftier utterances1 nor was his style moulded by the melody of theirs4 ,one exception ,i should perhaps make4 ,his study of ,george ,eliot was frequent and appreciative4 ,one of his students has told us how1 shortly before his own death1 he referred to the scene in which ,mr4 ,tulliver's is described to point a characteristic lesson in theology and charity4 ,the passage was a favourite one1 from the day when a friend first gave him the ,mill on the ,floss to read4 ,i remember another remark of his about ,george ,eliot which is worth quoting1 but to appreciate its point ,i must introduce a word of explanation4 ,i had1 just at that time1 drawn up a memorial on a subject in which we were both interested4 ,avoiding the conventional wharfoes which ,uncle ,remus has satirized in such documents1 ,i had worded the appeal with perhaps exaggerated directness4 ,each sentence contained a distinct proposition1 and the whole was expressed with something of that oracular emphasis with which1 in those days1 ,victor ,hugo used1 from time to time1 to address the citizens of ,paris4 ,after talking of this composition1 and the subject of which it formed part1 the conversation turned on ,george ,eliot4 ,i referred to ,romola--especially to the closing scenes in the life of ,savonarola1 which1 as it has always seemed to me1 touch the highest point that has been reached in analysis of the drama of spiritual conflict4 ,as ,i recalled the passage in which the disciplined imagination of the writer shows us the great ,florentine stripped1 one after another1 of all those dazzling evidences of divine favour with which he used to feed his soul in pride1 till there is nothing left to tell him of the unforsaking love of ,god save the lowly witness of his own bowed and penitent heart1 the eyes of my companion grew bright with a large approval4 ,after a pause he said1 ,if we find ,george ,eliot is not in heaven when we get there1 ,i think you and ,i will have to draw up a memorial--in the style of ,victor ,hugo4 ,when one thinks of the versatility of ,dr4 ,elmslie's mind1 and of the keenness of his intelligence1 one feels that he might have won laurels in any domain of intellectual effort4 ,and yet theology was the one subject on which his heart was set4 ,he conceived of it grandly and nobly4 ,he believed in it in that deep1 derivative sense in which it is referred to by ,carlyle in the opening to his story of the ,puritan revolt1 as a knowledge of ,god1 the ,maker1 and of ,his laws4 ,and for him ,christ was the ,divine ,lawgiver--sole ,lord of his conscience as well as ,saviour of his spirit4 ,for me at least1 the facts of ,christianity seemed always to grow larger and more solemn as he pressed their spiritual significance2 its doctrines seemed to grow more real as he pierced beneath the forms in which they are encased to explore their ethical contents4 ,god and man1 and the relations between them1 were the absorbing subjects of his study4 ,it was his constant brooding over human nature as seen in the light of ,divine pity1 which gave its largeness to his measurement alike of the deadly hatefulness of sin and of the atoning charity of ,christ4 ,sin was for him a thing far more terrible than any punishment which could possibly await it2 and his sense of its dread1 though still expiable1 terror gave to him his ,christlike eagerness to watch for the faintest signs of contrition and amendment4 ,the following passage in a letter written to his mother some years earlier contains1 it seems to me1 the heart and soul of all his preaching4 ,am very much touched to hear about the poor ,doctor4 ,no matter what he may have done1 with his disordered brain and troubled home life1 ,i had rather go into the next world like him than like most of those who have condemned1 though there were even nothing more than that near the end he tried a little to do right1 and had a pitiful wish in his heart to be at rest1 and go back to his old mother1 and live a ,christian life4 ,and if it is really true that there is a heavenly ,father who pities sinful men1 and a ,christ who died to save them1 then ,i think my mammy1 in helping him only but a little to better thoughts and hopes1 did a greater thing than most deeds men call great4 ,any way1 she has the satisfaction of having done kindly by an unfortunate man1 and of knowing that it is all well with him--unless1 indeed1 ,christ was altogether mistaken4 ,it is not the first time1 either1 that she has done that sort of thing4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in #ahhj he was appointed tutor of ,hebrew in the ,presbyterian ,college1 ,london1 and carried on the work along with that of his congregation in ,willesden4 ,he made himself very popular with the students1 and when a permanent appointment came to be made in #ahhc1 he was unanimously elected ,professor of ,hebrew4 ,he writes3 ,it seems that the speeches of ,walton1 ,fraser1 and ,watson were just perfect1 so earnest and generous1 and loving and hopeful4 ,that put the ,synod into a melting and happy mood4 ,all yesterday ,i felt very grave1 and almost afraid4 ,i see that a very great thing1 of good or evil1 has happened in my life4 ,god grant that it may be for good4 ,almost immediately after his appointment to the ,professorship1 he married ,kate1 daughter of ,mr4 ,alexander ,ross1 formerly ,rector of the ,grammar ,school1 ,campbeltown4 ,the home which he made first at ,upper ,roundwood1 ,willesden1 then at #ca1 ,blomfield ,road1 ,maida ,vale1 will ever have the brightest associations for his friends4 ,he had all the qualities that fit a man to bless and grace married life4 ,when his son and only child was born it seemed as if he were drinking the richest happiness of life in its fulness4 ,i shrink from quoting words so sacred and tender as these which ,i take from a letter to his wife1 but ,i cannot otherwise convey the full truth3-- ,it makes me so glad1 dear1 every time ,i think of it1 to know that we chose each other for no base worldly motives1 but out of pure love and esteem for what 7with all faults and defects7 was good1 and tender1 and true1 in one another4 ,it was not for the mean things that the world and fashion make much of and worship that we two came together1 meaning to go hand in hand through life with mutual help and kindness4 ,we knew quite well the world's ways1 and we could feel the pressure of its lower estimates and aims4 ,but this act at least was done not with shallow hearts and for mean ends1 but in honest friendship out of true affection1 and with a very earnest wish to do only what was good and right1 and to help each other to live a happy and a noble life4 ,such a life it was1 though its years were few2 and when the news of his death came1 amid all the absorbing and confounding regrets which filled many minds1 the thought was ever uppermost of the wife and child left desolate in the home that had been so full of sunshine4 ,dr4 ,elmslie gave himself unsparingly to the work of his chair4 ,he declined preaching engagements1 and made zealous preparation for his classes4 ,apart from his own high standard of duty1 he greatly respected the opinion of students4 ,he thought ,professors could have no fairer judges4 ,the diligent study of the ,old ,testament1 with the aid of the best ,german commentaries1 was of course the main part of his preparatory work4 ,but he did more with dictionaries than with commentaries1 and made up his mind for himself4 ,he always kept pace with the progress of research1 and followed with deep attention the absorbing discussions of recent years on the structure of the ,old ,testament4 ,as he was himself so chary in expressing publicly the conclusions he had arrived at on these subjects1 it would not be right for me to say much4 ,of this1 at least1 he was sure1 that the worth and message of the ,old ,testament were unimpaired by criticism1 and would be so whatever the ultimate conclusion might be4 ,he was also exceedingly sceptical as to the finality of the critical verdicts generally accepted at present3 he believed that the analysis would be carried much farther4 ,but although he diligently studied these things1 and was an accurate and exact grammarian1 he had his own theory of the duties of a ,professor1 which cannot be better described than in his own words1 in an anonymous article contributed to the ,british ,weekly for ,september #afth1 #ahhg4 ,there he says-- ,theological colleges are not in the first instance shrines of culture or high places of abstract erudition1 but factories of preachers and pastors4 ,they are not so much fountains of pure scholarship1 but are rather to be classed with schools of medicine and institutes of technical education4 ,their function is not to produce great theologians1 but to train efficient ministers--though they will hardly do that without possessing all that is essential to do the other4 ,the ideal ,professor is not your dungeon of learning1 in whose depths he and his pupils are buried away from all practical life and usefulness4 ,information is good1 in large measure indispensable1 but the rarer gift of the heaven-born teacher is infinitely more4 ,the old institution of the lecture-- pretentious1 laborious1 in every sense exhaustive--must vanish4 ,what was spun out into an hour of dry-as-dust detail must be struck off in ten minutes of bright1 sharp1 suggestive sketching4 ,it is the difference between the heavy leading article of our newspapers and the crisp incisiveness of the ,french press4 ,there must be much more teaching from text-books1 and direct instruction from the ,bible and human life4 ,dogmatic must deal less with theories and mouldy controversies1 and more with the actual forces of sin and salvation4 ,exegetic cannot be allowed to fool away a whole session in a wearisome analysis of a few chapters of an epistle or a prophecy1 fumbling and mumbling over verbal trivialities1 blind to the ,divine grandeurs that are enshrined within1 while the students are left without even a bird's-eye view of the contents of the ,bible as a whole1 and destitute of any adequate conception of its vital majesty and meaning4 ,above all1 a new scope and purpose must be given to the teaching of ,practical ,theology4 ,instead of a few lectures on the doctrine of the ,church1 and the ideal construction of a sermon1 and the theoretical discharge of pastoral duty1 this ought to constitute the crowning and chief study in the curriculum4 ,and it should be in the form1 not of teaching1 but of actual training4 ,montaigne complained of his physicians that they knew much of ,galen1 and little about me4 ,they manage better in medical education now4 ,fancy the souls of tempted and sick men1 women1 and children handed over to the unpractised mercies of our book-taught young ministers4 ,colleges cannot quite mend this difficulty2 but they might do much4 ,and still more would be done if each student could be secured a year of travel abroad1 and after that be required to serve an apprenticeship as curate or evangelist in connection with our larger congregations4 ,through the kindness of my friend ,mr4 ,w4 ,d4 ,wright1 ,b4,a41 a student in the ,english ,presbyterian ,college1 ,i have received some very interesting reminiscences from his students4 ,space does not permit me to give them fully1 but they show that ,elmslie acted up to his own conception of a ,professor's duties4 ,one gentleman says-- ,in recalling my impressions of ,professor ,elmslie1 nothing strikes me so forcibly as his unfailing gentleness towards his students4 ,it was very seldom indeed that any student was inattentive or troublesome in class1 but when anything of the kind did occur ,elmslie never spoke a word to the offender1 and but for the pained flush on his face1 one would have thought he had not noticed the occurrence4 ,again1 when a student had not prepared his ,hebrew lesson1 and was unable to read it1 ,elmslie always appeared more ashamed than the student himself1 but never said a word in blame or warning4 ,only he was afterwards chary of asking the same student to read4 ,elmslie was always ready to answer questions or meet any difficulties raised by the students1 and he was often more eloquent on these occasions than when engaged in the ordinary routine of the class4 ,he had rather a dislike for the schoolmaster's work that he was compelled to do with junior students1 and hurried the class on until they were able to read passages in ,hebrew4 ,he did not aim so much at turning out ,hebrew scholars as at making preachers1 with a deep interest in ,hebrew literature1 and imbued with its spirit4 ,if he could only secure our interest in a ,hebrew author1 and enlist our sympathies1 he was willing to excuse any ignorance of ours in regard to grammar or syntax4 ,another says-- ,perhaps my most vivid remembrances of ,dr4 ,elmslie collect round his criticisms upon his students' trial discourses4 ,always kind1 invariably conciliatory1 in his criticism1 yet he pointed out very plainly the defects1 and indicated what was lacking with unfailing clearness of judgment4 ,even in the midst of his rebukes he would frequently take the bitterness away by some half-playful remark or reference to his own experiences4444 ,but better than any criticisms were his own concluding remarks on the text4 ,compressed1 as they had to be1 into a very few minutes1 the whole intensity of his nature was seen in them4 ,we often left the lecture-hall with our brains all astir and our hearts glowing with the inspiration of his words4 ,i rather think some of his first-year students generally thought him occasionally heretical in his remarks at the close of his criticism4 ,the one thing he could not bear was dulness1 a uniformity of mediocre unreproachableness about a sermon4 ,so he loved to give with startling effect a single side of a truth1 and thus to send us away with our minds in a state of rather anxious activity4 ,once he half-humorously gave us the advice to begin our sermons with a truth stated in an unusual1 half-heretical way1 if one liked2 for there is nothing makes people listen so attentively as a suspicion of heresy4 ,but these early doubts of our ,professor's soundness soon vanished1 and we found him1 as one has said1 'not so much broad1 as big4' ,he read to us a letter from a young man in much doubt as to whether he should enter the ,wesleyan pulpit or no4 ,his correspondent had read with relish ,dr4 ,elmslie's article on ,genesis4 ,could the ,professor tell him of any books in which points of ,christian faith were dealt with in an intelligent and convincing way8 ,he1 the correspondent1 knew of no such books4 ,dr4 ,elmslie asked our opinion4 ,i ventured to suggest that everybody had to hammer out these points of faith for himself4 ,the ,doctor was rather pleased with this remark1 and at once said1 ',oh1 yes6 indeed he has1 and to live them out too4' ,in his old students who had become ministers he took an earnest interest1 and their letters show sufficiently how they prized him4 ,i feel1 says one1 that you have inspired me with a something quite apart from the detailed work of the class--with spirit and enthusiasm for preaching4 99 99 99 99 99 ,he himself was soon drawn back to the pulpit1 and as he preached in the various ,nonconformist churches of the ,metropolis it was almost immediately felt that a new force of the first rank had appeared4 ,he preached frequently in ,brixton ,independent ,church1 then under the brilliant and devout ministry of ,james ,baldwin ,brown4 ,mr4 ,brown's health was very infirm when ,dr4 ,elmslie began to preach there1 and on his death the congregation looked to the ,professor as his natural successor4 ,ultimately a cordial invitation was given4 ,the inducements offered were great1 and the position was among the most influential ,london ,nonconformity can bestow4 ,that a change of ecclesiastical relations would have been necessitated by his acceptance would have been no difficulty to ,dr4 ,elmslie4 ,but he feared to face the physical strain involved1 and preferred to continue his work as ,professor4 ,the disappointment felt at his declinature of the invitation to ,brixton ,independent ,church was very deep1 although the members construed his refusal in the right way1 and understood that no difference of opinion on ecclesiastical polity and no doubt of their fidelity had anything to do with it4 ,some of the letters written to him were very touching4 ,among these ,i may quote the following3-- ,,dear ,,sir1--,we are1 with the exception of my husband 7who is somewhat of an invalid71 closely occupied all the week1 sometimes even the strain becoming excessive4 ,on ,sundays1 when you come1 your teaching and influence lift us above all our difficulties1 and we start for the next week full of hope1 and feeling nothing too hard to be accomplished4 ,with regard to my sons1 it is an especial boon1 because1 though they are thoughtful and good1 it has been almost impossible to get them to attend church during the last two or three years4 ,they did not meet1 perhaps1 with a single service for many weeks into which they could enter with the slightest interest1 so they stayed away4 ,we have all found our ,sundays very wearisome1 but on those you have visited us all is changed4 ,all are deeply interested1 one competing with the other in bringing forward the ideas that have interested them4 ,the writer goes on reluctantly to acquiesce in a declinature which had evidently gone to the heart of the whole household4 ,his sphere as a preacher steadily widened1 and he became1 in addition1 a most popular platform speaker at the ,may meetings in ,exeter ,hall and elsewhere4 ,there is no room to recount his triumphs1 and no need to do so4 ,all who heard him bore the same testimony4 ,if he was preaching in one of the suburbs the trains towards the time of service brought a company of admirers from all parts of ,london4 ,the chapel would be crowded to the doors4 ,when he stood up in the pulpit strangers felt surprise4 ,youthful in appearance1 unpretending in manner to the last degree1 and in the early part of the service generally nervous and restrained1 it was not till the sermon began that he showed his full powers4 ,he usually read the first prayer1 and was always glad if he could get some one to help him with the lessons and the giving out of hymns4 ,but in preaching all his powers were displayed at their highest4 ,he did not read his sermons1 but his language was as abundant and felicitous as his thought1 and his audience was always riveted4 ,alike in manner and matter he was quite original4 ,he imitated no preacher2 he did not care to listen to sermons1 and was rarely much impressed by them when he did4 ,i doubt if he ever read a volume of sermons unless it was to review them4 ,his knowledge of the ,bible and his knowledge of life gave him inexhaustible stores2 he had always matter in advance1 and never felt that sterility of mind which so often afflicts the preacher4 ,he would retell the stories of the ,old ,testament1 and make them live in the light of to-day4 ,the reality and firmness with which he grasped life--the life of toiling1 struggling1 suffering men and women--was his chief power4 ,his sympathetic imagination helped him to divine the feelings of various classes of the young men in business1 for example1 with a small salary1 and little prospect of rising1 forbidden the hope of honourable love1 and tempted to baseness from without and within4 ,he had an intense concern for the happiness of home life1 and much of his preaching was an amplification of the words-- ,to mak' a happy fireside clime ,to weans and wife2 ,that's the true pathos and sublime ,of human life4 ,mothers' hearts he would win by praying for the dear little children asleep in their beds at home4 ,young couples he would warn to keep fresh the tenderness and self-sacrifice of first love4 ,but the sermons which follow speak for themselves1 though nothing can transfer to the printed page the light and fire of which they were full as the preacher spoke them4 ,of the helpfulness of his preaching he had from time to time many testimonies1 of which he preserved a few4 ,these were very welcome to him1 far more so than any appreciation of the intellectual ability or the eloquence of his sermons4 ,this1 from one letter1 is a specimen of many more3 ,i wandered past my own church in a heavy weight of business care1 knowing that a mortgagee would this week likely take all ,i had1 and caring little where ,i wandered when ,i went in to hear you1 and was surprised at the text you preached from1 and more so at the helpful words you spoke1 which ,i hope1 by ,god's grace1 will enable me to see-- ',behind a frowning providence ,he hides a smiling face4' ,he delivered courses of lectures to ,sunday-school teachers under the auspices of the ,sunday-school ,union4 ,these were very largely attended and highly appreciated4 ,he received many letters of encouragement1 among them one from the vicar of a ,london church1 who wrote that although he could not attend them all1 owing to the exacting nature of his own work1 he listened to those he could be present at with the deepest attention and the greatest thankfulness4 ,that a great scholar should fearlessly approach these vexed questions1 and with his grasp of them be able to make them popular and understood by the people1 and above all attractive to the people1 is to me a great joy4 ,you make the ,bible a living book1 filled with people met with in workaday life4 ,you show that the social problems which superficial minds imagine are utterly new are only old difficulties under new names1 and that the ,bible has a definite word to say upon them1 and its ',thus saith the ,lord' is to be listened to still4 ,i venture to think that this is the great need of this fevered age of ours1 and ,i heartily thank you4 ,an attempt was made in #ahhh by the ,westminster ,congregational ,church1 where he had often preached with great acceptance1 to secure him as pastor4 ,this invitation he was inclined to accept4 ,the condition of the ,theological ,college was not at the time satisfactory1 and for that and other reasons it seemed not unlikely that the call would be closed with4 ,to me1 as to others of his friends1 it seemed certain that his physical strength was wholly inadequate to the position1 and ,i am glad to think of the urgency with which this view was pressed on him4 ,he was reassured about the ,college1 and gratefully declined the invitation4 ,in connection with it he received the following letter1 which reflects so much honour on all concerned that ,i venture to include it here3-- ,,london1 ,march #hth1 #ahhh4 ,,to ,,the ,,rev4 ,,professor ,,elmslie1 ,m4,a41 ,d4,d4--,we hear with sympathetic interest that the ,westminster ,church is calling you to its pastorate4 ,the traditions of the ,westminster ,church are good1 its ministry has always been highly spiritual and largely human1 and its importance and influence have been second to none among the churches of our order in this great ,metropolis4 ,we feel special interest in this call from the fact that it will involve on your part the crossing of the denominational boundary between ,presbyterianism and ,congregationalism4 ,identical though the churches practically are in the foundation of their theological belief1 we appreciate the strain upon early and sacred association which this may involve1 with1 however1 this compensation1 that1 borne in answer to a call for service and furtherance of the kingdom of ,christ1 it is a practical and valuable evidence that the sister denominations are truly wings in the one great army of ,god4 ,should you accept this call to the highly honourable post which the ,westminster ,church offers you1 we beg to assure you of the cordial welcome1 brotherly sympathy1 and1 as the occasion may arise1 the friendly co-operation of the ministers of our body4 ,it is unusual for the representatives of other churches to intervene in cases of this kind1 but understanding there may be questions in your mind as to the feelings with which you would be received into the ranks of the ,congregational ministry1 we have thought it right1 on the suggestion of a representative of the ,westminster ,church1 to give you this assurance4 ,with best wishes for your future welfare and highest prosperity1 ,yours fraternally1 ,alexander ,hannay1 ,henry ,allon1 ,j4 ,c4 ,harrison1 ,j4 ,guinness ,rogers1 ,andrew ,mearns1 ,samuel ,newth1 ,joseph ,parker1 ,robert ,f4 ,horton1 ,john ,kennedy1 ,john ,fredk4 ,stevenson1 ,r4 ,vaughan ,pryce1 ,alfred ,cave1 ,john ,stoughton1 ,henry ,robert ,reynolds4 ,it is unnecessary to refer in detail to the numerous invitations to ,presbyterian pulpits which reached him from time to time4 ,some of these were from ,scotland1 on which he looked back with mingled feelings4 ,he did not willingly turn his face to the north1 or think of it with much pleasure4 ,i worked too hard there1 he would say4 ,on the other hand1 he writes from ,edinburgh in #ahhj--;,i had a splendid talk1 fit to be printed1 with ,taylor ,innes1 ,davidson1 and ,iverach4 ,i think ,i might become a great divine with such stimulating society4 ,elmslie's connection with the ,congregationalists not only greatly heightened his estimate of the loyalty and piety still abiding in the ,nonconformist churches of ,england2 it also brought him more fully into the current of modern life4 ,he began to be deeply interested in politics1 which he had previously rather held aloof from1 became a diligent reader of newspapers1 and was led to an absorbing interest in ,socialism1 on which he delivered a memorable address in ,exeter ,hall in connection with the ,pan-,presbyterian ,council of #ahhh4 ,in politics he was an ardent ,liberal and a thoroughgoing ,home ,ruler4 99 99 99 99 99 ,dr4 ,elmslie added to his other engagements some of a literary kind4 ,he became adviser to the firm of ,messrs4 ,hodder and ,stoughton1 of #bg1 ,paternoster ,row1 and occupied this position for a few years with great satisfaction on both sides4 ,his work was to write estimates of any manuscripts ,messrs4 ,hodder and ,stoughton submitted for his consideration1 and that he did it incisively and honestly the following specimen1 selected almost at random1 will show3-- ,energetic1 intelligent1 earnest discourses on the lines of the old ,evangelical ,protestant school1 not in any way original in exposition or fresh in presentation1 but quite sensible1 vigorous1 and good4 ,that they are not up to date appears in such a reference as this3 ',the excitement caused in this country by the publication of ,essays and ,reviews1 and subsequently of ,bishop ,colenso's heretical works1 is still fresh in our memories1' etc4 ,even if thoroughly rubbed up and revised1 the sermons would only sell where writer's name would carry them1 and to some extent to preachers in search of ready-made discourses4 ,he ceased to act in this capacity some time before his death1 but continued to be a constant visitor to ,no4 #bg1 where his appearance gave pleasure to every one in the place4 ,his inaugural lecture on ,ernest ,renan was published in the excellent ,present-day ,tracts of the ,religious ,tract ,society1 and was very well received4 ,he had often heard ,renan lecture1 and was thoroughly conversant with his books4 ,to the ,expositor he made some contributions1 but in spite of pressure1 delayed publishing extended articles4 ,in ,good ,words and the ,sunday ,magazine some of his sermons were published from time to time4 ,to the ,british ,weekly he was a large contributor1 mostly of short anonymous reviews and paragraphs2 occasionally he would write an extended critique or a travel sketch4 ,but he was making ready for work as an author4 ,a remark made by ,dr4 ,marcus ,dods had sunk into his mind2 it was to the effect that men should study till they were forty1 and then publish the result of their studies4 ,he had arranged to begin writing and to give up preaching1 and had he lived this purpose would have been carried out4 ,his schemes were numerous1 but the chief was to write a book which should make the ,old ,testament intelligible--its contents and message--to the common people4 ,he had made a careful study of the ,minor ,prophets1 the result of which will shortly appear in a popular commentary4 99 99 99 99 99 ,so his life went on1 useful1 happy1 honoured1 and but too busy4 ,in #ahhh he received the degree of ,doctor of ,divinity from his ,alma ,mater4 ,in the same year he preached the opening sermon at the ,nottingham meeting of the ,congregational ,union4 ,this high honour was never before conferred on a ,presbyterian minister4 ,he enjoyed social intercourse1 and in recent years had much of it4 ,he had many pleasant ,continental holidays4 ,but the claims upon him constantly increased1 and alas6 his strength did not4 ,he had the happiness of being under the care of an accomplished and skilful physician1 who was also an intimate friend--,dr4 ,montague ,murray4 ,i need not speak of the faithful care that never ceased its vigilance4 ,but although often warned against overwork1 and constantly paying the penalty in severe headaches1 no serious danger was apprehended4 ,i am anxious to make it clear that he did not wilfully throw his life away4 ,he apprehended no danger1 and thought he was taking sufficient precautions4 ,the last summer of his life he took two ,continental holidays4 ,he loved life4 ,his last years were his best--the brightest and the fullest of influence4 ,if one had been asked to say who among his friends had the prospect of the surest happiness and the greatest influence1 he would have named ,elmslie without hesitation4 ,it was in such a noon that his sun went down4 ,he spent ,september #ahhi in the ,engadine4 ,although he enjoyed the trip he benefited from it less than he had hoped1 and began the work of his classes with a certain feeling of weariness4 ,he did not1 however1 imagine that anything was seriously wrong1 and accepted many engagements for the winter4 ,he preached with wonderful eloquence to crowded audiences in ,st4 ,john's ,wood ,presbyterian ,church on the ,sunday evenings of ,october1 and had promised to take anniversary services on ,sunday1 ,november #crd1 for the ,rev4 ,john ,watson1 ,m4,a41 of ,sefton ,park ,church1 ,liverpool4 ,although unable to go to ,college on the previous ,friday1 he was anxious not to disappoint his friend1 and accordingly went to ,liverpool4 ,his medical adviser reluctantly allowed him to preach once4 ,he officiated at the forenoon service1 getting help from one of his students in the service4 ,that afternoon he spent in bed1 and he was too unwell to return to ,london till ,wednesday4 ,dr4 ,murray saw he was seriously ill1 and ordered that all his engagements should be postponed4 ,on ,thursday1 however1 he lectured at the ,college1 but on ,friday he was prostrated1 and remained so till ,tuesday1 when unconsciousness set in4 ,he suffered from agonizing headache4 ,symptoms of diphtheritic sore throat set in on ,sunday1 ,november #ajth4 ,on ,tuesday the medical man in attendance pronounced the disease to be typhoid fever1 and after the evening of that day he was never conscious4 ,his busy brain worked on4 ,the faithful friend and physician1 who hardly left his side1 says he never heard such intelligent unconscious talk4 ,if his mind travelled to the scene of his recent journeys he would give directions in ,german about ordering rooms1 arranging for dinner and the like1 with perfect clearness4 ,more often he would fancy himself in his class-room teaching ,hebrew1 and urging the students to put heart into their work4 ,over and over he spoke to his wife of what had been the master thought of his life4 ,lifting his hand he would say with great earnestness1 ,no man can deny that ,i always preached the love of ,god4 ,that was right4 ,i am glad ,i did not puzzle poor sorrowful humanity with abstruse doctrines1 but always tried to win them to ,christ by preaching a ,god of ,love4 ,once he turned to her with wistful eyes and said1 ,kate1 ,god is ,love4 ,all ,love4 ,we will tell every one that1 but specially our own boy--at least you will1 for ,i seem to be so tired these days1 and my one wonder and trouble is1 that all these people 7meaning the nurses7 try to prevent me from going home1 where we were always so happy4 ,he was reassured for the moment1 when some familiar object was pointed out1 and asked that he should often be told that he was at home4 ,he was soon to go home indeed4 ,he recognised his wife on ,friday1 with the last signs of consciousness4 ,shortly after he became faint1 closed his eyes1 and never opened them again on earth4 ,about four o'clock on the morning of ,november #afth1 #ahhi1 he quietly passed away4 99 99 99 99 99 ,scarcely any death could have made a greater rent than this1 and the tokens of sorrow--public and private--were almost unexampled in the case of one who held no high office in ,church or ,state1 who had not lived long enough to make his mark in literature1 who had sought no fame or honour1 but had been content with doing his duty as it called him day by day4 ,the funeral service was conducted in ,marylebone ,presbyterian ,church 7,dr4 ,donald ,fraser's71 of which he was a member4 ,dr4 ,fraser and ,dr4 ,allon delivered addresses1 while ,dr4 ,dykes and ,dr4 ,monro ,gibson offered up prayer4 ,the great church was crowded with a deeply moved audience of two thousand persons1 every one of whom probably represented some word spoken or some service rendered by the kind heart then cold4 ,he was buried at ,liverpool next day by the side of his mother1 his attached friend and colleague the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,gibb1 being among those present at the interment4 ,a service was conducted at the ,presbyterian ,college1 where ,principal ,dykes delivered a deeply moving address4 ,you may send us another ,hebrew ,professor1 said he1 and we shall welcome him1 but you cannot send us another ,elmslie4 ,tributes from the ,presbyteries of the ,church1 from congregations of various denominations to which he had ministered1 from well-known ,church leaders1 from old students1 and1 not least1 from unknown men and women whom he had helped and comforted1 poured in4 ,they were too numerous to be quoted or further referred to1 but the intensity and turmoil of feeling expressed in them1 showed that the sorrow for him was as deep as its appointed signs were extensive4 ,one for whom much sympathy was felt1 his aged father1 seemed to bear up bravely against the blow4 ,he received with eager gratitude the abundant testimonies to the honour and love in which his son was held4 ,but the grief had gone to his heart1 he soon began to sink1 and died a few months later4 99 99 99 99 99 ,what was said of ,henri ,perreyve is eminently true of ,elmslie3 he was gifted for friendship and for persuasion4 ,during the last years of his life1 the period when ,i knew him intimately1 he came to what has been called the grand moral climacteric1 and all his nobler qualities were manifest in their full strength4 ,there was about him the indefinable charm of atmosphere1 at once stimulating1 elevating and composing4 ,he had an inexplicable personal attraction that drew to it whatever loving-kindness there might be in the surroundings1 as certain crystals absorb moisture from the air they breathe4 ,in his company speech became of a sweeter and purer flavour4 ,there was no austerity1 no ,pharisaism about him2 he delighted in fun and gave himself a large liberty2 but nothing he said or welcomed marred the moral beauty which he had reached through long self-discipline4 ,no one could know him long without perceiving that he was full of generous ardour for pure aims4 ,his was not the coarse ambition for the glittering prizes of life1 nor was his enthusiasm such as would have cooled with time4 ,in that delicate and watchful consideration for others1 which has been called the most endearing of human characteristics1 he could hardly be surpassed4 ,he concerned himself with the whole life of his friends1 and especially with their trials and perplexities4 ,dr4 ,elmslie was1 indeed1 one of the very few men to whom one might go in an emergency1 sure of a welcome more kindly if possible than would have been accorded in a time of prosperity4 ,his whole energies were solicitously given to the task of comforting4 ,if things could be set right he delighted in applying his singular nimbleness of mind to the situation4 ,he was adroit in action1 and almost amusingly fertile in schemes and suggestions4 ,i think it is safe to say that all his friends felt it was better worth while talking over a difficulty with him than with any one else4 ,even in cases of moral failure--perhaps ,i should say specially in those cases--he was eager to do what was possible4 ,he had a profound and compassionate sense of the frailty of men1 their sore struggles and thick temptations4 ,wherever he saw true repentance he would do his utmost to secure a fresh opportunity for the erring4 ,he thought the ,christian ,church sadly remiss in allowing so many lives to be ruined by one great fault4 ,out of an income which1 for a man of his talents1 was not great1 he gave largely1 secretly1 and with the most careful discrimination4 ,his spirit in speaking of others1 whether friends or foes was always charitable4 ,but ,i must guard against the danger of mistake4 ,he did not indulge in indiscriminate laudation4 ,his perception of character was very keen1 he was not a hero-worshipper1 and he had always a certain impatience of extravagant and unmeasured speech4 ,but he had learned the secret of not expecting from people more than they have to give1 and this1 along with the generosity of his nature1 helped him to make large allowance for what seemed unhopeful and disappointing1 and made him eager to do justice and more than justice to whatever was good4 ,on occasion however1 he would with grave kindness point out the limitations of a character1 and sometimes1 though very rarely1 he would be moved to vehemence as he spoke of modern religious ,pharisaism4 ,in conversation he was ready alike to listen and to speak4 ,nothing gave him greater delight than a long and animated talk4 ,he loved individuality in whatever sphere it was manifested1 and would often relate with delight the racy remarks made to him by poor people4 ,of decorous commonplace he was rather impatient1 and complained once that a young man of promise1 with whom he had spent a day1 had said nothing during the whole of it but what he ought to have said4 ,dr4 ,elmslie had abundantly that charity which rejoiceth not in iniquity4 ,it gave him real pain to hear of the mistakes and misfortunes of men4 ,without a trace of jealousy1 he delighted in any success or happiness that came to his friends4 ,of all virtues he most admired magnanimity1 and when he was told of generous actions1 his face would glow with pleasure4 ,to the spirit of malice and revenge he was always and utterly opposed4 ,like other public men he was occasionally attacked2 the fancied breadth of his religious views excited animosity in certain quarters and was at times the subject of anonymous letters4 ,he would regret that his critics did not know him better1 and might show pain for the moment1 but it was soon past4 ,he never in any way retaliated4 ,dr4 ,elmslie had no dmonic passion for literature4 ,for books as books he had no love1 and this indifference disturbed some of his associates not a little4 ,when he had got out of a book what he could he exchanged it for another4 ,hence his personal library was small1 consisting mostly of ,oriental literature1 and some favourite ,french and ,german works4 ,but his reading was wide1 and he knew the best in everything4 ,he was master of ,french1 ,german1 ,italian1 and ,dutch1 and had a working knowledge of other languages4 ,of his preferences in literature he did not often speak2 when he did he would say that to ,george ,eliot and ,goethe he owed much and very much4 ,no one could be his friend without perceiving that he was through and through a ,christian4 ,in his later years his doubts seemed completely conquered4 ,you saw nothing but the strength he had gained in overcoming them4 ,he held his faith with a certain large simplicity1 but with absolute conviction4 ,among all his attracting qualities the chief was his great hope in ,god4 ,he was indeed very sure of ,god4 ,latterly1 he could hardly listen without impatience to gloomy forecasts of the future4 ,he believed that all was right with the world2 that ,christ was busy saving it1 and would see of the travail of ,his soul4 ,men prone to darker thoughts loved him very much for that4 ,no sickness1 no bodily suffering1 ever altered this mood of trust and hope4 ,his dogmatic position is not easy to define4 ,although liberal in his views he disliked rashness2 and avoided giving offence so far as he could4 ,my impression is1 that he held an attitude of suspense towards many debated questions4 ,he did not feel the need of making up his mind4 ,the truths of which he was sure gave him all the message he needed1 and these were independent of the controversies of the hour4 ,but he kept an open mind1 and was ever ready to add to his working creed4 ,he could not preach what did not thoroughly possess his own soul1 but never dreamt that he had reached finality1 and ,i think was increasingly disposed to respect the doctrines1 which1 as history proves1 have stirred and commanded men4 ,a thorough ,liberal and ,nonconformist1 he knew comparatively little of the ,church of ,england1 and was repelled by its exclusive spirit1 but when told of the great qualities of the younger ,high ,church leaders1 he listened with interest and pleasure4 ,he was happy in being able to think more kindly and hopefully of men from whom he was divided in principle4 ,as has been already said1 he considered the spiritual life of ,congregationalists very deep and true2 he loved the warm old-fashioned piety he found among them1 and heartily believed in their future4 ,of the differences among ,nonconformists he made nothing1 was a vehement advocate of union1 and strongly opposed to whatever interrupted cordial relations between ,churches4 ,though never chary in speaking of his religious experiences he did not obtrude them4 ,a real belief in immortality he thought could hardly exist without other faiths being right4 ,such a belief would give life its true shape and colour4 ,he was very patient of honest doubts1 but had to make himself sure that they were honest1 not the cloak of moral laxness4 ,what he loved best to speak of was the magnificence of ,divine grace--the love of ,god commended in ,christ's death4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but it is time to lay down the pen4 ,we may apply to ,dr4 ,elmslie words1 used1 ,i think1 about an ,american writer3 his charm was of the kind that we fail to reduce to its grounds4 ,it was like that of the sweetness of a piece of music1 or the softness of fine ,september weather4 ,in a certain way it was vague1 indefinable1 inappreciable2 but it is what we must point to1 for nothing he has left behind gives any adequate idea of his powers4 ,friendship occupied an immense space in his life1 and all who knew him are conscious that1 ,now the candid face is hid1 ,the frank1 sweet tongue has ceased to move1 something has gone from them never to be replaced till that daybreak which shall unite all who belong to one another4 ,but over the sense of their own loss there rises and remains the feeling how much ,god indicates in this life of which only some small portion is fulfilled4 ,the world of expectation and love thus suddenly closed for earth must be open somewhere4 ,there must be ministries in other spheres for which he was prepared and summoned4 ,his life must--we know not how--be complete in ,him1 ,who alone of all who lived fully achieved ,his life's programme1 ,who came down from ,heaven to do ,his ,father's business1 and having done it died4 ,i4 ,,from ,,the ,,rev4 ,,professor ,,marcus ,,dods1 ,d4,d4 ,from my first acquaintance with the late ,professor ,elmslie1 ,i availed myself of every opportunity of seeing him1 for intercourse with him never failed to be inspiring4 ,our acquaintance may be said to have culminated in a five weeks' tramp through the ,black ,forest and the ,tyrol1 in company with ,professor ,drummond--to myself a never-to-be-forgotten holiday4 ,often compelled to sleep in one room1 and always thrown upon one another from sunrise to sundown1 we came to have a tolerably complete insight into one another's character4 ,and for my own part1 ,i never ceased to marvel at the unfailing good humour and gaiety with which ,elmslie put up with the little inconveniences incident to such travel1 at the brightness he diffused in four languages1 at the sparkling wit with which he seasoned the most commonplace talk1 and at the ease and felicity with which he turned his mind to the gravest problems of life and of theology1 and penetrated to the very heart of them4 ,his cleverness1 his smartness of repartee1 his nimbleness of mind1 his universal sympathy and complete intelligence were each hour a fresh surprise1 and were as exhilarating as the mountain air and the new scenes through which we were passing4 ,i have often reproached myself with not treasuring the fine sayings with which he lifted us into a region in which former difficulties were scarcely discernible and not at all disturbing4 ,but1 indeed1 one might as well have tried to bottle the atmosphere for home consumption1 for into everything he said and did he carried a buoyancy and a light all his own4 ,as a preacher ,professor ,elmslie was1 in many of the highest qualities of a preacher1 without a peer4 ,no one1 ,i think1 appreciated more highly than he the opportunity the preacher of ,christ has to apply balm to all the wounds of humanity1 and no one exercised this function with a more intelligent or tender sympathy or with happier results4 ,no human condition1 physical1 mental1 or spiritual1 seemed beyond his ken1 and none but found in him the suitable treatment4 ,his wealth of knowledge1 his unerring spiritual insight1 and his rare felicity of language gave him the ear of cultured and uncultured1 of the believer and the sceptic alike4 ,it has always seemed doubtful to some of his friends whether such exceptional aptitude for preaching should have been1 even in any degree1 sacrificed to professorial work4 ,yet he himself delighted in that work1 and the very last time ,i saw him he was full of enthusiasm for ,old ,testament studies1 and hopeful of what might be done by himself and his fellow-labourers in this field4 ,when so energetic an individuality is withdrawn the world suffers an appreciable loss2 and one cannot yet think of the place he filled1 or of the place we all hoped he would yet fill1 without a keen shoot of pain4 ,,ii4 ,,from ,,professor ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,,dear ,,mr4 ,,nicoll1--,it is futile to plead want of recollection as an excuse for what must be a too brief contribution to your little portrait1 for no one who ever knew ,elmslie could ever forget him4 ,but the truth is1 ,i never knew him well4 ,at college he was too much my senior for me to have presumed to know him1 and in after years we scarcely ever met1 except on one occasion1 for more than a passing moment4 ,i never heard ,elmslie preach1 or lecture1 or do anything public4 ,i knew him chiefly as a human being4 ,elmslie off the chair was one of the most attractive spirits who ever graced this planet4 ,it was not so much his simple character1 or the bubbling and irresistible bonhommie1 or even the amazing versatility of his gifts1 but a certain radiance that he carried with him1 a certain something that made you sun yourself in his presence1 and open the pores of your soul1 and be happy4 ,i think ,i can recall no word that he ever spoke1 or even any idea that he ever forged1 but the man made an impression on you indelibly delightful and joyous4 ,my first distinct impression of him was crossing the ,college quadrangle with ',romola' under his arm4 ,he was kind enough to stop and introduce me to the authoress1 whom ,i forthwith proceeded to cultivate assiduously4 ,shortly after this ,elmslie gave a supper-party1 a function much too rare among ,scotch students4 ,i had the honour to be invited to represent the juniors--an act of pure mercy1 for ,i then neither knew ,elmslie nor his set4 ,if ,i were now asked by a senior man at college how he could best influence his less-advanced colleagues1 ,i should answer1 ',make him your debtor for life by asking him up to your rooms4' ,of the entertainment itself--the literary entertainment1 ,i mean--,i remember little2 it was the being there that helped me4 ,and what ,i do remember ,i do not know that ,i ought to divulge1 for the pice de resistance was the ,hans ,breitman ,ballads1 which ,elmslie carved and served himself1 with extraordinary relish1 throughout most of the evening4 ,it was this same man1 unchanged by the weight of years and work1 whom ,i met several years after in the ,black ,forest1 and accompanied for some weeks in a walking tour4 ,the third member of the party was ,dr4 ,marcus ,dods1 and we tramped with our knapsacks through the ,tyrol1 the dolomite country1 and the ,saltzkammergut4 ,elmslie at first was full of the ,strasburg professors under whom he had been studying1 but after a few days ,i saw no more of his wisdom1 for he gave himself up like a schoolboy to the toys of ,st4 ,ulrich and the ,glockner glaciers4 ,but of this most perfect of all vacations nothing now remains with me but an impression of health1 sunshine1 and gentle friendship4 ,elmslie's graver side ,i can only dimly realise from the appearances he used to make in the ,theological ,society of the ,new ,college1 ,edinburgh4 ,i do not remember even the theme of any debate in which he ever took part1 but the figure and voice1 and especially the look of the student as he stood up there amidst the almost awe-stricken hush of his classmates1 lives most vividly in my mind4 ,when ,elmslie spoke every one felt that he at least had something to give1 some message of his own4 ,he never seemed to be merely saying things1 i4e4 'making a speech1' but to be thinking aloud1 and that with an intensity and originality most inspiring and impressive4 ,his voice and tone had that conviction in them which was as impossible to define as to resist4 ,i could with difficulty imagine any one moving the previous question after ,elmslie4 ,another peculiarity1 which added greatly to his power1 was that he thought with his whole face4 ,in fact1 in listening to him one did not so much hear a man speaking as see a man thinking4 ,his eyes on these occasions would become very large and full of light1 not of fire or heat1 but of a calm luminosity1 expressive of a mingled glow of reason1 conscience1 and emotion4 ,one of the last things ,i read of ,elmslie saying was that what people needed most was comfort4 ,probably he never knew how much his mission1 personally1 was to give it4 ,i presume he often preached it1 but ,i think he must always have been it4 ,for all who knew him will testify that to be in his presence was to leave care1 and live where skies were blue4 ,yours very sincerely1 ,,henry ,,drummond4 ,,brindisi1 ,march #agth1 #ahij4 ,,iii4 ,,from ,,the ,,rev4 ,,john ,,smith1 ,m4,a4 ,,broughton ,,place ,,united ,,presbyterian ,,church1 ,,edinburgh4 ,it is very difficult1 in a few sentences1 to convey to another the impression which gradually grows up from frequent contact with a nature so sympathetic1 clear-sighted1 active1 and many-sided in its activities as that of a fellow-student and friend like ,elmslie4 ,acquaintance with him was mainly confined to two widely sundered periods1 both of them anterior to the last1 crowded1 brilliant years4 ,it was during the session of #ahff-fg1 at ,king's ,college1 ,aberdeen1 that ,i first met him4 ,as every one who knew the ,aberdeen of that time is aware1 the third year was to most students peculiarly severe4 ,bain--a consummate teacher--made distinction in his class appear the blue ribbon of the college course1 for which the best men earnestly contended4 ,fuller was merciless in his demands upon his senior mathematical class1 who found1 as the months went on1 that it was less and less possible to keep him in sight4 ,and with ',davy' ,thomson there was no trifling1--fear of his sarcasm greatly helping our thirst for natural philosophy4 ,as the session advanced the chariots of most of us drave heavily4 ,elmslie1 however1 who studied everything1 seemed to do his work with a masterful ease which impressed us all4 ,he came up smiling to an examination as if it were a thing of nought4 ,study could not blanch the fresh bloom on his cheek1 or damp the lively play of spirit which characterized him then as much as in after years4 ,i have just been looking at his portrait in our class group1 and at his clear bold signature in the lithographed autographs which accompanied it4 ,to a singular extent his personal character was formed1 and his peculiar excellencies were developed1 at that early date4 ,he was1 when little more than a boy1 a man whose words clung to you1 whose ways lingered in your memory4 ,even then1 too1 he had something of that sweet hopeful ,christian spirit which was to make his preaching so helpful4 ,one student1 whose opportunities had been few1 whose struggle had been painful in the extreme1 used to speak to me with enthusiasm of ,elmslie's kindly notice and assistance4 ,while other natures were but emerging from chaos1 barely conscious to themselves1 giving but the faintest indication to others what they were to be1 he whose course was to be so soon run1 was already girt up and disciplined for life's way4 ,after our college course was completed1 ,i did not meet him till #ahgh1 when already he had been for some time minister in ,willesden4 ,on more than one occasion1 ,i stayed with him for a day or two1 and saw with my own eyes how full and many-sided a life he was living then1 even before fame came4 ,he was carrying on his studies1 advising publishers with regard to learned and bulky ,,mss41 superintending a railway mission1 maintaining in briskest activity the work of his congregation1 and in these and many other channels winning 'golden opinions from all sorts of people4' ,especially did ,i admire his faculty of adapting himself to ,english ways of thinking and feeling4 ,and amid this abounding life1 and with the promise of all that came after bright before him1 he was so unaffected and ingenuous and humble1 never shrinking from his future1 yet not feverishly anticipating it1 that it was impossible not to love him4 ,here1 too1 he showed his skill in discovering elements of strength in men whom others would dismiss as incompetent4 ,i remember a missionary who succeeded to the astonishment of everybody1 and ,i verily believe of himself1 under his kindly and stimulating superintendence4 ,it is one of the pleasant memories of my life that ,i carried the motion in ,synod which made it possible for him to be elected as permanent ,professor4 ,i remember how the ,willesden flock were between smiles and tears all that day1 and how when the second vote was carried which severed the tie between their minister and them1 they did not know whether to be grieved or glad1 so strong was their love1 so eager was their desire for his advancement4 ,no one could hear him speak that night and doubt his future4 ,all that the great world has since seen in him1 we knew to be there1 and more1 which would have been revealed had not death so soon sealed his lips4 ,of the later years1 others will speak4 ,out of these earlier memories ,i have woven--all unskilfully ,i fear1 yet with sincere affection--this modest wreath for his tomb4 ,,iv4 ,,from ,,the ,,rev4 ,,james ,,stalker1 ,d4,d4 #f ,,clairmont ,,gardens1 ,,glasgow1 ,march #bdth1 #ahij4 ,,dear ,,mr4 ,,nicoll1--,what a bright time it is to look back to6 ,there is nothing else in life afterwards quite equal to it4 ,never again can one mingle day by day with so many picked men2 never is thought so free2 never are there such discoveries and surprises4 ,those years in the ,new ,college have in the retrospect almost a dazzling brightness1 and ,elmslie contributed more1 perhaps1 than any one else to make them what they were4 ,i just missed being by his side all the four years1 for we entered together2 but after a week or so ,i left to go abroad with the ,barbours1 to whom ,i was tutor4 ,i have no recollection of him that session1 for ,i had not gone in for the bursary examination1 where any one competing with him was pretty certain to be made aware of ,elmslie to his cost4 ,next session1 when ,i returned1 ,i was of course separated from him by a year1 which makes a great difference in college life4 ,but for three sessions we must have met nearly every day1 and ,i was thrown into the closest contact with him in the committees and societies where students of the different years come together4 ,the ,theological ,society was at that time the centre of the life of the ,college4 ,under ,robertson ,smith1 ,lindsay and ,black1 whose last year was ,elmslie's first1 it had entered on a career of the most brilliant activity1 in which1 ,i suppose1 it has never faltered since4 ,we used to say1 in our exaggerative way1 that we got more good from it than from all the classes put together4 ,and indeed it would be difficult to over-estimate the gain to be obtained from debates for which the leading men prepared carefully1 being stimulated by audiences of fifty or a hundred to do their very utmost4 ,questions of ,biblical ,criticism were at that time the staple of the most important discussions2 and then were fought out in secret the very battles which are now about to be fought out in the ,church under the eyes of the world1 with very much the same division of parties and amid the play of the same passions4 ,it was here that ,elmslie first unfolded his marvellous powers as a speaker4 ,at the ,university ,i had been a member of the ,dialectic1 where there were one or two fine speakers4 ,one of them was more fluent and agreeable to listen to than any one ,i have ever heard since2 another--long ago1 alas6 gone over to the majority--spoke with a freer play of mere intellectual force than even ,elmslie possessed4 ,but ,i had never before1 and have never since1 heard speaking which1 taken all in all1 quite came up to that to which ,elmslie treated us ,friday after ,friday4 ,the combination of powers was the marvel of it--the knowledge1 the clearness of exposition1 the fecundity of ideas1 the telling force with which he put his points1 the play of fancy1 the exuberant wit and humour1 the tenderness and pathos into which he could glide for a moment if it invited him2 there was no resource which he had not at perfect command4 ,yet it was entirely without display2 he was always perfectly natural and familiar4 ,he never won a triumph which humiliated any one2 and1 whilst others by expounding the same free views excited bitter feelings of opposition1 he had the gift of saying the most revolutionary things in such a way that no one was hurt2 his weapon1 though it cut deep1 having the marvellous property of diffusing an ansthetic on the wound it made4 ,if it is necessary to throw some shade into a picture so bright1 ,i should say that in those days his speaking had one defect3 while he had always complete mastery of his subject1 he rarely made the impression that the subject had complete mastery of him4 ,he could play with it so easily1 and he could play so easily with his audience1 that1 as part of the audience1 you felt that you were not quite sure whether he was giving you all his mind or only as much of it as he considered good for you4 ,he had not yet been gripped so tightly by the realities of life as he was later1 when his sense of the wrong and misery of the world transformed his eloquence into an irresistible stream of passion and made him the most earnest and whole-hearted of comforters4 ,as yet the bantering1 laughing element was in excess2 and he did not always remember where to draw the line in the abandon of animal spirits4 ,i used to wonder how it would do when he was settled as the moderator of a session of 'douce' ,scotch elders4 ,but to us at the time it was splendid4 ,it was in one of our sessions that ,dr4 ,blaikie founded the ,college dinner1 which has since proved so valuable an institution1 bringing all the students together daily in a social capacity2 and any day you could have told where ,elmslie was seated at the table by the explosions of laughter rising in that quarter all through the meal4 ,men strove to sit near him1 and he diffused a glow up and down1 his budget of stories never getting exhausted or his flow of spirits flagging4 ,i well remember a speech he made at the close of the first session during which the dinner existed1 to thank ,professor ,blaikie for his efforts on behalf of the students and congratulate him on the success of his experiment4 ,it was1 perhaps1 the most remarkable of all ,elmslie's speeches4 ,professors and students alike were simply convulsed with laughter1 and one explosion followed another1 till the assembly was literally dissolved2 yet under all the nonsense there was capital sense1 and the duty which he had undertaken could not have been more gracefully or completely discharged4 ,on the serious side of college life he was equally a leader4 ,his enormous influence over his fellow-students was uniformly pure and elevating2 and in confidential hours1 when conversation went down to the depths of experience1 it was easy to see that his life1 which was so gay and exuberant on the surface1 was deeply rooted in loyalty to ,christ4 ,he threw himself heartily into the work of the ,missionary ,society in the ,cowgate and the ,high ,street4 ,we began one winter to speak in the open air1 but none of us were successful till we brought down ,murray1 who afterwards also went to the ,english ,presbyterian ,church and finished his career even sooner than ,elmslie4 ,murray was no scholar1 but in ten minutes he had a crowd round him extending halfway across the street1 while we could never attract more than forty or fifty4 ,it was a lesson which we often afterwards discussed with no small astonishment4 ,i remember an incident of the ,mission which ,elmslie used to tell with great gusto4 ,he was addressing the ,children's ,church on the story of ,samson and the lion1 when1 observing that the children were not attending1 he1 instead of saying that the lion roared1 emitted as near an approach to the roar itself as he could command4 ,instantly there was breathless attention2 and when1 after pausing long enough to allow for the full effect1 he was about to proceed1 a little girl cried out anxiously1 ',o sir1 do it again6' ,on another occasion he stopped to reprove rather sharply a boy who was very restless1 when a companion1 springing up1 told him with great solemnity that he ought not to speak so to this boy1 because he was deaf and dumb4 ,taken completely aback1 ,elmslie began humbly to apologise1 when the whole class burst out into a shout of laughter at the skill with which he had been taken in4 ,the boy could both hear and speak4 ,after he went south ,i saw him very seldom4 ,once he caught me in ,london and took me out to preach at ,willesden1 where ,i was immensely impressed with his hold on the people and the extent of the field of influence he had opened up4 ,like his other friends1 ,i was very impatient for some literary production worthy of his genius1 and1 when the brilliant tract on ,renan appeared1 ,i took the liberty of writing him urgently on the subject4 ,it was always my hope that before very long we should be able to entice him back across the ,border1 to adorn a chair in one of our colleges4 ,i did not hear of his illness till you wrote me that he was just dying4 ',god moves in a mysterious way4' ,i have no hesitation in saying that ,elmslie was by far the most brilliant man ,i have ever known1 and there was never a human being more lovable4 ,he seemed to be the man we needed most2 but it is little we know2 the ,master must have had need of him elsewhere4 ,believe me yours most truly1 ,,james ,,stalker4 ,,sermons4 ,i4 ,,christ ,,at ,,the ,,door4 ,behold1 ,i stand at the door1 and knock3 if any man hear ,my voice1 and open the door1 ,i will come in to him1 and will sup with him1 and he with ,me4--,,rev4 iii4 #bj4 ,god is close to us4 ,every moment of our life ,he is doing countless things in us and around us4 ,if a man were to do these things we should see him with our eyes1 we could touch him with our hands2 we should not fail to observe his presence4 ,because we cannot see ,god with our bodily eye1 or grasp ,him with our hand1 we forget ,his working1 we lose sight of ,his nearness4 ,when you were children1 some time or other1 ,i suppose1 in your young lives1 you got hold of a flower-seed1 and planted it in a pot of moist earth1 and set it in the sunniest corner of your room4 ,morning after morning1 when you awoke1 you ran to see if the flower had begun to grow4 ,at last your eagerness was rewarded by the sight of some tiny leaves which had sprung up during one night4 ,then the stalk appeared1 frail and tender1 and then more leaves1 and buds1 and branchlets1 till at length there stood1 blooming before you1 a fair and fragrant flower4 ,who made it8 ,somebody worked to produce that flower4 ,it could not make itself4 ,the dead earth could not shape that lovely leaf2 the bright sunshine could not paint those tendrils4 ,a deep-thinking man1 when he sees these wonderful things1 must ask himself1 ,who fashioned them8 ,not the sunshine nor the air1 but ,god1 if there is a ,god1 willed that that plant should grow4 ,god toiled to make the plant--in your room1 at your side4 ,at this moment1 in your breast1 your heart is beating4 ,all your life it has gone on beating4 ,it is not you who sustain its motion4 ,even when you forget it1 when you are asleep1 its pulsations do not cease4 ,somebody works to keep your heart beating4 ,god1 who is the foundation of all life1 out of whose loving heart it streams1 and back to whom it must return1 has to remember your heart4 ,but ,god comes still nearer to you4 ,do you remember a time in your life when1 in your inmost heart1 that hidden1 secret chamber where you dream your dreams1 and love your loves1 and pour out your sorrows all alone1 you felt a strange influence8 ,it was a vague unrest1 a great self-weariness4 ,it was as if all brightness1 hope1 and satisfaction had gone from your life1 and had left behind them1 in departing1 a sick1 wistful longing to find something new1 something brighter1 better1 and more noble than you yet had known4 ,it was as if you could hear voices calling1 and your heart moved within you1 as if some new friend might be there4 ,do you know what that was8 ,it was ,god4 ,it was the great ,heart that made your heart1 longing and pleading to have it for ,his own4 ,behold1 ,i stand at the door1 and knock3 if any man hear ,my voice1 and open the door1 ,i will come in to him1 and will sup with him1 and he with ,me4 ,do you believe that8 ,you1 men and women1 who love your ,bible1 and are angry if any man seems to speak against it1 or throw doubt upon one jot or tittle of its letter1 have you ever thought what that means if it is true8 ,ay6 it stands written there1 and you have read it a hundred times1 and think you believe it2 but do you indeed know what it means8 ,it means that ,god1 the ,eternal1 ,infinite1 ,almighty ,god1 who wields these worlds of shining stars1 and keeps them in their mighty courses2 that ,god1 the ,spotless1 the ,holy1 the ,stainless1 cares with a great longing to have the heart and love of you2 you1 who are no saint2 you1 the most commonplace and lowly1 the most insignificant and sinful of men4 ,is that easy to believe8 ,is it easy to believe that ,god would miss something if your heart never went out in tender affection and adoration towards ,him2 that ,he should take pains and trouble to get ,himself into your poor1 battered heart--that heart which is so filled with sordid cares as to how you may make a living1 and the envyings and strivings which accompany2 in which such sinful1 base1 and vicious thoughts too often dwell8 ,is it possible that the great1 holy ,god wishes to get in there8 ,it is not easy to believe it4 ,one of the greatest religious thinkers who ever lived1 by the confession of believers and unbelievers alike2 a man who laboured so much under the effort to find out ,god1 and became so absorbed in the quest1 that the name of ,god-intoxicated was applied to him2 a man who conceived more than any one else of the grandeur and transcendency of ,god1 till he found this poor world of ours and the whole universe fade into insignificance before the thought of ,him2 this man1 this great philosopher1 ,spinoza1 said1 ,a man should love ,god with his whole being1 but he must not expect ,god to love him in return4 ,and the bible says1 ,we love ,him1 because ,he first loved us4 ,which is true8 ,there are two things1 ,i think1 which make it hard to believe that we can be of consequence to ,god--that ,god holds each one of us in a separate thought of knowledge1 sympathy1 and ,fatherly affection4 ,one of them is this3 ,how is it possible for ,god to do it8 ,think of the myriads of men and women on this world of ours1 and the possibility of this universe teeming with countless creatures of ,god's creative power and ,fatherly love4 ,how is it possible that ,god should know each one of us1 and love us each one8 ,god1 so omnipotent1 so transcendent1 so almighty6 ,but the very thing that makes the difficulty to our reason seems to me the very thing that should undo it4 ,if ,god were not so great1 then ,i could not have the hope that ,i was something to ,him by myself4 ,is it not a fact that it is precisely a weak1 uncultured1 low1 and undeveloped intellect that finds it difficult to give attention to a great mass of details1 holding each apart1 and doing justice to each8 ,precisely as you rise in the scale of intellect and mental power1 that capacity increases quite incalculably4 ,it is the great genius of a general who not merely directs his army as a mass1 but holds it at every point1 knows the value of every unit of force at his command1 follows the movement of each squadron1 troop1 and even of each single individual1 and precisely by this faculty is able to overthrow the enemy and lead the army to victory4 ,you have listened to a beautiful oratorio1 where scores of instruments and hundreds of voices were all blended together in one tide of magnificent harmony4 ,how is it possible for a small intellect to keep them thus in unison8 ,it requires a master-mind in music to do this--one that is fully conscious of the value of each string and voice1 and who can therefore combine them all in glorious harmony4 ,and ,god is almighty2 it is nothing to ,him that ,he is far away from you2 you1 a speck of dust upon this world4 ,it is precisely because ,i believe in ,god's omnipotence that ,i can believe that ,he cares for each separate creature ,he has made4 ,but then there is another question4 ,even if ,god can love each one of us1 apart from all the rest1 with an individual1 personal1 watchful kindness1 what right have we to think that ,he should care to do it8 ,once again1 that difficulty need but be faced1 and you discover that it is a delusive spectre and empty of reality4 ,is it likely that ,god should miss the love of me1 ,his creature8 ,turn to the early chapters of ,genesis1 and read the story they have to tell you4 ,they tell you how through measureless periods of time1 in the fields of infinite space1 the great ,god built up our world2 first the stone foundations1 layer upon layer2 above that1 the strata of mineral wealth1 to be used hereafter1 clothing the surface of it with a verdant soil4 ,out of the mineral world he evolved the nutritive1 vegetable world1 out of vegetable life the higher creation of animal life1 and out of that emerges man1 standing on the summit of ,god's great toil and building1 with eyes that see1 ears that hear1 and mind that can understand1 answering to the call of ,god1 interpreting all the wisdom1 patience1 beauty1 and love in that mighty labour of creation1 and saying1 ,father1 ,i adore ,thee4 ,do you think that man1 then1 ,his last crowning work of creation1 is nothing to ,god8 ,what should you say of one who spent years and years1 and sank uncounted capital1 upon a great mass of wonderfully contrived machinery1 to produce some beautiful fabric of beneficence to mankind1 and when it was produced turned away and left it all8 ,you would call such a one a fool1 and mad4 ,god made this world1 and spent toil and industry in making the heart of man1 and keeping it conscious of ,him1 capable of loving ,him4 ,and do you mean to tell me that ,god does not care for human love8 ,it is impossible4 ,there is no ,god at all1 or the ,gospel is true4 ,he does miss it when your heart does not bend to ,him4 ,the supreme gladness we can give our ,maker is the simple1 sincere adoration of our poor human hearts4 ,there is a picture that paints the idea of my text4 ,it says1 to those who look at it1 what ,i could not say in many paragraphs4 ,a cottage neglected1 falling into ruin1 is shown in the picture4 ,in front of the window tall thistles spring up1 and long grass waves on the pathway1 leading to the door overgrown with moss4 ,in front of that fast-closed door a tall and stately figure stands1 with a face that tells of toil and long1 weary waiting1 and with a hand uplifted to knock4 ,it is ,christ1 the ,son of ,god1 seeking to get into our sinful hearts4 ,is it true that there can be a man or woman who refuses to admit so fair a guest1 so great and good a friend8 ,it must be true4 ,behold1 ,i stand at the door1 and knock3 if any man hear ,my voice1 and open the door1 ,i will come in to him1 and will sup with him1 and he with ,me4 ,but you think you can justify yourself4 ,you say to me1 ,i feel it were a mad1 foolish thing to refuse to admit to my own1 if it be true1 the loving heart of ,god1 and a thing altogether unjustifiable4 ,you say ,he comes and knocks at our hearts--that ,he calls and asks us to let ,him in4 ,no2 many have called at the door of my heart1 but ,i never knew ,christ to call or knock4 ,if ever ,he had1 ,i think ,i should have let ,him in4 ,i believe you speak the truth1 but ,i am certain that ,christ has been to your heart4 ,let me speak plainly to you4 ,there may be various reasons why you have failed to detect ,his presence4 ,perchance your life has not been so good as even common morality would have made it1 and now your heart is a very dreary place1 filled with painful memories4 ,perhaps you are always outside1 gadding about1 and do not like to dwell alone in your heart and think2 and so when ,christ knocks and calls ,he finds empty rooms2 or if even you are there you are not there alone1 but you have filled its chambers with a noisy1 revelling company and din4 ,the call has reached you as a dim1 half-heard1 strange sound1 which moved you half pleasantly and half with pain4 ,you turned in your heart and listened for an instant1 but there was something in the sound too painful1 and you plunged back again into revelry and mirth4 ,you did not know that it was ,god1 the very heart of ,god1 that had knocked and called4 ,again1 your life may have been very respectable1 but very light and frivolous1 engrossed in earthly affairs2 and ,christ has come1 and you did not know it4 ,for ,he comes in such simple1 human guise4 ,you remember when ,he came on earth the poor ,jews did not know ,him for more than the carpenter's son4 ,he comes like that to you and me4 ,he takes a human hand1 and with its fingers knocks1 but all you see and recognise is the human touch4 ,you do not see the heart ,divine that touches you through it with an appealing thrill4 ,thank ,god1 there are so many good mothers in this world4 ,thank ,god for the little children1 and the lads and maidens here1 whom a mother's memory follows like a very angel1 often after she herself has gone4 ,you remember that ,sabbath evening custom when you and the little ones knelt at your mother's knee1 and she told you the stories of the ,bible2 and the last one was always about the gentle ,jesus1 meek and mild1 who came to the world with such a great heart of love1 who knew no sin at all1 who was so good to women and children and the very worst of broken-hearted sinners1 and whom men with hard hearts and cruel hands took and crucified2 oh1 such a death of pain for you6 till you could almost see ,his face on the cross4 ,and your mother's voice had got so low and reverent that it felt as if some one else was in the room1 and your young child's heart grew so soft and loving to that ,christ that died for you4 ,yes1 ,he was there4 ,did you take ,him quite inside8 ,or if you took ,him in for a little while did you let ,him go again1 when your heart grew colder8 ,oh1 young men and maidens who had a mother like that1 remember her1 and take that ,christ into your hearts6 ,some of you can remember a time when you had grown many years older1 and perhaps had memories you would not like your mother to know of4 ,and ,god struck you down with a great illness1 and for a long time you were at the point of death4 ,but at last the crisis was past1 and you woke out of unconsciousness1 brought back to life again1 weak as a little child4 ,all the din and turmoil of your manhood's life seemed to have faded in the distance1 and once again you became as a little child4 ,do you remember how you felt when you turned that corner between life and death8 ,somehow1 old memories came back to you--perhaps because your body was so weak--the memory of old days1 of the father and mother1 and the church in the country1 and of all the things that were said and done4 ,and then there came a wish that many things in your later life had never been done by you2 a strange1 solemn sense that there is a ,god2 and into your heart a feeling of repentance for the past1 and a wish to do better in the future4 ,and you were so tired1 and wished for a friend to speak to you in these words3 ,come unto ,me1 all ye that labour and are heavy laden1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,afterwards you got stronger and said1 ,perhaps it was only weakness4 ,but ,i tell you it was the living1 loving ,christ1 seeking to get into your heart4 ,i cannot stop to enumerate the countless knocks and calls that come to all of us1 in those strange aspirations that come with the secret1 tender affections1 the dreams of love and truth4 ,for ,god's sake1 never be ashamed of them1 and be true to the dreams of your youth4 ,do not think that ,christ is part of a creed only1 or belongs only to church and ,sunday4 ,no1 ,christ is in everything holy1 everything pure1 everything loving1 and everything that draws your heart4 ,i would have you understand that ,christ works to get into your heart1 and not into your head4 ,there is plenty of time for the latter after ,he has once secured possession of your heart and life4 ,into the homeliest chamber of your heart1 too1 not into a state apartment1 opened only on occasions of ceremony1 ,he seeks to come1 that ,he may stay with you and sup with you1 and be with you in your home4 ,there are some people who think this would be treating ,him with very scanty respect1 and so they think they must take a nook of their heart1 like a piece of consecrated ground1 and keep ,him there1 and only visit it on ,sunday4 ,no2 ,christ wants to come into your life and mind4 ,take ,him to your office1 and consult ,him about your business2 your affairs will not be managed with less skill and wisdom1 but perhaps more honourably4 ,take ,him to the fireside1 where you plan your plans and dream your dreams1 and make out a future for your little boys4 ,he loved little ones on earth1 and do you think ,he has lost that love in heaven8 ,take ,him into your heart to overcome the evil passions and habits1 the things you would be ashamed to own to the most loving earthly friend1 which you are fighting in ,god's name and cannot conquer by yourself4 ,you say1 ,tell us how we can do it4 ,he is so very good1 we fain would have ,christ in our heart1 but it seems so difficult when our heart is so unworthy4 ,no1 it is so easy--and yet so difficult to describe in words4 ,the moment you have done it you wonder that you ever asked how it must be done4 ,i can tell you some things like it4 ,you know what it is for a great grief to come into your heart1 the first great disappointment in love1 in friendship or ambition4 ,you did not see it enter with your eyes1 but you knew it had got in1 for it changed everything1 throwing a dark1 cold shadow over all your life4 ,some of you know what it is for a real1 true joy to get into your heart4 ,some of you1 fathers and mothers1 know what it is for a very true friend to get there4 ,you hardly know how it happened1 but one came right in to the inmost being of your life1 and ere you knew it1 you would be nothing without him--without him loving you4 ,love was all joy and happiness1 and has stayed there ever since4 ,it has made you different2 you have learned to love the things he loves1 and the love and knowledge have brought peace4 ,it is just like that when you take ,christ into your heart4 ,go to the ,gospels1 you who feel the want of a friend like that1 and read what ,he said to poor weeping men and women1 till you feel the breath of ,his love encircle you1 till your heart goes out to ,him1 and you will be vexed to grieve ,him1 and want to please ,him2 and you will think as ,he thinks1 and love men as ,he loves4 ,there are many1 many things about the mysteries of our religion which ,i do not understand4 ,but this ,i say to you1 before ,god3 ,beyond all this world holds of pride1 splendour1 pleasure1 and joy1 to have taken that real1 living1 holy ,jesus ,christ into your heart1 to be your ,saviour1 ,counsellor1 and ,friend1 your ,divine ,lord and ,master1 means blessedness both here and hereafter4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,dark ,,enigma ,,of ,,death4 ,,st4 ,,john xi4 ,this morning ,i ask your attention to the story that has been read in the eleventh chapter of the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,the rulers of the ,jews at ,jerusalem had resolved on ,christ's death1 and the mass of the people sympathised with them4 ,the ,master's life had been threatened by a popular outburst4 ,his work on earth was not yet done1 and so ,he withdrew into the country1 to escape from the violence and danger of ,jerusalem4 ,he went away to the ,jordan1 to the point1 not very far from ,jerusalem1 where ,john first began baptizing1 and there ,he remained in comparative seclusion4 ,but people knew where ,he was4 ,probably people in the surrounding districts gathered together to hear ,him teach2 and possibly1 as a very ingenious commentator has suggested1 ,christ1 reaping the harvest of ,john's prolonged teaching in this district1 succeeded in winning the faith of a great many of his hearers2 and so ,he was busy doing good and happy work1 building up ,his kingdom on the banks of the ,jordan4 ,meanwhile1 sickness came to the home at ,bethany1 where most ,he felt ,himself at home during ,his wanderings in this world of ours4 ,lazarus was stricken with a very dangerous illness1 grew worse and worse1 and at last all hope was gone4 ,now1 ,i should fancy that from the very first day that it became evident that their brother was seriously ill1 the hearts of ,mary and ,martha longed to have ,jesus come to them1 if it was only to be with them in their anxiety1 and suspense1 and watching4 ,and the heart of the sick man must have longed for that great ,divine ,friend of his to be by his sick bed4 ,why did they not send for ,him at once8 ,i think there is a very simple reason4 ,they were not selfish1 as we sometimes tend to be in our sickness or in our sorrow4 ,they thought about others as well as about themselves4 ,they remembered that for ,jesus to come back to the vicinity of ,jerusalem was to risk ,his own life1 and not even for the safety of their brother could they bring themselves for a long time to ask the beloved ,master to run such a risk as that1 and so they delayed really till too late4 ,in the extremity of their grief and despair they sent a messenger to ,jesus--not to ask ,him to come3 there1 again1 ,i read that that was their meaning--they would not take it on themselves to ask ,him to imperil ,his life1 but they could not resist just letting ,him know that their brother1 whom ,jesus so loved1 was very sick4 ,it is exceedingly touching1 that simple message1 ,lord1 behold1 he whom ,thou lovest is sick4 ,and they knew that it would say to ,jesus1 ,thou knowest how much we would like ,thee to come and recover him1 and ,thou knowest1 too1 the last thing we would ask of ,thee would be1 out of favour and kindness to us1 to risk that life on which so much hangs--the kingdom of ,god upon earth4 ,there was real danger in ,christ's return to ,jerusalem4 ,he was conscious of it1 for you find that when ,he did make ,his way to ,bethany ,he seems to have taken care1 as far as possible1 to conceal the fact from the inhabitants of ,jerusalem4 ,he came very quietly4 ,he did not at first enter into ,bethany4 ,he remained outside the precincts of the village4 ,he sent word secretly to ,martha1 so that not even ,mary or the other persons that were with them in the house knew of the fact4 ,and then1 again1 ,he sent ,martha back1 or ,martha went back1 to ,mary1 and1 with somewhat studied concealment1 warned her of the ,master's vicinity1 so that when she went out those who were with her fancied she was going to the grave4 ,i point all that out to you in order that you may see that it is not a mere imagination or fancy1 but that one of the great elements in determining the conduct of the family at ,bethany1 and the action of ,christ1 was that real hazard of ,his life1 which ,he dared not needlessly risk in perils at this time1 since ,his time of toil on earth1 ,his daylight of labour1 was not yet over and done4 ,when ,jesus received the message ,he behaved in a seemingly strange fashion4 ,apparently ,he just did nothing1 but went on with ,his teaching and preaching for two long days4 ,did ,he think how often anxious faces would be at the door of that house in ,bethany1 peering along the road that led to the home1 looking for the figure that had so often trodden that way1 because ,his heart drew ,him to that happy family circle8 ,did ,jesus know that ,lazarus was dying8 ,did ,jesus think that the hearts of ,mary and ,martha were breaking8 ,oh1 ,he had the most loving heart that ever man had on earth1 and yet ,he delayed two days before ,he set out for that home of distress4 ,now1 that fact is often presented in a somewhat revolting fashion1 and ,i think it is worth while just to diverge from my main theme to remove the effect of such presentation if it weighs with any of you4 ,it is said that ,jesus deliberately hung back for two days in order to let ,lazarus die4 ,that is a mistake--a total mistake4 ,lazarus had been already buried four days before ,christ arrived4 ,now1 suppose ,he had lost no time2 suppose ,he had set out at once1 ,he would only have reached ,bethany two days earlier1 and so1 you see1 ,lazarus would have then already been buried two days4 ,the real fact is just this1 that the message was sent too late1 and the sick man had died2 and even if ,christ had gone at once1 all the same ,he would have found him in the grave4 ,but none the less the story is so told as to shut us up to this conviction1 that it was planned1 and purposed1 and accepted in the will of ,god1 and in the will of ,jesus1 that ,lazarus should be sick1 and grow worse and worse1 and should sink and fail1 and die and be buried4 ,indubitably ,jesus1 with ,his knowledge1 could1 of ,his own action1 have returned earlier to have intervened and prevented the sickness ending fatally4 ,he was absent that ,lazarus might die4 ,when ,he spoke of the thing ,he told ,his disciples1 first of all1 the perfect1 complete truth4 ,this1 said ,jesus1 is not to end in death's darkness4 ,its real goal and termination is to be the glory of ,god1 revealed in the glory of his ,son1 the ,christ on earth4 ,that is the end of it2 nevertheless1 ,lazarus must die4 ,god's glory is to find its consummation1 not in rescuing ,lazarus from the grave1 but in restoring him from death1 and bringing him back into life4 ,it was part of the material ,christ used in building up ,his kingdom--the sickness and the death of ,lazarus4 ,he did delay1 not in that seeming revolting1 cold-blooded fashion in which it is often portrayed4 ,he did deliberately hold ,his hand and delay2 ay1 and ,he held ,his loving human heart too1 and ,he let his friend sicken1 and suffer pain1 and die1 and ,he let the hearts of those two women that loved ,him well-nigh break4 ,he did it4 ,can we justify ,him8 ,did the sisters divine truly when they sent that message1 ,he whom ,thou lovest is sick8 ,if ,he loved him1 why did ,he prolong the agony8 ,why did ,he not intervene8 ,why did ,he not at once cancel death8 ,why those terrible four days of mourning1 and gloom1 and darkness1 and doubt8 ,now that is precisely the painful position of all of us in this world of sin1 and pain1 and sickness1 and parting1 and death4 ,we think a good ,god made our world2 we think a loving ,father holds our lives in ,his hands2 and then we turn and look at this world1 we look at the terrible strifes and struggles1 we look at the great entail of sin that lies on our race1 we see the ravages of disease1 and disaster1 and violence1 and cruelty1 and see everywhere the last black enigma of death and the grave1 and this in spite of all our ,christian faith1 learnt from the ,bible2 ay1 learnt from ,god's ,spirit speaking often in the instincts of our heart and nature--we1 too1 are forced to ask the question1 ,lord1 why art ,thou not here8 ,why does our brother die8 ,if ,thou wert here ,thou couldest save him4 ,dost ,thou love him8 and if ,thou lovest1 why are we sick8 ,why do we die8 ,the inmates of that house at ,bethany had received ,jesus with a rare degree of sympathetic feeling and heartfelt welcome4 ,they entered into the meaning of ,his teaching and preaching with a degree of fellowship and quick response that moved ,his heart and soul even beyond the best of ,his disciples4 ,one of them at least--,mary1 and almost certainly ,lazarus too--had come very near to that ,divine ,lord1 in full understanding of all ,his grandeur1 ,his sinlessness1 ,his mighty love ,though yet all ignorant of a great deal about ,his person1 and about the fashion in which ,he was to make ,his kingdom1 with a genuine purity and ardour of attachment and affection1 they worshipped ,him1 they recognised the ,divine within ,him1 they hailed ,him as the world's ,christ and ,saviour4 ,listen to ,martha's cry in her perplexity3 ,i cannot understand it all1 but ,i know ,thou art the ,christ come from ,god1 the world's ,king1 the world's ,saviour4 ,that ,i know1 that ,i hold to4 ,it was that understanding1 that sympathy in that home1 that made it so sweet a place of rest to ,jesus4 ,more than that--manifestly the two sisters and brother lived a life of sweet human affection4 ,there was an atmosphere of tender love in their home1 broken by little storms of misunderstanding1 as may be in the very best of our imperfect human homes1 but in reality a great depth of tenderness1 and clinging attachment1 and loyal love to one another1 bound the household together4 ,oh1 thank ,god for every such home on earth6 ,that is the real bulwark against all pessimism1 the charter of our eternal birthrights4 ,given the grandeur1 the reality of human love1 as1 thank ,god1 most of us know it in our homes1 that is the absolute guarantee that it came from the creating hands of grander ,love ,divine4 ,jesus was not merely loved by the family where ,he came to spend the nights when ,he was working in ,jerusalem1 but ,he got to love them with a very wonderful tenderness4 ,you remember that chivalrous1 impassioned defence of ,mary1 when she was assailed by the coarse attacks of the disciples4 ,you catch it1 too1 in that message sent to ,him--,he whom ,thou lovest4 ,ah1 many an act of affection1 many a look that was a caress1 many an appeal for sympathy that bespoke brotherhood1 had passed between ,jesus of ,nazareth and that ,lazarus1 else the sisters would not have thought of saying1 ,he whom ,thou lovest is sick4 ,and yet into that home so dear to the heart of ,jesus1 the ,son of ,god1 into that home that had for its ,friend the ,man that was master of life and of death1 of calamity and prosperity1 of all earthly powers and forces1 into that home there penetrated cruel1 painful1 deadly sickness4 ,the man ,jesus loved lay there on his bed dying4 ,now1 ,i emphasize that1 because there used to be a great deal of thinking about ,god's relation to those that love ,him and whom ,he loves--a great deal of teaching in the ,christian ,church that counted itself most orthodox1 and which was1 indeed1 deadly heresy1 coarse1 materialistic1 despicable1 misunderstanding the ideal grandeur of the ,bible promises4 ,some of you know the sort of teaching that used to prevail--the idea that ,god's saints should be exceptionally favoured2 the sun would shine on their plot of corn1 and it would not shine on the plot of corn of the bad man2 their ships would not sink at sea1 their children would not catch infectious diseases2 ,god would pamper them1 exempt them from bearing their part in the world's great battle1 with hardness and toil of labour1 with struggle1 and attainment1 and achievement4 ,it came of a very despicable conception of what a father can do for a child1 as if the best thing for a father to do for his son was to pet and indulge him1 and save him all bodily struggle and all difficulties1 instead of giving him a life of discipline4 ,as if a general in the army would1 because of his faltering heart1 refuse to let his son take the post of danger2 as if he would not rather wish for that son--ay1 with a great pang in his own soul--that he should be the bravest1 the most daring1 the one most exposed to the deadliest hazard4 ,ah1 we have got to recognise that we whom ,god loves may be sick and dying1 and yet ,god does love us4 ,lazarus was loved by ,jesus1 yet he whom ,jesus loved was sick and dying4 ,ah1 and there is a still more poisonous difficulty in that materialistic1 that worldly way of looking at ,god's love2 that horrible1 revolting misjudgment that ,christ condemned1 crushed with indignation when it confronted ,him4 ,the men on whom the tower of ,siloam fell must have been sinners worse than us on whom it did not fall4 ,never1 never6 ,the great government of the world is not made up of patches and strokes of anger and outbursts of weak indulgence4 ,the world is ,god's great workshop1 ,god's great battle-field4 ,these have their places4 ,here a storm of bullets falls1 and brave and good men as well as cowards fall before it4 ,you mistake if you try to forestall ,god's judgments1 ,god's verdicts on the last great day of reckoning4 ,still we have got the fact that ,christ does not interpose to prevent death1 that ,christ does not hinder those dearest to ,him from bearing their share of life's sicknesses and sufferings1 that ,god ,himself suffers death to go on1 apparently wielding an undisputed sway over human existence4 ,what is the consequence of it8 ,well1 the first consequences seem to be all evil4 ,you might look on the surface of life1 and when you read superficially the narrative of this chapter in ,st4 ,john1 it looks as if mischief and evil came of the strange delay of ,god and of ,his ,christ4 ,look at the effect upon the disciples4 ,now here there is not enough told to justify me in putting more positively to you the picture of their inner hearts1 but ,i am going to present--,i dread that ,i may be guilty of a want of charity1 at all events of disproportion--but as ,i read this chapter1 and try to think myself into it1 this is the conception ,i have3 ,had these men known that ,lazarus was very sick1 they would not have wished their ,master to go back to try and save him4 ,they were selfish enough to have been rather glad that ,he was at a distance1 to wish that ,he should not know4 ,when the message did come ,i think they were puzzled and perplexed4 ,selfishly1 they were rather pleased that ,he did not set off to go4 ,but1 on the other hand--for1 mind you1 a selfish man understands the dictates of love--they said to themselves1 ,it is not quite like ,him4 ,well1 it is wise1 it is prudent not to go1 but it is a little cowardly4 ,does ,he love ,lazarus so much as we used to think8 ,oh1 if ,i am right1 what a painful thing1 all these bad1 poor1 selfish thoughts of the ,divine heart in ,jesus6 all created1 mark you1 because ,jesus suffered the man whom ,he loved to be sick1 and at last to die1 and did not go and check death1 and drive the dark ,king of ,terrors back4 ,then ,jesus says to them that ,he has resolved to go and visit ,lazarus4 ,it is here ,i get the ground on which ,i stand in forecasting that selfishness in them4 ,then they thought ,he was wrong4 ,they did venture to blurt out what was a censure3 ,he will go2 ,he ought not to do it4 ,what are we to do who see with clearer eyes the pathway of prudence8 ,to let ,him go and die8 ,it was a total blunder1 a mistake1 but all the same we cannot let ,him go and die alone4 ,let us go and die with ,him4 ,oh1 what a dearth of understanding of their ,master1 ,his love1 ,his power1 ,his real character1 created by the enigma of ,christ's conduct1 that ,he had held ,his hand1 that ,he had suffered ,his friend to be sick1 that ,he had permitted him to die6 ,then come to the two sisters4 ,ah1 what a struggle must have gone on in their hearts1 as hour after hour passed after the point had come when ,jesus should have been with them if ,he had listened to their message1 if ,he pitied their brother1 ,his own beloved friend4 ,what could the ,master mean8 ,did something hinder ,him and prevent ,his coming8 or was it the danger to ,his life8 ,was there a little selfishness8 or had they any right to expect it8 ,either ,he is lacking in love1 or else ,he is lacking in power4 ,what could it mean8 ,and then1 when at last the poor sick eyes shut and their brother lay there dead1 their hearts were like stones within them4 ,and the burial1 following swiftly after in the ,east1 because decay begins so quickly there2 and then the mourning and the hired mourners1 professional mourners1 all around them1 and these poor women there saying in their hearts1 ,surely1 surely it need not have been2 certainly if the ,master1 who healed so many sick1 had been here1 if ,he had come1 if ,he knew1 if ,he had been here all this horror1 this agony1 this pain1 might have been escaped4 ,so when ,jesus did come1 look at them1 how they met ,him4 ,martha goes away out1 and the first thing she says is just what they had said so often to one another and to their own hearts3 ,o ,master1 if ,thou hadst only been here our brother had not died4 ,and then the spirit of the woman told her that perhaps she had hurt ,jesus' feelings1 that perhaps ,he was not to blame1 that perhaps there was some explanation1 though she could not see it1 and so1 in her blundering way--for she had not the fine tact that was in ,mary--she tried to mend it1 and only made it worse by volunteering that she did believe in ,him after all4 ,the soul of ,christ felt the intended love1 and shuddered at that tremendous distance of sympathy and understanding4 ,you believe in ,me4 ,he could not hold it in4 ,thy brother shall rise again4 ,and poor ,martha was unable to rise to the height of ,christ's meaning4 ,oh1 yes1 ,lord1 ,i know1 at the great resurrection4 ,yes1 he will rise again4 ,then comes ,jesus' declaration1 ,i am the ,resurrection and the ,life4 ,the man that lives in ,me1 in whom ,i live1 has in ,me a deathless life4 ,i am here to-day to prove that4 ,that was what ,he meant1 but ,he was far away above her4 ,the poor heart in her had lost ,him4 ,she was dazed1 and so she just fell back upon the one thing that she was quite sure of1 even if ,he had not been quite kind to her1 or even if ,his power was limited4 ,yes1 yes1 ,master1 ,i know ,thou art the ,christ1 the ,son of ,god1 come into this world to be its ,saviour and its ,king4 ,and then1 perhaps1 with a sort of sense that ,mary could understand the ,master better1 could read ,his meaning and tell it to her1 she slipped away1 and she found her sister1 and whispered in her ear1 ,the ,master is come1 and asks for thee4 ,then ,mary went away to meet ,him too4 ,it is much harder to read what was in that sweet heart of ,mary4 ,i have no doubt that she1 too1 had fought a battle with doubt4 ,the story seems to show that she had attained to greater faith than ,martha4 ,she had been pained1 but still there was a divining instinct in her1 like the divining instinct that warned her1 when all the disciples were blind to it1 that ,he was going to die1 and she went and anointed ,him to ,his burial2 a divining instinct in her that somehow the cloud was going to be rolled away4 ,and she went out and said simply1 ,lord1 if ,thou hadst been here our brother had not died4 ,and then she was too wise to say one word more4 ,with her finer tact1 with her deeper understanding1 she knew that was all she should say4 ,but it was like saying1 ,there is perplexity in this visitation1 in ,thy delay1 in my brother's death2 ,thou couldst have made it different if ,thou hadst seen it well to be here4 ,i cannot understand the right and the love of it4 ,it was a question4 ,it did say1 ,master1 what art ,thou going to do8 ,and ,christ felt it was4 ,as she broke out and burst into tears1 ,he lost control and wept with her4 ,but there were others--the ,jews1 the enemies of ,christ2 men who hated ,him1 men who disbelieved in ,him1 men who grudged ,him all ,his glory and the love ,he had won on the earth4 ,they had hurried out--some of them with a degree of human compassion--to that home of bereavement4 ,it was known as the home of ,christ1 and ,i think some of them had come with greater pleasure that ,lazarus had died4 ,what they said when they saw ,him weep betrays their mood4 ,this is ,he who professed to be able to open the eyes of the blind and heal all sicknesses4 ,how1 then1 is it that ,he allows ,his dearest friend on earth to be sick1 and die1 and be buried8 ,he has lost ,his power1 if ,he ever had it4 ,they were rejoicing over ,his seeming defeat4 ,they had no love for ,him1 and so had no faith in ,him4 ,is not that true of our world to-day8 ,the best of you1 ,christians1 when death comes to your own homes1 do you manage to sing the songs of triumph right away8 ,well1 you are very wonderful saints if you do4 ,if you do not1 perhaps you say1 ,if ,god is in this world1 how comes that dark enigma of death8 ,and others of you grip hold of your faith1 but yet your heart cries out against it4 ,you believe that ,god is good1 but has ,he been quite good to you8 ,like ,martha1 you feel as if you had some doubt2 you feel bound in your prayers2 you say1 ,o ,god1 ,i do not mean to reproach ,thee2 weak1 sinful if you will1 yet the sign of a true follower of the ,christ4 ,and then the enemies of ,christ1 the worldlings all about in this earth of ours1 as they look upon death's ravages1 they are saying1 ,if there were a ,god1 if there were a ,father1 if there were a great heart that could love1 why does not ,he show it8 ,now1 ,i said to you that at first it looks as if nothing but evil came of ,god's delay to interpose against death2 but when you look a little deeper ,i think you begin to discover an infinitely greater good and benefit come out of that evil4 ,i must very briefly1 very rapidly1 trace to you in the story1 and you can parallel it in the life of yourselves1 that discipline of goodness there is in ,god's refraining from checking sickness and death4 ,christ said1 the end of it is first of all death1 but that is not the termination4 ,through death this sickness1 this struggle of doubt and faith1 should end in the glory of ,god4 ,he meant this3 ,in the preparation of ,his life and ,his death the death and resurrection of ,lazarus held a central position4 ,it was the turning-point1 the thing that determined ,his crucifixion on ,calvary4 ,that tremendous miracle compelled the rulers of ,jerusalem to resolve on and carry out ,his death4 ,that miracle of ,lazarus' resurrection gave to the faith of the disciples and of ,christ's followers a strength of clinging attachment that carried them through the eclipse of their belief when they saw ,him die on ,calvary4 ,now1 what would you say8 ,was it cruel of ,christ to allow ,his friend ,lazarus1 ,his dear friends ,mary and ,martha1 to go through that period of suspense1 of anxiety1 of sickness1 of death1 and of the grave1 that they might do one of the great deeds in bringing in the world's ,redeemer8 ,oh1 men and women1 if ,god be wise1 and if ,god be great1 then must it not be that somehow or other the structure of this world is the best for ,god's end1 and our tears1 and partings1 and calamities but incidents in the grand campaign that shall end in the resplendent glory of heaven8 ,yes1 for the glory of ,god1 and for the sake of others1 for the sake of the disciples1 for the sake of the world1 says ,christ1 ,i have suffered ,my friend ,lazarus to die4 ,ah1 you say1 you have still got to show ,god's goodness and kindness to me individually4 ,my death may be for ,god's glory1 it may be for the good of others2 but how about me and those who mourn8 ,well1 now1 look at it4 ,you must get to the end of the story before you venture to judge the measure1 the worth1 of ,god's goodness4 ,after all1 was that period of sickness and death unmitigated gloom1 and horror1 and agony8 ,oh1 ,i put it to you1 men and women1 who have passed through it1 watching by the death of dear father or mother that loved the ,lord and loved you1 and whom you loved--dark1 and sore1 and painful enough at the time2 but oh1 if ,i called you to speak out1 would you not say it was one of the most sacred periods of your life--the unspeakable tenderness1 the sweet clinging love1 the untiring service1 the grateful responses1 the sacredness that came into life8 ,ay1 and when the tie was snapped1 the new tenderness that you gave to the friends that are left1 the new pledge binding you to heaven1 and to hope for it1 and long for it--death is not all an evil to our eyes4 ,death cannot ultimately be an evil1 since it is universal--the consummation1 climax1 crown of every human life4 ,ah1 if we had the grander majesty of soul to look at it from ,god's altitude1 we should call death1 not a defeat1 but a victory1 a triumph4 ,i think sometimes that if death did not end these lives of ours1 how weary they would get4 ,think of it--to live on for ever in the sordidness1 in the littleness1 in the struggle1 the pain1 the sin of this life of ours4 ,oh1 we need that angel of death to come in1 and now and then stir the pool of our family life1 that there may be healing in it1 that there may be blessing in it6 ,death1 holding the hand of ,god through it1 to those that stand by and see the sweetness of human love1 the triumph of faith celestial1 has a grandeur in it1 like ,christ's death on the cross2 it hides out of sight of the people the ghastly1 the doubt-creating features and elements of its external impediment--death becomes ,god's minister4 ,it is going home to one's ,father4 ,yes1 but you want the guarantee that death is not the end1 and that day it was right and lawful for ,christ to give it1 to anticipate the last great day1 when in one unbroken army1 radiant and resplendent1 shining like jewels in a crown1 ,he shall bring from the dark grave all that loved ,him1 fought for ,him1 and were loyal to ,him on the road1 and went down into the dark waters singly1 one by one1 in circumstances of ignominy often1 and yet dying with ,christ within them1 the ,resurrection and the ,life4 ,ah1 that great1 grand vindication of ,god1 and interpretation of this world's enigma was made clear that day when ,christ called ,lazarus back1 and gave him alive to his sisters in the sight of ,his doubting disciples1 in the sight of those sneering enemies4 ,and what ,i like to think as best of all and most comforting of all is this1 that ,christ did that deed of love and goodness to hearts that so misunderstood ,him1 were so ignorant of ,his glory1 denied and disbelieved so much of ,his claims1 were then and there so despairing1 so hopeless1 that perhaps it was only in one heart1 the heart of ,mary1 there was hope or faith like a grain of mustard-seed4 ,yet ,he did it4 ,why8 ,he whom ,he loved died1 and they whom ,he loved mourned4 ,it was not that they loved ,him2 it was that ,he loved them4 ,ah1 when ,i read sneers at the simple ,evangelical ,gospel that says1 ,put away all thoughts of earning heaven2 your good works are rags--true enough1 true enough--the sneers are mistaken4 ,it is a very grand ,gospel that1 for what it says is this1 ,there is hope1 salvation from sin1 life eternal1 for you and for me1 not for anything in us1 nor for anything we can do1 even if we did the best we could4 ,we hold the hope and confidence of redemption1 resurrection1 in our hearts1 because the ,god that made us loves us2 and so--as ,i read lately in a recently published book1 amid much that ,i think is foolish1 what yet struck me as singularly tender and true--,when in the hour of death we cry1 ',good ,lord1 deliver us1' we might stop and leave out the 'deliver us4' ,it is quite enough if we are dying in the arms of a ,god that is good4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,dorcas4 ,,acts ix4 #cf-dc4 ,to a man who believes in a living1 personal ,god the world's history is the record of ,god's actions4 ,the ,bible story is an account of an exceptional period in the ,divine activity1 during which ,god's dealings with men are peculiarly significant2 as it were more immediate1 frank1 and expressive1 more true to ,his inmost character4 ,then1 traits found utterance that in general are mute4 ,repression gave way to expression4 ,the incidents in this expression are out of the common1 look marvellous2 we call them miracles4 ,such things do not happen to us1 but we hold they happened for us4 ,they are1 so to say1 a personal explanation on ,god's part1 at once a disclaimer and a declaration4 ,he is not altogether to be judged by the normal course of events4 ,his feelings do not quite answer to appearances4 ,his heart does not correspond entirely to ,his hand4 ,he is more than ,his deeds4 ,measure ,him by these1 and you mistake ,him1 because for the most part ,he acts under restraint4 ,his love may be much greater than ,his language1 ,his kindness warmer than ,his conduct4 ,reticence is often imposed on affection4 ,you do not always tell your child all the praise you might express1 and admiration you feel4 ,when he has entered the struggle of school-life you look on while he battles with a hard task1 till his weariness pains you1 but you hold back and do not help him4 ,it may be my lot to know of a friend contending against unjust accusation1 well-nigh crushed1 and ,i may not stand by him1 knowing my aid would harm1 not help1 though at the risk of his misunderstanding me4 ,god would have us know1 as we with perplexity look to ,his silent heaven out of our sin and sorrow1 that spite of strange seeming1 ,his heart is love4 ,we do not fare as our ,father fain would have us fare4 ,things are not as ,he would wish them4 ,there is a discrepancy between the desires of ,his heart and the doings of ,his hand4 ,he cannot quite trust us as ,he would4 ,there is an obstacle2 we should be better off but for that4 ,we do right to say1 with ,martha1 ,lord1 if ,thou hadst been here my brother had not died4 ,and that we may be sure it is so1 once ,he broke through ,his reticence2 ,he was here2 ,he gave ,his heart full play1 and treated men as ,he always feels towards them4 ,their sicknesses were healed1 their sins forgiven2 the ,infinite ,love laid soft hands on their pain2 the ,eternal ,pity whispered peace in their souls4 ,now we can look on ,christ and say we know what ,god is4 ,but for hindrances1 we can say1 ,he would always act so4 ,spite of our fortunes1 that is how ,he feels4 ,at length the barrier will be overthrown1 and ,he will treat me so likewise4 ,this is the practical use we are to make of such stories of ,scripture as ,dorcas's restoration from death4 ,it is a marvel--what1 precisely1 we know not4 ,but1 for this woman ,god did a splendid and wonderful act of love1 that dispelled the eclipse of death in a sunshine of endless security4 ,what happened to her happens not to us4 ,but ,god's heart is unchanged4 ,if you be like her1 such another1 the ,divine regard round you in life and in death is as tender and strong as it was about her4 ,in the important seaport town of ,joppa there were gathered together some believers in ,jesus4 ,among them was a woman named ,tabitha 7,heb471 or ,dorcas 7,gr474 ,the name signifies ,gazelle1 or ,fawn4 ,it was one of those pet names given to woman1 a name of beauty1 though the bearer of it may have been plain enough4 ,not much is told about her1 but what is told is of such a kind that we may conjecture more4 ,little things have a significance in combination4 ,thus we can fill in the meagre outline that is given us1 till the picture grows into completeness4 ,dorcas was a lone woman4 ,of husband or of children we hear nothing4 ,unlike those others with whom she is linked in ,bible story as fellow-sharers in the miracle of restoration to life--unlike ,lazarus1 unlike the daughter of ,jairus or the widow's son at ,nain--we read in her case of no loving relatives who soothed her dying bed and wept when she was gone4 ,she stands alone in the world--one of those women of whom we speak as of persons to be pitied1 unhappy2 with a woman's natural hopes and occupations1 in which she finds rest for her instincts1 denied or blighted4 ,dorcas is a forlorn figure1 stricken by grief and woe4 ,we feel inclined to turn away from such4 ,the bleak1 cold winds that blow across the lonely spaces where they find their planting seem to chill our joy4 ,we forget that it is not thorns alone which grow in spots that we deem waste2 not seldom ,god's fairest flowers and fruits spring up on what we count barren and forsaken ground4 ,in ,dorcas1 we may well believe1 there was nothing woe-begone or repellent2 it is as pleasant1 amiable1 and beloved that we think of her4 ,the tree of her life had been stricken by the lightning2 its own leaves and branches stripped2 but it did not remain a bare and unsightly stump1 naked and alone4 ,lichens and clinging plants had gathered at its roots1 and twined about its stem1 and clothed it with a new verdure and beauty4 ,all this might have been so different4 ,dorcas might have succumbed to sorrow1 and amid the ruins of her shattered home she might have flung herself on the ground in despair4 ,she might have been moping and repining1 selfishly nursing her grief1 embittered1 envious1 and grudging to others their joy4 ,god pity those who are2 it is often that the milk of human kindness has turned sour3 the fault is of misfortune4 ,she might have made herself a burden to all around1 held the world a debtor1 and herself a wronged creditor4 ,she might have insisted on being miserable--as if a long face made a lighter heart4 ,some in her position act so4 ,they resent the smiles of others1 and hold that if weeping is their portion1 then all should weep4 ,others hide under a smiling face a sad heart1 and laugh with you4 ,dorcas did none of these things4 ,she set herself to be of use1 to give aid and help to others4 ,ah6 ,i think it sometimes happens that ,god removes the home of a woman's love1 breaks down its walls1 and unroofs it before the storm1 in order that the love may go out to embrace a larger family4 ,the hearts of some women are made to shelter and console all homeless ones4 ,their love takes wings1 and flies through the earth in search for the desolate and afflicted4 ,it does not need the ties of home1 of husband and children1 to form a loving1 useful1 warm-hearted woman4 ,how long had ,dorcas been such a woman as the story tells of8 ,we cannot say4 ,perhaps she was humbly good and sensible1 and had borne her sorrows bravely from the first1 an unconscious follower of ,jesus4 ,perhaps she was once soured1 bitter1 and woe-begone1 till she heard of the great ,sorrow-bearer1 and learnt from ,him to make her sorrow an offering1 and to use her knowledge of sadness to lighten others' woe4 ,for she was a disciple4 ,that means just one who looks how ,christ went about the world1 and sets to to go likewise4 ,having made up her mind to do good1 what could she do8 ,nothing much4 ,she could not preach2 she could not be an apostle1 and do great deeds of healing4 ,she was too poor1 too stupid1 too uninfluential to start a mission or build a hospital4 ,but she could darn1 and stitch1 and plan garments for widows--and how many such does not the life of a seafaring town create6 ,she could speak kind words and do good turns1 go to meeting1 and be a quiet1 gentle1 sweet1 helpful woman4 ,that she could be1 nothing more2 and that she was4 ,why should she be more8 ,that is what ,god means a good woman to be4 ,a homely1 unromantic1 dull1 unattractive life1 you say2 good1 but uninteresting4 ,so1 perhaps1 the neighbours said4 ,so we all go on thinking and saying1 while the angels laugh at our folly4 ,as if ,god did not often conceal under the hardest1 coarsest shells and husks the silkiest of downy lining and the very sweetest of fruit-kernels4 ,yes1 outside it looked a stripped1 bare1 monotonous life4 ,but within there was a whole world of beauty and pathos4 ,god knew the tender thoughts of the dead2 the rising of old cravings that woke and called once more for buried loves2 the silent1 speechless prayers in lonely eventides4 ,he knew of memories that were tears to her1 but turned to warmth and cheer for others2 of very kindly thoughts and gentle love woven and sown into those garments4 ,no1 the neighbours did not see all this4 ,but ,god's eyes looked1 and saw a very garden of the ,lord for beauty and fragrance4 ,i know it must have been so1 from the love her way of doing kindness won4 ,merely to do good is not enough to get love2 one must be good4 ,it is wonderful how some people do endless good1 and yet none cares for them4 ,dorcas was not a machine1 actively good because actively wound up4 ,people do not weep such tears as fell when she died for the loss of a sewing-machine1 useful though such might be1 and working for nothing4 ,nor was she a woman with a mission1 bustling1 important1 loud-voiced2 useful and needed such may be1 respected1 but not quite loved4 ,nor was she a lady patroness1 looking down on those upon whom she showered her benefits4 ,those who work like ,dorcas do not work of mechanical duty1 nor for fuss of fame1 nor for thanks4 ,it is but little likely that thanks were given her4 ,people would say1 ,she has nothing else to do2 ,she has no family to look after2 ,she has plenty of time on her hands2 ,it's almost a kindness to take her sewing2 ,she had sooner work than not4 ,exactly1 that was it4 ,she was nothing more than a kindly1 humble-hearted1 womanly soul1 that feared ,god and loved men1 and did good in solid ways2 one whose life made other women glad that she was born4 ,what more would you have her be8 ,are you sure you understand what that was8 ,she became ill4 ,she did not tell how ill she felt1 but lay lone and sick4 ,she would not burden others with her pain1 and to die she did not fear4 ,her neighbours found it out and nursed her tenderly1 but she died4 ,then there was nothing to do but reverently to lay her out1 to put flowers on her breast and in her hands2 it was all the kindness they could do now2 how they wished they had done more when she was alive6 ,then they thought what to do next4 ,when one is dead there is so little you can do1 and yet you want to do so much4 ,then some one thought of ,peter4 ,the ,apostle was only twelve miles off4 ,he will surely come to see poor ,dorcas once again1 and show honour to her memory4 ,and so the little groups of busy1 tearful talkers united in one resolve to send for ,peter4 ,they would like him to be with them1 to tell him all their trouble and sorrow1 and pour into his sympathetic ears an eager chronicle of ,dorcas's holy deeds4 ,it is wonderful how much good your neighbours know to tell of you when you are dead1 and how much evil while you are still alive4 ,this was the reason why they sent for ,peter2 not that they expected him to restore the dead to life4 ,had they not laid the dead body of their benefactress out1 and washed and prepared it for burial8 ,why should they expect a miracle on her behalf8 ,stephen and ,james had trodden their martyr path1 and no voice from heaven had called them back to leadership and witness-bearing in the ,church4 ,what should they expect for ,dorcas from the ,apostle beyond his sorrowful compassion8 ,peter came4 ,he found the room full of weeping women1 telling of her goodness1 of her clever fingers2 showing him on them 7middle voice7 the dresses and petticoats she had made4 ,how many they seemed when gathered together in that little room6 ,all the results of the toil of her busy hands1 scattered through the town1 now gathered in the chamber of death to tell of her goodness after she was gone4 ,herself1 she did not know the whole4 ,blessed are the dead who die in the ,lord2 for their works do follow them4 ,we die and are not much missed4 ,the world rolls on4 ,yet none is quite unwept1 unnoticed4 ,there are two sets of people who will mourn4 ,there are those who loved you and found their joy in ministering to you2 a mother1 a lover3 good or bad you may have been1 but they will weep over your grave4 ,or1 in heaven1 they smile2 in smiles or tears they love4 ,and there are those you loved1 on whose souls are the marks of your kindness1 warmth1 help1 and cheer2 they will miss you4 ,how came ,peter to conceive the hope of recovering ,dorcas to life8 ,it was not through the message of an angel1 or the narrative would tell us of it2 nor was it through a special communication of the ,spirit1 or the sacred history would record it1 as the habit of the ,bible is4 ,it seems to have been in an ordinary way1 though under the ,spirit's guidance4 ,a little thing in ,peter's doings suggests that he followed the train of an old memory1 that he was dominated and inspired by a bygone incident4 ,amid those weeping women his heart was moved3 he recalled an unforgotten scene4 ,he remembered an old man coming to the ,master with a white1 anxious face and quivering lips1 to plead for his sick child4 ,he remembered their hurrying steps1 and the eager impatience of the stricken father as they turned their faces to his house2 the messenger bringing the sad tidings dead2 the ,master's face lighting up with a quiet1 strange resolution as ,he said1 ,she is not dead2 and then how ,he put them all out and restored the maiden to her parents4 ,why should he not ask the ,master now8 ,he put them all out4 ,he prayed4 ,confidence filled his heart4 ,he summoned the dead woman from the shadow-land4 ,she opened her eyes4 ,to the weeping1 mourning1 loving women he gave her again--alive from the dead6 ,it was a tremendous deed of wonder and glory4 ,it was done on a lonely1 simple1 humble woman4 ,why on her8 ,why not on ,james or ,stephen8 ,i cannot tell1 for certain4 ,god knows4 ,his reasons are other than our thoughts4 ,but ,i see this as possibly a cause3 ,you observe that two narratives are conjoined4 ,dorcas1 for her alms-deeds1 receives this miracle of resurrection2 while1 for alms-deeds1 ,cornelius is acknowledged in a miracle also4 ,nowhere else in the ,acts of the ,apostles are alms-deeds made so prominent4 ,in each story1 and in the conjunction1 ,i see design4 ,god meant to set a mark of honour on the love that was displayed4 ,i think ,he would guard the ,church against undue estimation of preaching1 apostles1 miracle-working1 deeds of show1 gifts2 and teach us that beyond all is love4 ,so ,he singles out not an apostle1 not a martyr1 but this gentle1 kind1 womanly life1 and crowns it with grandeur and glory1 makes it conqueror of death1 encircles it with a halo of most wonderful1 ,divine1 loving care4 ,not preaching1 not angel speech1 not mountain-removing faith1 but love is the centre4 ,god judges differently from us4 ,we worship the great leaders1 orators1 reformers1 creed-makers2 our statistics are of ,churches1 prayers1 and preachers4 ,god reckons all love for ,himself and man as vaster1 wider1 and grander4 ,ah6 while we think not of it1 in unseen corners1 in hidden nooks1 ,he sees and garners a harvest of love and lowly service that shall be the beauty and glory of heaven4 ,let us think as ,god thinks4 ,let us learn to worship not gifts1 but graces1 not greatness1 but goodness only4 ,bend your knee to such a woman with a reverence you will yield to no king1 to no genius1 however ,godlike2 and bend it1 for you bend it to ,christ4 ,humble1 lonely1 simple ,christian souls1 ,god cares for you as for her1 if you are like her4 ,patiently toil on2 ,god feels towards you as towards her4 ,go forward to death1 sure that ,he will gather your life with equal care1 not back into earth's struggle1 but up into heaven's glory4 ,,iv4 ,,unfulfilled ,,christian ,,work4 ,and unto the angel of the ,church in ,sardis write2 ,these things saith ,he that hath the seven ,spirits of ,god1 and the seven stars2 ,i know thy works1 that thou hast a name that thou livest1 and art dead4 ,be watchful1 and strengthen the things which remain1 that are ready to die3 for ,i have not found thy works perfect before ,god4--,,rev4 iii4 #a1 #b4 ,reading the last clause a little more literally will more fully bring out the meaning3 ,for ,i have found no works of thine fulfilled before ,my ,god4--,r4,v4 ,the passage forms a picture--,god on ,his throne1 ,christ by ,his side1 the work of the ,churches on earth travelling up to ,god1 and presenting itself before the throne ,divine1 and ,christ1 as the ,churches pass in procession1 judging them4 ,the religious activity of the ,church in ,sardis swept by before ,god's throne1 under ,christ's eyes1 and as it passed ,he saw that not one single task undertaken by that ,church was done fully2 everything was half-done1 and therefore worthless4 ,it was not that the church was doing nothing1 but it was doing nothing worth doing4 ,these were the facts4 ,christ's judgment on the facts is this3 ,thou hast a name that thou livest1 and art dead4 ,a ,church all whose labours are but half done is dead4 ,yet there were good men and women in the congregation at ,sardis4 ,if you read on you find this said by ,christ3 ,thou hast a few names even in ,sardis which have not defiled their garments4 ,so1 then1 a ,church may be dead though it contains living members4 ,how can that be8 ,a ,church is not a mere number of individuals added to one another2 something results from that combination of separate individuals2 something very different1 with fresh powers and added responsibilities1 rises out of grouping together a number of individual ,christians1 that is a ,church4 ,a ,church1 a congregation 7it is in that sense ,i use the word ,church all through this discourse71 has an individuality of its own2 a ,church has a character of its own2 a ,church has a spirit of its own2 a ,church has capacities of its own2 a ,church can do what no individual nor any mere number of individuals added together can do2 a ,church1 as soon as it is constituted1 creates a new kind of life1 a new kind of being1 a new kind of activities4 ,no individual ,christian1 however good he may be1 can out of himself make ,christian fellowship1 ,christian devotion1 ,christian labour and co-operation1 all that social life which springs from the union of severed individuals2 no separate ,christian1 nor any number of separate ,christians1 can produce that4 ,a ,church1 therefore1 is something distinct from the individual members of whom it is built4 ,a house is not a thousand bricks2 it is something quite different1 something made not merely by the presence of the bricks1 but by their being built together4 ,each separate element of the building1 when united1 is able to do its share in the great work that none of them1 or any member of them1 could do without that combination which forms the edifice4 ,a ,church1 a congregation1 has its own character4 ,each provincial town in ,england has a character of its own2 and an intelligent man1 with quick sympathies1 recognises the difference of spirit when he enters a town from that which was prevalent in the town he left4 ,one is ,radical1 one is very ,materialistic2 one is full of poetry1 and imagination1 and literature2 and the individual residing in the town is affected by the general spirit of that town4 ,every school has a character of its own1 a spirit of its own2 not that each boy in the school is just modelled on that type1 but to a large extent each individual pupil is affected by the spirit of the school4 ,the spirit of the school exists in the boys that dominate it4 ,it is the same with ,churches4 ,in one congregation you are conscious of warmth1 and enthusiasm1 and friendliness1 and love2 in another congregation you are conscious of stiffness1 and a rigid propriety1 and distance1 and coldness1 and artificiality4 ,in one ,church you are conscious of a large1 and liberal1 and generous spirit2 in another ,church you are conscious of factions1 fighting1 and meanness and stinginess4 ,that is a fact2 you have felt it4 ,a mere stranger entering the building on a ,sunday morning feels it2 it is there1 there in the very faces of the people as they sit in their pews1 there in the minister as he stands in the pulpit4 ,a public speaker said to me this last week1 ,i may come with my address to a weekday meeting1 but it all depends upon the spirit and mood of the meeting2 it is one thing in one place1 and another in another2 and if you have ever tried to speak in a ,church or at a meeting you will have found it to be so4 ,there may be a dozen men present in that meeting whose spirit is all that you may want1 but they cannot make the result2 the general result of it is determined by the mass4 ,so it may come to pass that in a congregation there may be not a few individual members who are warm1 living1 earnest servants of ,jesus ,christ2 but their goodness is not of the dominating kind2 they have piety1 but they lack manly power2 they have good feeling and good intentions1 but they have not character2 they cannot command the whole2 they cannot give their spirit to the mass of men2 they just survive1 but they cannot take the offensive2 they have need of protection4 ,they live themselves1 but do not live half so strongly or half so healthily as they would in a congregation which was warm to the very tips of its fingers and the fringes of its garments2 they are living1 but the ,church is dead4 ,what is the life of a ,church8 ,the life of a ,church is loving loyalty to ,jesus ,christ1 present more or less in the actual human heart of all the members2 an inner1 hidden thing1 that you cannot weigh in a balance1 that you cannot set down in figures in an annual report1 that you cannot exhibit to a non-believer or a worldling1 but the greatest1 the most powerful force in all our world4 ,the life of a ,church is a living1 real presence of ,jesus ,christ1 as a daily influence on the conduct1 the thoughts1 the words1 the deeds of all the members of that ,church4 ,the life of a ,church is the living presence of ,jesus ,christ in every committee of management1 in every meeting of ,sunday-school teachers1 in every social gathering of the congregation2 a living loyalty and devotion to the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 born out of a grateful certainty that ,he died to save us1 born out of a grand sympathy with ,him1 and under the belief that ,he is willing to save all the men and women and all the little children who are round about us4 ,that is the living life of a ,church1 and nothing else is4 ,you may have a perfect orthodoxy1 and death2 you may have great activity1 and yet you may have death4 ,nothing is the life of a ,church but actual living loyalty and love to the real living ,lord of the ,church1 ,jesus ,christ4 ,christ stands at the right hand of ,god1 judging the ,churches4 ,he judges them by their works4 ,but the life of a ,church is not a thing of the hands or of the tongue2 it is a thing of the heart4 ,at the same time ,christ has to make ,his judgment just2 ,he has to go upon visible facts1 and ,he can safely proceed upon the ,church's work4 ,wherever there is life it cannot be still2 it works1 it moves1 it beats1 it becomes warmed2 it must come out4 ,if a ,church has no works it has no life4 ,what are those works which are the visible signs of a living ,church8 ,they are these3 ,no dry1 spasmodic zeal for orthodoxy when some heresy crops up which makes a public sensation2 no straight1 rigid propriety1 and fineness of outward form1 and sthetic culture of ceremonial4 ,the life that is loving loyalty to ,christ1 present in the heart of every individual member of a congregation1 comes out in this way3 it makes hearty singing on a ,sunday4 ,even a man who has no musical voice1 and who is a little weary1 cannot help singing when his heart is stirred1 even if he stops short in case he should make discord to his neighbours4 ,it is all nonsense to say that people have grateful hearts to ,christ when they sit with shut mouths to ,christ's praise4 ,i know well that habit has a great deal to do with it4 ,it is the way of some ,churches to sing heartily1 and it is the way of some other ,churches to let the choir do the singing2 and ,i know1 therefore1 that you must not too absolutely take such a test as a standard by which you will judge whether or not there is a living warmth1 and enjoyment1 and cheering in the service and in the congregation4 ,i believe all that1 nevertheless ,i have seen the most stiff and silent congregation roused to sing when their hearts were aroused4 ,such silence is a bad habit4 ,and how about the prayers8 ,men will not merely listen to the words1 and will not criticise a man when he prays2 men will be reverent2 men will1 by their very attitude1 make it felt that souls are face to face with ,god4 ,men will not be sitting finding fault with all the blurs and blemishes that there are in the services 7which there must be in every human service7 when their hearts are being fed1 and when their souls are going out to ,god4 ,there will be no lack of ,sunday-school teachers2 and the ,sunday-school teachers in such a ,church will not do their work in a listless and negligent way1 and fail in keeping their appointments and engagements1 but will do it as if it were a pleasure4 ,it is not the blame of ,sunday-school teachers in a dead ,church if they are teachers of that sort2 it is the blame of the dead ,church4 ,how can they keep alive8 ,shall we put the penalty upon those who are partially living8 ,no2 it is the great mass of death1 and decay1 and coldness which is to blame4 ,let us visit the sins on the guilty parties4 ,a living ,church will show its life in hearty1 generous liberality to every good cause4 ,a living ,church will show its life by bravery and courage in taking up new responsibilities that may offer themselves1 and working them most heartily4 ,a living ,church is living1 not because it does one or all of these things1 but because it loves loyalty to the ,lord ,jesus1 who died for it1 and feels that goodness and holiness are the grandest things in the world1 and is eager to have all the children taught to love the ,lord ,jesus1 and all the young people who are going out amid the temptations of life strengthened and helped to withstand them1 and old people whose lives are embittered when a disaster comes upon them made tender1 and soft1 and submissive1 by the life of ,christ in that ,church and among their ,christian neighbours4 ,yes1 the life of a ,church is not a mere liking for what ,christ loves1 and a wish to please ,him1 but real life and real love to ,christ will come out1 not in correctness of creed1 but in life and in work4 ,it is an awful thing when a ,church is dead1 with all the children in it gathering to go to a ,church which is cold1 and to a dragging service1 and to spiritless singing1 and to melancholy prayer1 and to a dry preaching4 ,ay1 ,i have seen children who hated religion1 because their parents1 as ,i believe1 were living in a dead ,church4 ,i have often said1 ,cut your connection with such a ,church2 go rather to another denomination1 which has life4 ,i venture to say that a father who loves his child will sacrifice anything in order that that child may have pleasant and attractive views of religion4 ,but shall the child's first idea of religion come to him in the shape of a crippled and broken-down failure8 ,fathers and mothers are absolutely bound thus to promote the spiritual interests of their children2 it is worth more than anything else that is done for them2 and ,i say that a ,church which is gathering those young people around it1 and keeping them from more dangerous places1 and leading them to have it in their hearts to come and sit down with ,christian people1 is doing more than all the world will ever do4 ,it is worth taking a great deal of trouble to belong to a living ,church1 and it is the absolute duty of every member of every ,church to do all he can not merely to make himself alive1 but to make the whole ,church full of warm1 living life4 ,when a ,church is dead1 or only half alive1 the defect shows itself specifically and certainly in this manner3 ,the ,church's work is only half done1 and can only half be fulfilled1 when only a portion of its members fulfil their allotted task to their ,master4 ,if1 in a ,church which numbers five hundred1 only fifty are doing the utmost they can do1 the ,church's measure of work will not be fulfilled before the judgment-seat of ,god4 ,fifty individuals cannot do what it takes five hundred to do4 ,a half done work1 how it is spoiled6 ,the army were defending the frontier bravely and successfully2 but one cowardly regiment gave way1 and the ranks were broken1 and all the bravery1 and the blood1 and the death of the brave men were lost--lost by the cowardice4 ,the work of a ,church that is wearily done1 in its life and extent1 by a few living men and women in it1 is poorly done2 they do it with such a struggle2 they are so weary and worn out2 they have not pleasure1 they have not enthusiasm1 in doing it4 ,how can they have8 ,oh1 it is hard when a few men and women have to do all the teaching1 and all the visiting1 and all the work at the meetings6 it spoils their work2 it is not fair play4 ,i appeal to you to determine whether ,i speak truly or not4 ,one man cannot do another man's work4 ,one link of a chain cannot do duty for another link1 and if the one goes1 sometimes the chain is worth nothing at all4 ,the work of a dead or half-dead ,church stands before ,god's judgment-seat unfulfilled4 ,how can it tell on the careless8 how can it tell on the worldly8 ,do you think that they will be just1 and say1 ,ah1 look at what the fifty are doing8 ,no1 you may be quite sure that they will look at the deficiency of the four hundred and fifty1 and say1 ,is this a ,church of ,christ8 ,who blames them8 ,a living ,church must work1 and it must work on1 and it must send life through every part and fragment of its whole frame1 or else it has begun to die4 ,it is not a small thing1 of no concern1 if some members of a ,church are doing nothing by being idle4 ,the work that a ,church has to do is the creation of living ,christian character1 and of the conviction that being in ,church on ,sunday and belonging to a congregation make a man a kinder brother1 or a more loving father or husband1 and make a woman a better mother or a more kindly neighbour4 ,that is the best work a ,church can do1 and that does not come to a man through a dead ,church4 ,a living ,church must be making itself felt all around in the world outside by work of that kind2 and ,i say that it is not a matter of no consequence if some members of a ,church are not receiving and not transmitting that warmth and activity4 ,it is not a small matter if one organ of my body be dying1 be passing into mortification2 it means death to the whole body1 and ,i must cut it off unless life can be brought back again into it4 ,it is the very law of life1 as ,god has made it1 that everything which has life in it must be working2 it cannot stop4 ,if your heart stops it is death2 nothing else can make it stop but death4 ,if any organ in your body is always receiving1 but giving nothing1 and not sending out what it gets1 improved1 to the rest1 it means diseased life1 it means death4 ,does the stomach receive its daily food to keep it to itself1 as we so often receive the prayers and sermons in a ,church8 ,no2 as soon as the feeding is done the hard work begins2 the stomach gives it to the blood1 and what does the blood do8 ,as the great carrier of the system1 it delivers it here and there--here a little to this muscle1 there to that bone1 there to the brain1 and all through the body4 ,and what the muscles and the other parts have received do they keep8 ,no2 if the various portions of the body did not give out what they receive they would get choked2 it would be death by surfeit2 they must work4 ,and so the circle of life goes round2 stop it at any one point1 and you spoil the whole circle4 ,if the blood-vessels do not do their work1 if the muscles do not do their work1 and so on throughout the entire system1 it means this1 that that body is not healthy2 it means death to the whole frame4 ,a business man said to me yesterday1 ,as soon as a man ceases pushing his business1 and does not endeavour to extend it1 it falls off4 ,he does not want actually to increase it1 but he must adopt that plan to keep it up to its present mark4 ,the ,church1 alas6 has not been willing to increase its work1 desiring to take on other responsibilities2 it does not say1 ,i cannot rest while people are cold and not interested in doing the ,church's work1 not bent upon bringing in sinners1 and bringing children into the ,sunday-schools to be taught to love and reverence religion1 and causing people whose life is sour and bitter to be soothed and comforted4 ,what ,i have been pressing upon you is the law of life4 ,is it a hard law8 ,no1 it is a kind law4 ,that is how ,god rewards you for what you have done2 ,he gives you more work to do4 ,in reading the parable of the men to whom it was assigned to rule over the cities did you ever mark how they were rewarded8 ,here is a man who has actively and effectively used ten talents4 ,how does his lord reward him--by giving him a sinecure8 ,no2 he says1 ,you shall be ruler over ten cities2 and in the same way the man who has been successful with five talents is made ruler over five cities4 ,did you ever know a man who had served his country well1 and benefited it1 wish to withdraw into a drawing-room1 and spend the remainder of his life in luxury and ease8 ,did you ever know a successful general who wanted to get a big fortune and to retire8 ,no2 successful men cannot be rewarded better than by giving them a deal more to do--larger responsibilities1 larger powers1 a larger sense of strength successfully exerted4 ,that is the blessing and the joy which shall go with larger toil1 and grander accomplishment1 and brighter goodness4 ,the few who are used to work shall have plenty of work4 ,i take it as a sign that ,god is pleased with the results of a ,church when ,he gives them new work to do1 and the heart to take it up4 ,it is not extra work2 it is the reward of the past1 and it is a step that shall lead you to a higher throne4 ,nay1 more2 work is indispensable to the enjoyment of a ,church's good4 ,no ,church can heartily enjoy what we call religious privileges unless it is working hard2 and no individual member of that ,church will get the good of it unless he is taking a part in the ,church's work4 ,he does not need to be an office-bearer or anything of that sort2 his work may be just friendliness to others in the house of ,god1 showing a kind spirit to them or taking an interest in them1 showing neighbourliness by his ,church character4 ,do not think that it is a high array of talents that is required2 no1 it is the ,church's function of being all of one mind1 and knit together and helping one another1 and sympathising with one another1 being bound up in the common lot of disasters and trials4 ,i say that no individual member1 unless he is taking his part1 is a living member of that ,church4 ,if people are very fastidious about the doctrines which are preached1 if people are searching into the sense of every hymn or prayer1 if people are finding fault with the way in which everything is done1 then it may be that the ,church is to blame2 but if the ,church is doing its work as well as any poor human ,church can do it1 ,i advise such a one to say to himself1 ,may not ,i be to blame8 ,if you think that the daily food which is provided for you is not properly cooked1 and it is not of the proper sort1 and does not taste well1 is it not your doctor you want to go to1 to ask him to cure you of dyspepsia8 ,and in all probability he will recommend to you exercise and hard work4 ,a hard-working man does not complain even of dry bread2 he is not particular2 he has an appetite4 ,i have known1 in the ,church to which ,i belonged before ,i began to preach1 how pleased ,i was even with sermons which had no originality in them if ,i saw that they were part of the common work4 ,it was my home1 and you do not criticise your own home2 and you do not criticise your father and mother2 you believe in the power which you get from your father1 because he is yours4 ,throw yourself into the ,church1 become a part of it1 take an interest in everything1 and it is wonderful how little you will have of criticism about you4 ,take plenty of spiritual exercise1 and you may be sure that even a bare and poor spiritual diet will agree wonderfully with you4 ,christ reckons with ,churches--,christ at ,god's right hand1 what is ,he about8 ,when ,he was down here on earth ,he went hither and thither1 seeking the lost2 ,he forgave the woman that wept at ,his feet2 ,he saved the dying thief4 ,oh1 gentle1 loving ,saviour ,jesus1 the same yesterday1 and to-day1 and for ever6 ,and at ,god's right hand ,he is loving1 and pitying1 and forgiving my sins1 and pleased with my tears of repentance--forbearing1 tender1 saving ,jesus6 ,we preach that2 we should not be men1 we should not be ,christians1 if we did not preach that2 we could not live without that thought of ,jesus4 ,but let us be true2 do not let us hide facts4 ,that same ,jesus stands at ,god's right hand1 judging the ,churches1 reckoning with them4 ,oh1 to a penitent sinner ,he is all heart1 but to a slothful servant ,he is a faithful ,master6 ,he reckons with ,churches2 ,he reckons with individuals4 ,it would not be kind if ,he did not reckon with you4 ,would you wish ,him not to reckon8 ,would you like to say1 ,i do not care whether ,he does anything with me or not8 ,ah1 ,i should begin to think that ,christ did not love you at all if ,he did not reckon with you1 if he were not grieved and angry when you did not do your duty to ,him and to your neighbour6 ,where would be the dignity of life if we did not believe in a great last judgment1 with a stern reckoning with sin8 ,we should sink to the level of the animals if there were no judgment4 ,it proves that man has an immortal spirit4 ,what does it matter1 with the animals1 what they do8 ,but ,god must reckon with man1 and ,he would not be reigning if man had not to reckon on an awful judgment-day for every spirit4 ,it is a proof to me that ,i am of moment1 and that my human spirit has dignity2 it makes clear to me my place in the universe1 and my claim to immortality2 it shows me that ,i am of sufficient importance to necessitate ,god's reckoning with me4 ,churches1 too1 must be reckoned with4 ,it would argue that they were mere nurseries1 were hospitals for people to be convalescent in1 mere nonentities1 counting for nothing in the great work of the world and the mighty purpose of ,god1 if we did not know that ,christ was to reckon with them4 ,they have great powers given to them1 they have great capabilities1 they have tremendous responsibilities2 they can fulfil ,god's purposes in the world1 and nothing but their supineness and listlessness hinders them2 and ,god and ,christ must reckon with ,churches4 ,i would not have it different4 ,let ,them reckon with them1 and let me remember that ,they will reckon with me and my ,church2 and let me be full of good works4 ,christ must reckon with it1 for the ,church's sake4 ,how could ,he but care8 ,oh1 if we did but believe what we preach and what we read in our ,gospels6 ,it is that ,jesus lost all things which men look for2 that ,he turned aside from every joy of life2 that ,he gathered sorrows around ,him2 that ,his great heart was broken upon the cross2 that ,he spent all ,his life--for what8 ,that ,he might save men from eternal banishment from ,god2 that ,he might put happiness instead of misery into every house where there are unholiness and evil2 that ,he might make men brighter and better4 ,his great heart was all warm and eager for it4 ,oh1 what ,he has sacrificed6 ,he is a disappointed1 lost man if ,he fails1 and if ,he succeeds it must be done through ,his congregations1 through ,his ,churches1 through men and women here4 ,how can ,he but care8 how can ,he but watch8 ,as all the ,church's activity goes by before ,god's throne1 the recording angel takes it down4 ,does ,he see a ,church whose members have taught the little children on the ,sunday afternoon to love ,him better2 a ,church which has made men whose faith in ,him was nearly crushed out by sinful practices think again of ,christ and heaven2 a ,church which has put a man once more on his feet1 and given him to his wife and children1 and they have been glad because the father and husband has loved them again8 ,how can it but be that those who fight for ,him should rejoice when a ,church is thus acting for ,god1 as compared with a ,church that does nothing8 ,oh1 if we could but believe and feel1 when we come into church on a ,sunday morning1 that ,jesus is watching all that is going on--watching to see if our hearts are made more soft and tender1 more reverent and gentle1 more full of kind thoughts to those who sit round about us--watching to see if we speak a kind word--watching to see if we resolve to do more for ,him--watching to see if we can give liberally to help in what is being done for ,him1 and to support those who have special gifts for special work6 ,the ,lord ,jesus has ,his eyes upon us in this spiritual ,church framework4 ,it does bind us together1 and1 thank ,god6 ,i will say of ourselves has bound us together for much good work1 and ,i believe will bind us more closely together4 ,if every ,sunday morning we only felt and believed it1 and came and knelt and praised1 and listened with light in our hearts1 we should do our work well and have the reward of very faithful servants4 ,v4 ,a ,,lesson ,,in ,,christian ,,help4 ,wherefore lift up the hands which hang down1 and the enfeebled knees2 and make straight smooth paths for with your feet1 lest that which is lame be turned out of the way2 but let it rather be healed or1 in order that that which is lame may not be caused to go astray1 but may rather be healed4--,,heb4 xii4 #ab1 #ac4 ,subjected to severe and harassing persecution on account of their ,christian faith1 and plied by subtle arguments and doubts1 which had all the more seductive powers from the immunity from suffering which would be gained by yielding to them1 the members of the ,church to whom this letter was addressed had become discouraged1 depressed1 perplexed1 and some1 staggered and tempted1 were even in danger of renouncing their allegiance to ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,after warning them of the doom and misery of deserting the cross of ,christ1 inciting them to endurance by the long and shining roll of patriarchs1 prophets1 martyrs1 and by the example of the dying ,saviour1 the ,apostle explains to them how all this trial and suffering is the chastening of ,fatherly love1 destined to bring forth the peaceable fruit of righteousness1 and finally exhorts them to rise above their despondency and enfeeblement1 to advance with strong1 unwavering faith in the right path1 in order that thereby those who were crippled by doubt or temptation might be saved from straying quite away1 helped over their difficulties1 and in the end restored to firm and abiding faith4 ,the command in the text assumes the existence of two classes in the ,church--those that need help1 that must lean on others1 and those who are able and ought to give help and support4 ,just as in a flock of sheep1 so in the ,church1 there will be some strong1 vigorous1 active1 and others weak1 feeble-kneed1 lame4 ,let us recognise this fact honestly1 and be prepared to face it4 ,differences and degrees of faith1 assurance1 consistency1 there are and must be4 ,when the ,church of ,christ is oppressed by persecution1 seduced by temptation1 assailed by unbelief1 do not be amazed to find that some spirits will be crippled1 drawn away into wrong1 just on the very point of being altogether perverted1 and remember that there ought to be others who1 by their indomitable perseverance1 their immovable faith1 the unbroken solidarity and persistence of their march1 shall support and carry forward in safety those who1 but for such environment and protection1 if left to combat solitary and unaided1 had stumbled and fallen in the storm of persecution and seduction1 or been clean swept away by the waves of doubt and unbelief4 ,there are ever these two classes among the followers of ,jesus--the strong1 the brave1 the helpful1 the steadfast2 the weak1 the timorous1 the dependent1 the wavering4 ,brother1 to which of these do you belong8 ,answer that question honestly1 and then think what you should reply to this other question3 ,to which class ought you to belong8 ,i am confident if ,christian men and women would but enrol themselves not according to their meaner and unworthier inclinations1 but in accordance with the voice of duty and the promptings of all that is most noble and generous in them1 we should not have 7as we do now7 in the army of ,christ the vast majority ranking as incapable and non-efficient1 while only a small minority do the fighting and defending4 ,clearly my text supposes that the mass will be strong and helpful1 with only one or two feeble1 incompetent2 just as in a flock of sheep the greater number are healthy1 whole1 and able-bodied1 while only a few are disabled and lamed4 ,it should be so in all our congregations4 ,perhaps in some the ideal is fairly realised4 ,but looking at the ,church as a whole1 do ,i exaggerate in thinking that there are many1 very many1 who ought to be able-bodied and aidful1 but who regard themselves as exonerated from active service1 as incompetent to take part in any way in the warfare of the ,cross1 as persons to be defended1 not to help in the defence8 ,how is it with each of you8 ,what is your habitual attitude when goodness1 truth1 righteousness1 ,christ are assailed8 ,in some social or intellectual company where the followers of ,christ are in the minority1 or it may be where you stand quite alone1 you hear virtue or purity sneered at1 condemned2 or justice and mercy ridiculed1 discredited2 or the faith in things unseen rudely mocked and denied4 ,do you then always bravely speak out for the glory and majesty of purity and goodness1 for the reality and grandeur of ,god and ,christ8 or do you yield to the craven cowardice that lurks even in regenerate men1 and1 saying it is for ministers1 or apologists1 or the strong and clever to defend ,christ1 meanly hold your peace8 ,so far from dreaming that you are bound to defend the truth1 you perhaps pity yourself for being subjected to such trial1 and admire your own fidelity1 that can survive such assaults4 ,instead of feeling yourself a coward1 you rather regard yourself as a martyr1 a person much to be commiserated and admired1 and wonder how the ,lord should so heartlessly expose your faith to such trials1 while all the time you are in reality a weak1 ignoble recreant4 ,but you may say1 ,what6 am ,i to speak when ,i know that ,i should only be ridiculed1 laughed at1 beaten in argument1 when ,i am certain my effort would be defeated1 rejected with ignominy8 ,but there is no necessity you should argue2 nay1 if your arguments will be foolish or weak it is your duty to keep them to yourself4 ,but you are not bidden to argue1 prove1 demonstrate anything2 only you are to confess1 to protest against evil1 and loyally side with the truth4 ,and if you are not to do that except when you know you will be applauded and triumphant1 what of your ,master's conduct8 ,he was laughed at1 scorned1 despised1 rejected1 defeated1 and ,he knew it all from the first4 ,brother1 you are to follow ,him in all ,he did1 and so you are to stand by the truth even when you know it will only bring scorn1 scoffs1 defeat1 failure on you4 ,nevertheless be sure in such a defeat and failure only you shall suffer4 ,as in ,christ's death1 though ,he dies1 the truth triumphs1 and the crown of thorns becomes a crown of glory4 ,this sin of selfish indolence1 of weak-minded inaction1 carries its own penalty with it4 ,who of us has not learned the terrible retribution by bitter experience8 ,if you who ought to have been strong1 who ought to have defended your ,lord1 were guilty of timidly shirking your duty1 of feebly failing to declare your faith1 then your faith will seem to you a poor1 weakly thing1 and ,christianity itself feeble and infirm4 ,in these days of outspoken unbelief1 of staggering attack1 and of widespread defection1 if you think only of yourself1 feel no obligation of defence1 yield aggrievedly to terror and alarm1 regarding yourself as wronged in being exposed thus1 and reproaching others who1 you think1 ought to have been able to silence such foes and quite shelter you from seduction1 then your faith will be shaken1 your hands hang down1 and your knees tremble4 ,but if you felt yourself bound to be considerate of others1 to be one of the strong1 not one of the feeble1 to defend the infirm and the timid1 how different it would be with yourself6 you would have courage1 faith1 strength2 in this fashion doing the will of ,god1 you would learn that the doctrine was of ,god4 ,in the case of ,christianity men act as they would be ashamed to act in other situations4 ,you who are so given over to alarms1 so hopeless of the faith1 suppose you were in a ship that has sprung a leak1 how should you act8 ,should we find you among the timid and the hysterical1 who lose head and heart1 refuse to help at the pumps1 fling themselves in despair on the deck1 and do their best to dishearten and impede the brave men who1 keeping their misgivings to themselves1 toil on with bravery to try and save the lives of all8 ,there are some constituted with such despondent1 enfeebled nerves as to be excusable for such conduct1 but in the ,christian ,church there are many with no such justification1 who shake their heads gloomily1 cry despairingly that the ,church is in danger1 the faith abandoned1 do their utmost to weaken and dispirit their brethren1 all the time never dreaming how weak and cowardly is their conduct1 or that they ought rather to be comforters1 helpers1 defenders4 ,the cause of this ignoble conduct seems to me to consist in the fact that many ,christians have got to see only one side of ,christianity1 and that the selfish or personal side4 ,they have learned that by becoming ,christ's ,he undertakes to save them1 but they have failed to apprehend that1 on the other hand1 this relation involves that they are to serve ,him4 ,again1 their notion of what is implied in entering the membership of the ,church is quite as one-sided4 ,they consider that the purpose of this tie is that you may be cared for1 guarded1 developed by the ,church--all which is true2 but then they quite fail to see that also you are bound to aid1 defend1 and protect the ,church4 ,how many ,christians are there who never dream of owing any duty to the ,church1 but consider it to be simply constructed for the purpose of doing everything for them needful for salvation4 ,within it they are to be surrounded by sanctifying influences1 fed by ordinances1 guarded in its holy atmosphere from the world's miasma2 in a word1 they are to be fostered1 preached to1 prayed for1 visited1 tended1 and all the time they have nothing whatever to do for the ,church4 ,but while all this is done by the ,church1 that is not the only nor the cardinal conception of either the ,church or its members4 ,brethren1 the ,church of ,christ is a great army of valiant and able-bodied soldiers1 sent out to battle with evil1 led on by officers who ought indeed to encourage and care for the men1 but whose main duty1 nevertheless1 is to lead them to conflict and conquest4 ,according to this modern notion1 that ,church members are to do nothing but be cared for and protected1 the ,church is made to be more a sort of great nursery or convalescent hospital1 provided with a staff of doctors1 nurses1 and visitors1 and the ,church members are not soldiers1 but rather a sect of weaklings1 invalids1 and infirm1 who are just kept in life by ceaseless care and nursing4 ,from this mistaken and perverted notion of what it means to belong to ,jesus ,christ1 from the miserable failure to recognise the public and primary obligations resting on all the ,lord's followers1 from forgetting that the kingdom of ,god is founded not merely to foster and ripen those in it for heaven1 but that they may extend its conquering boundaries over all the world2 from these unhappy errors spring the impotency1 the half-heartedness1 the dispirited timidity of so large a part of the ,church in the present day4 ,this is the origin of that general sort of notion as if we should be thankful if ,christians just survived2 as if it were natural and changeless that the ,church should be despised and scorned2 as if against unbelief ,christianity should not venture to raise her voice very assuredly1 but stand on the defensive1 and be thankful if she can just hold her own2 as if it were natural and normal that ,christians should find their faith hard pressed1 hardly able to stand its ground1 and they themselves feel weak1 timid1 alarmed1 and helpless4 ,but perchance you may be inclined to defend this state of mind and this selfish notion of ,christianity2 nay1 you may think that you have ,scripture on your side4 ,in opposition to the assertion that in place of being merely cared for1 you are to fight1 and in place of being timid1 you are to be brave1 you may recall the fact that ,christ compares ,his people to sheep whom ,he shelters safely and tends in a snug fold1 free from struggle and terror2 and urge that sheep are not suggestive of combativeness1 and that it is natural for them to tremble when a lion roars outside1 and to count on the shepherd driving the evil beast away1 while nobody expects them to face the ravager4 ,but do you not see that our ,lord meant that comparison to illustrate only ,his relationship to them and ,his treatment of them8 while if you are to infer from it also that ,he meant them1 in their attitude to the world and unbelief1 to be timid and helpless as sheep1 then how do you explain that elsewhere they are compared to soldiers1 commanded to be valiant1 fearless1 daring8 ,if they are to do no fighting1 then why are they told to put on the whole armour of ,god1 to be faithful unto death1 to endure hardness as good soldiers of ,jesus ,christ8 ,ah1 we are very fond of these pleasant1 comfortable comparisons1 and are constantly perverting them by misapplying them to positions they have nothing to do with4 ,but you may reply1 ,did not our ,lord say ,himself1 to ,his disciples1 that ,he sent them out as sheep among wolves8 ,yes1 indeed1 but only to inform them of what treatment they might expect from the world1 not surely with the intention of indicating that they were to meet the world's hostility as a sheep meets a wolf's1 cowering1 trembling1 fleeing4 ,if ,he meant that they were to be timid1 helpless1 sheeplike1 why did ,he say also1 ,i give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy8 why did ,he send them out to conquer the world8 ,how was it that the disciples so thoroughly misunderstood the command8 ,when ,peter1 facing the hostile judges1 avowed that he would obey ,god1 and not them1 that was not timid1 that was not sheeplike4 ,when ,paul fought with wild beasts at ,ephesus1 that1 too1 was not at all in the manner of a sheep among its foes4 ,when the ,apostle1 in the same ,epistle1 bids the readers resist unto blood1 when you remember how so many of our ,lord's followers have indeed sealed their witness with their lives1 surely it is plain that we have forgotten one side of our ,christian duty4 ,we ought to be wise as serpents in dealing with the foe1 harmless as doves to our brethren and friends2 but that is very much inverted now1 and the chief characteristic of many a soldier of the ,cross is just his perfect harmlessness in the combat4 ,brethren1 you look for the crown of righteousness that sparkled before ,paul's closing eyes1 bright amid the gathering shades of his martyr death4 ,but that crown was not gained without hazard1 not won by slothful ease1 but earned on many a bloody1 painful field1 while he fought the good fight4 ,believe me1 there shall be no crown for you unless1 like ,paul1 you too have fought that fight1 and kept that faith1 for which he bravely lived and bravely died4 ,nevertheless there will always be among ,christ's disciples those that are weak-handed1 feeble-kneed1 and lame2 some permanently and constitutionally affected with feebleness and infirmity2 and now and again a strong one maimed1 injured by extreme and undue exposure1 or crippled by some untoward accident4 ,it was so among these ,hebrew ,christians4 ,intimidated by persecution1 disheartened by the spoiling of their goods1 shaken by the arguments of unbelief1 several grew less steadfast in their confession of ,christ1 others were perplexed and confused1 and some were just on the verge of deserting and abandoning the faith4 ,among us there is no more imprisoning1 goods spoiling and persecution to stagger our faith in ,christ1 but there are instead a whole world of seductions1 of discouragements1 of mockeries1 and of unbelieving sneers4 ,still1 too1 there are with us the weak1 the maimed1 the misled2 many who never have attained to much spirituality or consistency2 others who for a time went well1 but became entangled in the mazes of the world's sinful attractions1 or were overtaken by sudden temptation1 enfeebled by persistent opposition and ridicule1 paralysed by difficulties1 disappointments1 doubts1 or unbelief4 ,i wish we did more fully realise and constantly remember that there are to be among ,christ's own ones really such as these1 weaklings1 cripples1 tempted1 fallen2 brethren overtaken by snares1 seductions1 unbelief1 whom we ought to pity1 whom we ought to help4 ,only it is needful to bear in mind that we are not to conclude that every one who gives himself out as such is really a wounded brother1 to be sympathised with and aided4 ,for there are many who only imagine themselves distressed1 who give themselves out as greatly tried and buffeted1 more from a kind of mental hypochondriasis or foolish fondness for being talked of and fussed over4 ,this is especially so in the matter of doubt and religious difficulty4 ,for just as it happens that in the fashionable world it is sometimes proper to have a lisp or limp1 in imitation of some dignitary1 so1 unfortunately1 at the present day it has become fashionable to go halt of one foot in faith2 and there are persons1 thoroughly excellent and orthodox in reality1 who are impelled to let all their acquaintances know what dark struggles of soul they pass through1 and of how much it costs them to face the unbelieving spectres of their minds4 ,brethren1 when a man has a real skeleton in his closet he does not go round the circle of his friends1 flaunting that unpleasant fact in their faces4 ,when a man tells you1 with a smile of complacent superiority on his face1 of his conflicts with doubt1 you need not expend much sympathy or anxiety on him2 like all other affectations1 this one may be left to die a natural death4 ,no1 the man to whom doubt is a real spectre1 a veritable agony1 does not blazon his pain abroad2 like ,jacob's wrestle with his dread midnight foe1 the real soul-struggles are fought out in darkness and alone4 ,it is these who are truly stricken1 wounded1 well-nigh carried away--these1 and these alone1 whom you are asked to pity and to help4 ,but as a matter of fact1 how do we ,christian men and women who have not fallen treat such weaker brethren1 ,i mean persons who have really been crippled1 really erred8 ,the text very plainly implies that we are not to cast them off1 but to compassionate them and seek to recover them4 ,nay1 mere human kindness would require the same4 ,as soldiers seek to rescue1 not to slay1 a comrade well-nigh carried off by the foe1 so surely we ,christians should not attack1 but strive to regain a brother captured in the meshes of temptation or unbelief4 ,and no doubt to a very large extent true ,christians do act so1 though ,i fear not with that unvarying pitifulness that ought to extend the same charity to all4 ,do we not make unrighteous differences1 leaving room for restoration to some of the erring1 and closing heart and door against others8 ,partly from thoughtlessness1 partly from prejudice1 partly from contempt of what is weakness or cowardice1 there are some falling1 straying souls whom we treat too much like those evil animals that whenever one of the herd is wounded or crippled fall upon the victim and tear him in pieces4 ,when we hear of a brother falling1 doubting1 denying1 have we not all sometimes felt only anger1 reprobation--nay1 uttered sharp1 cruel1 merciless words of final condemnation and irretrievable doom8 ,do we not often treat erring ones so8 ,it is very natural1 for these feeble-handed1 weak-kneed1 crippled ones are an eye-sore1 unpleasant to have to do with1 a discredit to the ,church and the most convenient plan is to cast them off4 ,nevertheless1 it is most inhuman1 most unchristian1 and can only spring from one of two errors4 ,either you do not have that fraternal love for all your brethren in ,christ which you ought to have4 ,when your brother after the flesh1 or your son1 catches a deadly complaint 7it may be through his own recklessness and disobedience71 or is wounded by some hostile assault1 you do not in anger cast him out to die1 for you love him4 ,would ,god we had more love among ,christians6 ,or it may be the reason of your harsh treatment is that you mistake your straying1 doubting brother for an enemy1 and fail to see that he is a victim4 ,of course there is a great distinction between one of ,christ's little ones swept into doubt1 and a hostile1 malignant unbeliever1 seeking to harm the flock4 ,this last you must indeed oppose1 and seek to drive out of the fold1 though even then you will feel for him as our ,lord did when ,he wept over ,jerusalem1 and on the cross prayed1 ,father1 forgive them4 ,but it is not of such we speak now1 only of those who are themselves not wolves1 but wounded1 wandered sheep4 ,remember1 therefore1 that they are your brethren1 and pity and help them4 ,perhaps you say1 ,what6 can it be right to feel pity1 kindness1 compassion1 love for men who have gone astray from ,christ1 rebelled against the ,master1 forsaken and denied the ,saviour8 ,remember how ,jesus treated the eleven1 who deserted ,him1 ,peter1 who denied ,him1 ,thomas1 who would not believe4 ,nay1 more1 can you for one moment doubt the rightfulness of feeling so to sinning brethren1 be they as bad as they may1 and of treating them so1 you who do believe that from all eternity ,god set ,his love1 compassion1 saving purpose on sinners--rebellious1 hateful sinners--without one spark of merit or goodness in them to deserve it8 ,brethren1 it is not wrong1 it is not weak1 it is noble1 ,christlike1 ,godlike to pity1 to love1 to tenderly seek and save the lost1 the sinning1 the erring1 the fallen4 99 99 99 99 99 ,finally1 remark how the text suggests that you are to render them assistance and support4 ,suppose it is a brother becoming involved in worldly or dangerous entanglements1 lapsing into doubtful courses1 or yielding to the freezing influence of ungodly or sceptical companions4 ,now1 direct interference1 immediate intervention1 is not always possible1 is often difficult1 sometimes impossible4 ,besides1 often the mischief is already done ere you perceive it4 ,or again1 it is intellectual difficulty or doubt that you have to deal with4 ,to meet the objections1 to remove the doubts1 would be well1 but perchance you are not skilled1 competent to do that2 or it may be they are such as cannot be removed4 ,here1 again1 direct remedies may be impracticable4 ,are you1 then1 powerless1 helpless to aid8 ,far from it4 ,a method better than all immediate and special action lies open for you1 for all ,christian men and women4 ,make straight1 smooth paths with your feet4 ,it may be you cannot personally do anything to support the maimed or arrest the erring1 but you can nevertheless render most important service4 ,as a flock of sheep1 by all moving on regularly in one united mass1 with their feet smooth down the roughnesses and entanglements of the way1 breaking down the entrapping brambles1 clearing away the furze and tripping briers1 leaving behind them a plain and open track1 trodden down and freed of obstructions1 stones1 and stumbling-blocks1 so that the weak and crippled are not turned aside or overthrown2 so if the strong and whole body of ,christian men and women will but move steadfastly on amid the mazes of temptation and over the stumbling-stones of evil1 the feeble1 tempted1 erring will be helped forward1 and1 borne along in the united1 combined advance1 will not fall behind or be baffled1 overthrown1 or led astray by difficulties and impediments4 ,yes1 infinitely more powerful than any isolated rebuke1 or warning1 or intervention1 is the force of united ,christian example and protecting aid1 to keep in the right path the halt1 the maimed1 the blind4 ,what the tempted1 the world-seduced1 the doubting1 the unbelieving need is not rebukes1 cautions1 exhortations1 refutations of objections1 but it is to be drawn out of the cold1 freezing world of evil and doubt into the warm1 living1 breathing atmosphere of loving1 real ,christian fellowship2 to be surrounded by the resistless progression in rectitude1 in faith and love1 of ,christlike1 ,god-fearing souls4 ,with blows of reprimand and logical argument you may pound and break the ice of sin and unbelief1 but though broken1 it remains cold1 winter ice1 freezing still4 ,bring it into the summer radiance1 the golden sunshine of warm ,christian life2 then it will be melted away1 and the hard heart grow soft and tender in the breath of the all-quickening ,spirit4 ,brethren1 it is for this that the ,master has gathered us into families and homes1 friendly circles and fellowships1 congregations and churches4 ,it is because some of ,his own will be very weak1 timid1 facile to fall1 lukewarm1 tempted1 erring1 doubting4 ,have you settled it with yourself1 strong1 high-principled1 undoubting ,christian1 that the ,church is not a club of stainless1 perfect souls1 but that there are to be in it such foolish1 feeble1 ignoble ones1 real doubters1 backsliders1 wanderers1 and that yet they are your brethren1 little ones of the common ,lord8 ,and it is just for their sake1 that they may be saved1 that ,he has caused us to be knit together into one flock1 that they may be kept from falling1 restored when they err1 strengthened1 cheered1 loved1 and helped4 ,ah1 we know not for the most part how much there is of strength and comfort for us in this6 ,for all of us there is1 for even the very strong1 they that have comforted most1 sometimes will be very weak themselves1 and long for sympathy and support4 ,once even the blessed ,master ,himself in broken-hearted agony besought that help1 and prayed ,his followers1 ,tarry ye here1 and watch with ,me4 ,my brother1 if you can remember a time when you were enabled to endure1 to conquer1 because ,christian friends stood around you and watched with you1 then be pitiful to your tempted brother now4 ,it may be that his limping1 stumbling gait is very unpleasant to you1 and you do not care to be known as of his company2 his halt1 ungainly walk does not look well beside your high1 triumphal march4 ,perchance in heaven there is more good pleasure over his paltry pace than over your proud progress4 ,ah1 friends1 we see too little now to judge1 who know not one another's hurts and trials6 ,we who have the sunshine on our path1 and bounding vigour in our tread1 forget1 ,i fear1 how to many struggling souls the path is very flinty1 rough1 and hard1 swept by wild storms of passion and rushing floods of fierce temptation2 while the thick darkness and awful solitude1 haunted by mocking spectres of death-like doubts and fears1 wrap them round with a chill1 paralysing shroud of despair4 ,you who have never been so tempted1 give ,god thanks and be humble1 very humble1 and lowly1 and merciful4 ,have infinite forbearance and compassion4 ,remember that one harsh word1 one hopeless look from you may numb a last feeble grasp on goodness1 and sink a brother despairing in the black abyss2 while a kindly look1 a helping hand1 a loving1 free1 generous pardon and word of hope from you may be to him the voice of eternal forgiveness in heaven1 and power of restoration even now4 ,brethren1 when1 against some brother who has fallen1 sinned or gone astray1 quick anger flames in your heart1 and to your lips sharp1 cutting words of reprobation leap1 let this word of ,christ ring in your ears3 ,whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in ,me1 it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck1 and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea4 ,and as that word of dreadful condemnation awes each lurid spark of hasty anger from your soul1 let these words of endless peace1 and joy1 and mercy steal in1 and soften all your spirit into gentlest pity1 tenderness1 and love3 ,brethren1 if any of you do err from the truth1 and one convert him2 let him know1 that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death1 and shall hide a multitude of sins4 ,wherefore let us lift up the hands which hang down1 and the feeble knees2 and let us make straight paths with our feet1 lest that which is lame be turned out of the way2 but let it rather be healed4 ,,vi4 ,,joseph',s ,,faith4#a ,by faith ,joseph1 when he died1 made mention of the departing of the children of ,israel2 and gave commandment concerning his bones4--,,heb4 xi4 #bb4 ,faith is a word that we hear a great deal of in theological exposition and in religious teaching4 ,it is a good thing constantly to remind ourselves of what its actual meaning is4 ,the #aath chapter of this ,epistle begins with a definition of faith1 and then gives examples of it4 ,the definition is a little hard to understand2 nobody can misunderstand the illustrations4 ,according to the inspired writer1 faith is recognising the will of ,god1 taking it and doing it2 that is faith1 and nothing else is--no theories about ,god1 no rules1 and laws1 and definitions about ,god's government of the world1 no intellectual adherence to any explanation of theology4 ,faith1 real and living1 means that the ,god who comes into contact with you in your life and your world has a will1 and shows it to you4 ,if you bow down before that actual will of ,god1 that it may save you from your real sins1 and that ,he may use you in saving the dead around you2 if you adore it1 and worship it1 and account it the best thing in your life1 and give yourself up to it1 as the one thing worth doing1 though there be many a forsaking and many a return to ,god1 if you hold on through your life1 doing the will of ,god1 then you are a man of faith4 ,joseph was a man of faith1 in the olden times1 all his life long4 ,from his very boyhood he had possessed faith4 ,in the dreams that came to him as a lad he welcomed ,god's face1 not quite understanding all ,he meant1 and a little misusing the high vocation that came to him1 accepting it in the pride of his heart4 ,in his trials and his prosperity1 in his public career1 in his private home life1 on his death-bed1 he lived with ,god1 reckoned with ,god1 and loved ,god1 and tried to do ,god's will on the earth4 ,one deed stands out supreme and stupendous4 ,joseph on his dying bed looked forward into the future1 and there1 amidst the mists1 discerned the promise of the world's redemption1 forecast the coming of ,god's kingdom on earth1 and chose what to him was the greatest and grandest thing in his dying1 and so gave commandment for the burying of his bones away in distant ,canaan4 ,i am going to ask you to follow me as ,i rapidly sketch the great outstanding elements of struggle and triumph in ,joseph's career1 in order that ,i may show you the splendid feature of faith1 and that in dying he was still loyal to the dreams of his youth4 ,joseph was a younger son4 ,he had the misfortune to be his father's favourite2 he was exempted from hard toil2 he was kept near his old father2 his brethren hated him for it2 probably he misbehaved himself2 he was no saint1 else there would be no good in my preaching about him4 ,he had the misfortune to be spoiled by his father4 ,he had intelligence1 and he was wide awake2 but there was nothing in the early years of the lad to give evidence of any extraordinary ability1 or to forecast any splendid career for him1 with the exception of one thing3 ,joseph was a great dreamer in his sleep2 and as a boy he woke up from his sleep1 and saw visions1 glorious castles in the air2 and they were not all floating away in cloudland1 high up above him1 but he saw himself in them2 they had an intense personal interest for him4 ,perhaps he was very injudicious1 and probably disagreeable1 in the tone and fashion of telling these dreams to his brothers4 ,their sheaves in the harvest gathered round and made obeisance to his sheaf2 the meaning plainly being that he was to rise to great power1 that he would hold them in his hand1 and be lord and master over them4 ,they might not have much interest for us2 but ,joseph belonged to a family that believed that they held a unique position in the world's history1 and that they were to bring a great blessing into this world4 ,they had not grasped exactly what it was1 nor understood the significance of the spiritual kingdom of heaven2 but none the less they heard ,god's voice around them1 so that this world became to them a place in which ,he lived and moved3 thus they rose to the grandeur of the conception that they were to have a master hand in carving the fortunes of the world4 ,out of many of his brethren1 ,god had selected ,joseph to be an inheritor and administrator of the ,divine purpose of blessing to the world1 and to do unique deeds of valour for the kingdom of ,god4 ,now ,i have said that the one remarkable thing about ,joseph's boyhood1 the one thing that might excite your expectation about his future1 was that he dreamt dreams2 he was a great dreamer in his youth4 ,i can understand many a shrewd1 practical man saying that that was not much to his credit3 ,a lad that is always dreaming dreams will not do much4 ,quite true1 if the one1 the only purpose of life is to eat and drink and to gather all the dirt together with the muck-rake2 but if man has a ,divine destiny in him1 if man lives in two worlds--a world that you see with your eyes1 a world where money is current1 and another world where your sovereigns are worth nothing1 a world of truth and honour1 generosity1 love1 goodness1 self-denial1 moral achievement and victory1 then it comes to a great deal2 it means very much for a boy's future if he has dreams that are not of earth1 but of heaven4 ,there are dreams and dreams4 ,there are dreams that come of laziness1 idleness1 selfishness1 and over-feeding1 gross nightmares1 fit for swine2 dreams coming of self-indulgence and worldliness1 poor grovelling things2 a man's mind is not much better for them4 ,there are dreams that are born of a back-boneless sentimentality1 of sweet mock chivalry1 that loves to represent itself in pretty pictures2 not much good comes of them4 ,but there are other dreams1 that come out of a man's wide-awake activity2 dreams that are the vapours rising from a fervent spirit1 from the cooling of the machinery4 ,they work out the character that ,god is weaving in that lad or in that young girl4 ,these dreams are prophetic2 they have something of heaven in them2 they are something higher than the common3 from ,god they come2 they are the threads and fibres by which ,he would lead us on to do great deeds on earth1 and at last receive us as faithful and good servants of our ,master4 ,i do believe in the dreams of youth1 that come in at that window which is open heavenward in every young soul1 until the dust and dirt of earth cloud it over2 the dreams of romance1 that stupid old people try to crush and drive out1 and that the world puts its heel upon2 those dreams of friendship and honour1 of truth and purity1 to be chosen rather than worldly gain2 those dreams of love1 generous and tender1 that shall make two lives knit together into one of exceptional tenderness and goodness4 ,there is the breath of heaven here2 these are the golden glows in the mists of life's morning1 that come from ,god1 and are the guarantees of a splendid sunset on earth1 and beyond1 a brighter dawn in heaven4 ,would to ,god that all of us1 when we are old men and women1 may be able to think without shame and remorse about the dreams of our youth2 that the woman has been true to her dreams1 and has fulfilled the sweet1 unselfish ideals of her girlhood1 and been a noble1 loving wife and mother2 that the lad has come through this world1 at least comparatively unspotted1 with a heart fresh and tender1 not eaten up by selfishness and greed1 with a clean conscience1 with the benediction in his old age of having made other men happy and good4 ,oh1 the worst enemies of your dying bed1 that will come to mock you1 will be the dreams of your youth1 of your boyhood and girlhood1 should they be unfulfilled6 ,but if you can only in part realise them in your life they will be angels that will come to comfort you4 ,there is a great deal more dreaming done in this world than we dull1 prosaic1 old people will allow4 ,it is not merely the lads and girls that dream1 for the fact is that we do not know how much we ourselves dream2 both young and old do it1 but with a difference3 the young folks mostly dream about themselves1 and the old folks are tired of dreaming about themselves2 but there are the wonderful dreams in the hearts of fathers and mothers1 to keep their children pure and good1 and to make them happy4 ,what would the world be without those sweet1 loving dreams8 ,thank ,god for them6 ,how much it means for the boy and the girl that their mother dreamt noble things for them when they were young6 ,there never was a man yet that came to be a very great or good man in ,god's world but his mother dreamt how he was to be brave1 true1 generous1 loving1 helpful to others2 and because her dreams came from ,god1 she prayed for that son that he might be good1 and brave1 and noble1 and the lad grew great because his mother dreamt great things for him4 ,there is a sad experience that almost all young folks must come to3 the day which breaks so shiningly1 with such sweet promise of goodness1 nearly always clouds over and grows dark and stormy2 the dreams get broken1 the dreams that hover over you and seem so easy to reach1 recede farther and farther1 like one of those ,alpine peaks when you are trying to climb it4 ,from the village you start from1 you see a peak which you think must be the summit1 but when you reach it1 it is only to find yourself separated from a far higher ridge by a valley1 which you have to descend in order to reach it1 and you have no sooner climbed up again than you realise that this1 again1 is but an intermediate peak4 ,how toilsome1 how weary it is6 but in the same way dreams would be worth nothing if you had not to win them by struggle and battle4 ,it is the tedium of the contest1 ,i suppose1 that disheartens most4 ,it is not easy for young hearts to wait for the fulfilment of life's promise till it can be achieved honestly4 ,joseph is trapped in a pit1 betrayed by his brethren1 sold to slave-merchants1 settled in an ,egyptian house1 becomes the bond-slave of ,potiphar1 torn from father1 from his own country1 from his ,god1 ,who had not interfered to protect him1 a bond-slave1 his dignity gone1 all the pride of life gone6 ,would it have been wonderful if all the heart had gone out of him too--if he had said that ,god had forgotten him--,my dreams were a delusion2 there is nothing worth living for8 ,are there young men and women here whose hearts are aching very bitterly1 and who are tempted to think that there is no outlet to this slavery of life8 ,how did ,joseph look at it8 ,he might have broken down1 and got wild with despair1 and said to himself1 ,i will become demoralised2 but though he lay down at night tired1 yet he was cheerful1 and still dreamt his old dreams1 and ,god was over him4 ,if a man is true to himself and to his ,god he will come through anything2 if he will be man enough1 if he will not be beaten1 if he will make the best of things1 he must conquer4 ,so presently ,joseph reached a better position1 things began to look up a little1 his master marked his spirit1 and made him his chief slave4 ,a lad who had dreamt of being a ruler and king of men1 so that his father would bow before him for what he could do for him1 how terrible it must have been for the boy to be sold as a slave6 ,how terribly he must have been tempted to say1 ,god has deceived me2 ,he made me to dream dreams1 and here ,i am left in a dungeon1 a slave3 ,i cannot get what ,i want honourably2 ,i will get it dishonourably2 ,i will snatch the fruit of life1 even if it be in defiance of what ,god and good men call right6 ,that is the temptation that drives many a lad to dishonesty and treachery1 and many a girl to bitterness and sin4 ,it came to ,joseph in the deadliest form4 ,the mistress of the household made overtures to him which1 had he accepted them1 would have meant immediate promotion1 perhaps to the court2 for her husband was the chief of ,pharaoh's body-guard4 ,could there have been devised a deadlier temptation for that poor1 homeless boy1 so treacherously treated by those who should have loved him--who had dreamt such dreams1 and had such proud ambitions1 and withal no danger of discovery if he would but take the path that opened up the way of promotion8 ,i think that was the crisis in ,joseph's life2 that was the supreme deed which determined his destiny4 ,then it was that he had to stand1 and stand for ever1 for ,god and good1 or to fall and sink for ever into ruin4 ,and what saved him8 ,i will tell you what saved him4 ,when ,fortune tells a clerk that he has but to take a little of his master's money1 which he can repay very soon1 and she will smile on him1 what he will do all depends upon his past4 ,those dreams of ,joseph's meant everything to him at that great moment4 ,if his dreams had been of the flesh1 if his dreams had been base1 and selfish1 and sordid1 and of grasping the world's gains1 honourably if possible1 but anyway grasping them1 he could not have stood4 ,but that boy had dreamt of being a prince1 a king among men2 he had dreamt of a noble1 stainless manhood1 of self-respect1 and honour1 and truth2 and he had dreamt of ,god caring about him1 of ,god choosing him to be ,his instrument in this world2 he was a lad in whose soul the whispers of childhood's prayers and of morning devotions murmured1 with sweet echoes of heaven4 ,a lad on whose head still rests the soft pressure of the blessing of his ,father in heaven is no game for the devil4 ,joseph turned from that temptation without a moment's faltering2 he said to himself1 ,be a traitor and a knave6 stain my soul and my manhood with this foul lust6--and in the presence and the sight of ,god he conquered2 he was loyal to the dreams of his youth1 and the result was that he went to prison4 ,young men and women1 do you sigh8 ,you would fight the battles of life bravely enough1 and resist its temptations1 if there were a fair field and no favour2 but treachery and dishonesty are saturating everything4 ,it is not the best men who get the best wages4 ,the whole city is full of cheating4 ,i am afraid it is so1 for many good men have told me they could hardly keep their hands clean4 ,when you hear of a lad going to the bad1 for ,god's sake be just2 be not hard on him2 it is but the common immorality tolerated everywhere4 ,but what of that8 ,are you going to lose your life1 and stain your conscience1 because another has injured you8 ,so long as you do not injure yourself1 never mind2 be a man in the image of ,god4 ,if you come nearer and nearer to that standard it will be a grander work to do in your lifetime1 if you live in a poor lodging-room till your death1 than to become a millionaire by injustice or cruelty4 ,in prison ,joseph played the man2 he was not broken nor dispirited4 ,and remember what ,i said about dreams4 ,those dreams of his did not allow him to lie down idly in the prison2 he wanted to do everybody's work4 ,joseph was industrious1 and kept working on because of his dreams4 ,the keeper of the prison was evidently a man who was glad to have things managed for him2 and ,joseph got promoted in a wonderful way till he reached the royal court1 and aided by perseverance and intelligence and an untarnished character1 he became the premier1 the first prince in the land4 ,and now followed--what1 do you think8 ,prosperity1 peace1 ease8 ,no2 immense responsibility1 discharged nobly by ,joseph1 and perilous temptations4 ,when a man has overcome the temptations of adversity ,i can tell him that he has fought a splendid battle1 but the deadliest are those that come in the days of prosperity4 ,the generous deeds that you thought you would do1 when you were a poor clerk1 if you were only wealthy--the help to churches1 to missions1 to the poor1 where are they8 ,you know the story told in all the collection sermons about a man who gave liberally when he was poor1 but did not give in the same proportion when he grew rich1 and explained it by saying that when he was poor he had a guinea heart1 but now it was a penny heart6 ,but ,joseph conquers once more4 ,he loves his cruel brothers tenderly1 and he brings them1 with the old father1 to the land of plenty1 and tends them4 ,what was his temptation8 ,it comes out later on1 and with it the reason why he triumphed over it4 ,while the old man lived the brothers that had betrayed ,joseph were safe1 because of his love to his father2 but when he dies the brothers are fearful lest ,joseph should wreak his vengeance on them1 and so they come with their whining lie to him2 the old father had told them1 they say1 to implore ,joseph to be still generous to them4 ,joseph burst into tears to think that his brethren had judged so meanly of him4 ,but to do these men justice1 we must confess that the average man would act as they did4 ,how came it that ,joseph had preserved the heart of his boyhood amid his ,egyptian prosperity8 ,men and women1 do you want to know the secret of a pure and loving life8 ,do you want to know the magic formula that will lift you up and ennoble your character1 so that it will not occur to you to pay off old wrongs when you get the chance1 the formula that will make you a blessing to others8 ,it is to open your heart wide to the sight1 and the touch1 and the presence of ,god in your life and in your world4 ,when ,i hear wise men1 and men that mean the world good1 telling us that we shall be able to preserve morality when we have ceased to believe that ,jesus had a ,father in heaven1 when we believe that we live our little day1 and then die and vanish1 and the world goes on as well without us1 my heart sickens within me4 ,tell men and women that they are the highest race of beasts1 and what motives have they for being generous and doing noble deeds8 ,take away the good ,jesus1 take away the great high heaven with its sunshine1 crush down a low roof over our earth1 and you crush out life's grandeur4 ,tell men that every human spirit has in it something mysterious1 that death means something awful1 that their souls are born for eternity2 then life becomes great and solemn1 and the great thought arises that we are born to be the sons of ,god4 ,and now the last thing in ,joseph's life4 ,i think that when he died all men and women in ,egypt were talking about him1 and ,i am pretty sure they talked about him as much in a mistaken fashion and with as many blunders as people will talk about you and me when we die4 ,there is no man that ever lived yet that was known to the world2 ,god only knows what we are2 so when we die they are bound to speak of us better or worse than we deserve1 for they will not know you nor me as we are known to ,god1 as we have lived1 and what has been our purpose in life1 how earnestly we have striven for it2 these are known to ,god1 and to ,him only4 ,thank ,god1 there are more merciful judgments up there in heaven about us than the kindest on earth will deliver4 ,i am pretty sure that the ,egyptians all said that ,joseph would be proud to be buried in ,egypt4 ,he had lived very nearly all his life there4 ,had he not brought his relatives there8 ,was he not engrossed1 heart and soul1 in ,egypt1 with not a particle of interest left for the old land1 the old home1 and the old life8 ,we may imagine what would have been the exclamations of astonishment if the ,egyptians could have listened at the dying bed of the prince and statesman1 and have heard that while all the time he had been a loyal servant to his royal master1 his heart was nevertheless away in the land of his boyhood1 and that the future he was looking for was not a future of immortality among the ,egyptian dead4 ,promise me this one thing1 he says1 that when ,god takes you back to the sweet dear land1 back to make ,god's kingdom there1 you will take all that is left of me1 that you will take my bones out of this ,egypt1 where ,i have been in body1 but never in spirit4 ,oh1 the grandeur of such an utterance6 ,all the ,egyptian greatness1 power in one of the mightiest empires the world has ever seen1 is as nothing to him compared with the power that his dreams of sweetness1 and goodness1 and the service of ,god had over him4 ,that is a life that is not broken in two when death comes4 ,men and women here1 who have said your prayers when you were young1 and have stopped praying now2 who have gone into society and given yourselves up to the world1 stop and look at your poor broken life1 and before it is too late come back to where in your childhood you knelt at ,god's throne4 ,oh1 young men and women that have dreamed ,joseph's dreams1 pray to ,god that you may dream the dreams of your childhood once more1 if you have let the lust and greed of the world into your heart6 ,old men and women1 for whom this world is not long1 go back to your childhood1 and end your life as you began it4 ,this is the supreme thought 7and ,i like to end with it1 for it is a comforting thought too7 in the story of ,joseph's life2 because ,i know that there are so many lives crippled and broken through their own fault1 as well as through the wrongs and injuries of others2 lives dark1 and poor1 and disappointing2 lives that have no triumph in this world1 and find it very hard to keep up heart1 to keep true to hope1 and faith1 and ,god4 ,listen to the lesson of ,joseph's life4 ,no true life of goodness to man and ,god can ever be a failure4 ,in a pit1 in a dungeon in far-off ,egypt1 you may seem to be shut out of all splendid achievements2 wronged and smitten by the storms of life1 it may seem as if ,god had left you2 but if you can only keep your heart sweet1 and good1 and pure2 if you can but keep yourself honourable1 and generous1 and loving1 then1 though ,god may give you no ties of home life1 and all may appear dark and cheerless2 if you can only keep yourself a good1 sweet1 loving woman1 a brave1 true1 honourable man1 if you can but hold fast to your faith1 there is a great ,god over you1 there is a ,christ who came to die to save you1 there is a holiness which ,god will give you4 ,if you will but hold fast to the end--to ,his end1--then your life cannot be a failure2 its roots are in ,god1 and its end shall be with ,god2 from heaven you came1 and to ,god you shall return4 ,footnote #a3 ,preached on ,sunday evening1 ,october #bjth1 #ahhi1 in ,st4 ,john's ,wood ,presbyterian ,church4 ,,vii4 ,,the ,,brazen ,,serpent4 ,he ,hezekiah removed the high places1 and brake the images1 and cut down the groves1 and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that ,moses had made3 for unto those days the children of ,israel did burn incense to it3 and he called it ,nehushtan4--#b ,,kings xviii4 #d4 ,in that verse we hear the last of the brazen serpent2 this morning ,i am going to put before you some practical thoughts that spring from the whole story4 ,what has the brazen serpent got to do with our modern life8 ,the children of ,israel1 with their cattle and sheep1 wandering about the wilderness1 get sick of it1 complain against ,god and against ,moses1 and are ready to break into active rebellion4 ,they are punished by a sudden attack of venomous serpents that sting them1 and they1 in dread of death1 lose that sham courage of theirs and independence1 and they appeal to ,god to save them4 ,he bids ,moses manufacture a mysterious brazen serpent1 put it upon a pole1 and then1 if any dying ,israelite looks at that serpent it heals him4 ,the brazen image is regarded ever after as clothed with great sanctity4 ,it was once the supernatural channel of life direct from ,god to dying men1 and so1 in course of time1 men came to it1 and in its vicinity offered up their prayers1 and finally burned incense to it1 and surrounded it with a false worship4 ,then comes a reforming king1 who regards that symbol of wonderful old power ,divine and goodness1 that has been turned into an idolatrous and superstitious instrument of human degradation2 and1 divided between his respect for it and his consciousness of the mischief it is doing1 he finally decides to break it into pieces1 scatters it into the dust1 and there is an end of it4 ,now1 what has all that got to do with your life and mine8 ,the ,hebrew history does not have its meaning lying just on the face of it4 ,if you take the bare letter you will not get much out of it2 if you stick to the bare letter you will find yourself landed in a great many difficulties that are puzzling good people and bad people at the present day1 and all the time1 whether you attack those difficulties with a profound faith or with a doubting1 critical1 sceptical spirit1 you may be missing the very heart of the story4 ,because ,hebrew history is manifestly history written with a purpose4 ,it was never intended that it should be taken as an exact reporter's chronicle of external things that happen4 ,the real interest of the writers is something different2 it is to get down below the surface1 in behind the scenes1 to come upon the great hands of ,god fashioning this world's story4 ,they felt that beneath all the events1 common and secular1 that befell them1 the battles they had to fight1 the journeys they had to make1 the famines that destroyed their crops1 the outbursts of prosperity1 the victories that were won by them1 the lives they lived in homes like ours--behind and beneath all that they felt that ,god held the reins in ,his hand1 that ,he ,himself was thinking of them1 had designs in them1 was shaping and fashioning their fortunes1 controlling all that befell them1 and they comprehended that the greatest thing in this world is to get to know ,god4 ,the people at this point in their story had been wandering about in the wilderness for nearly forty years2 at last they had been led by ,moses to the very edge of the territory of ,edom4 ,nothing lay between them and the land ,god had promised them except the country belonging to their kinsmen1 the ,edomites4 ,you can understand how the hearts and faces of the people were flushed with eager expectation4 ,oh6 they were so sick of that restless1 weary life in the barren desert1 and the pictures were called up before their eyes in their dreams at night1 and in their day visions through the bright sunny hours1 of those smiling vineyards1 those oliveyards1 and those waving cornfields in that land flowing with milk and honey1 existing somewhat in fact1 but very much in the imagination of those who were to be its possessors4 ,nothing lay between them and the actual possession and enjoyment but the country of ,edom1 so they sent an eager message to the king1 their kinsman1 asking leave to pass through the territory so that they might get at their enemies and his4 ,the king of ,edom doubted them1 or he was churlish1 and refused to give them passage4 ,no doubt every brave young ,hebrew warrior went to ,moses at once and said1 ,let us force our way through2 if they will not yield us passage we shall make it for ourselves--we are able1 we have the weapons1 we have the spirit2 let us get at the homes that are waiting for us4 ,but then that would have been to enter into the land of promise with a bloodstain on their conscience1 with a bitter1 bad memory1 spoiling all the joy of it2 for those ,edomites were their blood relations1 and blood meant a vast deal in those old days--even if your brother treated you ill you must not stain your hands with his blood4 ,to have your very living and money-making all corroded with that colour of blood of a near kinsman shed1 was to get what your heart longed for1 but to get it spoiled4 ,so ,moses1 under ,divine guidance1 told them1 ,we must go back into the wilderness1 we must make a big1 roundabout march1 and reach the land at some other point4 ,unwillingly the people agreed2 they packed up all their baggage once again1 put their weapons into their sheaths1 turned their backs on the smiling land of ,canaan1 and their faces to the arid stretch of the sandy1 scorched wilderness1 and set out4 ,but before they had gone very far their spirit ran short--that is what the old ,hebraist says literally--their spirit ran down1 they could not stand it4 ,man turned to man1 and said1 ,this is too hard2 more than man can endure2 the thing is intolerable2 ,moses is blundering2 let us depose our leader and choose generals of our own1 and force our way across ,edom into the ,promised ,land4 ,what is the use of this ,god--this ,moses who brought us out of ,egypt and kept us in the wilderness all these weary years--at every new camp leaving a graveyard behind us1 dying man after man1 with no prospect before1 no progress made1 no goal reached1 no land of rest attained8 ,now ,i wonder how many of my hearers to-day are wandering in the desert just like these ,hebrews1 and have been wandering in a wilderness for years and years4 ,i am pretty sure that that is so with some of you old folks with white hair on your heads4 ,ah6 it is so very far away in the ,eastern world and in ,old ,testament times1 this story of these wanderers1 never living in a comfortable house1 never owning any land1 packing up1 and on again1 wondering where they are going to die1 with nothing much to look forward to4 ,yes1 but here in ,london1 living in your own house1 in your own workshop1 there are men and women wandering in the wilderness4 ,ah6 what a deal of weary waiting there is for young men and maidens1 in this artificially bad society of ours at the present day--which has been made by selfishness much more than by the love of ,god and the love of man--waiting with divine instincts that ,god has put into their hearts2 dreaming of a land of promise1 a land of rest1 a land flowing with milk and honey4 ,ay1 it is wandering in a wilderness4 ,our hearts were not made to live in a wilderness2 our hearts were made to live in homes2 we were all meant to be in a promised land4 ,there is no need to ask who is to blame4 ,there the wildernesses are1 and they have to be got through4 ,it is not easy4 ,many a time the bravest heart breaks down4 ,the last straw breaks the camel's back4 ,some little extra worry or care adds itself on1 and then the gentle woman or the courageous1 uncomplaining man is broken in heart and spirit--oh6 so weary--ay1 and if they have a tender conscience1 upbraiding themselves1 counting it sin to feel so tired4 ,why have they not been doing good8 ,have they not been following the steps of ,jesus8 ,and there they are worn out in being good as ,he was4 ,do you remember how sometimes ,he sighed a great sigh8 how sometimes ,he was so sick of men and their waywardness and selfishness and wilfulness1 that for ,his soul's sake ,he fled from them and hurried off to the mountain-top to get away above the world1 up beneath the blue sky into the purer air1 up where ,god was direct above ,him1 and ,he all alone2 then came back next morning all the braver and able to bear the battle once again8 ,no1 do not blame yourself if you are often very weary4 ,do not try to pretend that you like your wilderness1 that you do not wish anything different4 ,you may have got so used to your wilderness as to be like those people in the old ,bastille4 ,some of the prisoners1 we are told1 were not willing to go into the world again2 they did not know it4 ,so there are hearts that get so wedded to sorrow that they are almost afraid to have done with it4 ,still1 as a general rule1 hearts do long for joy1 for sunlight1 for success4 ,it is human nature1 and there is no harm in being weary when the clouds are always over the heavens4 ,christ was weary1 and ,he understands you and your heart4 ,now1 ,i have willingly allowed myself to run the risk even of exaggeration in sympathising with the men and women whose lives are a wilderness1 and who are exposed to these dangers in their weariness1 in the hardness of their battle4 ,but now1 precisely because of that danger1 to steel your heart against its temptations1 ,i am bound to speak about the other side2 ,i am bound to ask you men and women1 whose lives are not so good and rich as they ought to be1 ,is not the blame1 at least somewhat1 your own8 ,why had these ,israelites been wandering forty years in the wilderness8 ,god had led them to the edge of the ,promised ,land1 and bidden them go in and take it1 and they had not the manhood to do it1 they were such cowards that they trembled1 they were craven-hearted2 and so they could not enter because of their unbelief4 ,ah6 it was no good to turn round on ,god and blame ,him2 it was no good to attack the brave-hearted ,moses2 it was their own fault that their life was spent in the wilderness4 ,but1 more than that1 we must not make too much of the hardship1 and the pain1 and the weariness of wilderness wandering4 ,it is human nature to want always sunshine and to hate storms2 to love hours of play and shirk hours of toil2 but1 after all1 does not the rain do as much for the corn as the sunshine8 ,does not darkness do as much on earth as light8 ,do we not need hardness as well as lightness in our inner lives if we are to make ourselves men and women8 ,it was years of wandering in the wilderness that turned those ,egyptian slaves into the dauntless warriors that carried ,canaan by storm4 ,ah6 men and women sitting in the church to-day with your children round you1 do not spoil their lives1 but lead them to live nobly4 ,was it not when you were kept to your tasks and toil1 when you got your share of the world's burdens and the world's pain--was it not in the things least agreeable to you that there were formed within you elements of character that are doing most to make your joy to-day8 ,oh1 do not grudge them to your children1 do not grudge them to yourself6 ,god gives them4 ,surely it is supreme wisdom to take our life in its entirety from ,god1 to sing through the whole gamut of life1 the low wailing note of sorrow as well as the bright1 dancing1 radiant notes of joy1 rejoicing in ,god so that the music of our life when it is done shall be filled with the fulness of that great ,heart ,divine that planned and fashioned it4 ,there was deadly danger in that murmuring of the children of ,israel4 ,you must not imagine that ,god resented it because of the insult to ,his dignity4 ,god is above such a feeling as that1 ,he does not resent the ignorance1 with the mixture of superstition1 that goes into the lives1 ay1 of good men and women1 ,protestant or ,roman ,catholic4 ,he takes men's hearts and their real life4 ,it was not the insult to ,him in their murmurs that made ,him deal with them so strongly4 ,oh1 it was not sternness at all that dealt with them1 it was love unutterable6 ,they were ready to spoil their lives1 to rush away on their own plans to make their fortunes1 and so to bring themselves to ruin4 ,do you know how ,god checked them8 ,they were complaining of the food that they had1 and of their long weary marches1 and the heartlessness of their toil in the wilderness1 instead of having comfortable homes and rich farms1 and ,god cured them by sending among them fiery serpents that bit them1 filled their veins with venom1 agony1 and death1 and as they lay there writhing in pain with death looking into their eyes they said1 ,what fools we were to repine and complain because of the bread that was tasteless and the life that was void of interest4 ,that was ,god's way of curing men who were about to spoil their lives by discontent4 ,is it not ,god's way still8 ,you men sitting there1 do you remember that for years you had been bad-hearted1 bitter1 discontented1 because your life was not great or famous1 till ,god sent that deadly illness and you lay in bed like to die1 and then you would have given all you had to get back to that life that you thought so little of8 ,i have seen the father who made the foolish mistake of harping too much on the faults and failings of those who dwelt in his home1 not acknowledging the large amount of good and obedience1 but ever making misery and bitterness there1 and thinking himself justified in doing it1 accounting himself an unappreciated1 unrewarded man1 till a day came when ,god sent a fiery serpent into his heart1 when the blinds were drawn down in that house1 and a life lay still and silent that had had faults1 but had been sweet1 and loving1 and lovable4 ,or1 a real disgrace has come to a home1 and a child has done a deed that might break a father's heart4 ,oh1 the misery and the pity of it1 to see that man sitting there all alone with his head bent and his face buried in his hands1 thinking of the years that might have been bright with joy1 and love1 and cheer1 and that he in his madness had made bad and bitter6 ,ay1 it was a fiery serpent1 but it was effective4 ,yet ,god's heart shrinks from those sharp penalties that come to cure us of our sins4 ,see1 what happened the instant those ,israelites returned to ,him1 ignominiously crying to the very ,moses1 and the very ,god1 they had cast off and grumbled at1 to come and save them4 ,ay1 but ,god is more eager than they4 ,make the brazen serpent1 lose not a moment4 ,set it up on high1 and tell them that one look is enough1 and they shall live4 ,that is ,godlike2 that is how ,god forgives4 ,why did ,god bid ,moses make the brazen serpent and set it up on that pole8 ,god could have healed these men by telling them to look up even in any way4 ,why precisely the brazen serpent should be the instrument of their cure ,i do not know2 the ,bible does not tell me4 ,i can only tell you a thought that has come to me about it4 ,perhaps it was for this reason3 ,it would be surely the thought of every dying ,hebrew who looked at that serpent and felt a new life pulsing through all his veins1 and the pain of death vanishing away1 that that serpent came from ,god1 and was a very token and proof of the warm heart-love of ,god to him4 ,but it would not be so easy for the man that had been bitten and lay there dying to think of that fiery serpent that bit him as a messenger of ,god's love4 ,he would be more likely to think that the fiery serpent1 that came with death in his bite1 was from the devil4 ,and yet the serpent that bit him to death came from ,god1 and came from ,god's love as absolutely as the serpent that healed4 ,is not that it8 ,could they but put two and two together1 would not the thought flash into their heart1 ,a serpent ,god gave to heal2 a serpent it was that hurt8 ,is it then so1 that the serpent that harmed came from ,god's love1 as much as the serpent that healed8 ,is not that just ,god's way with you8 ,do not many of you sitting in the church to-day remember great sorrows or sharp blows of disaster that came into your life1 and at first you writhed against them and were in great pain8 ,you could not think there was any love of ,god in them2 but they have lain there and they have made your heart more gentle1 they have made your faith more strong1 they have brought ,god nearer to you1 they have made you kinder in your own home1 and you look at them now with the glow of a goodness that has grown from them1 and you say to yourself that not merely the goodness that has followed since1 but the pain that came and hurt was from ,god--from ,god who is love4 ,how did the healing come to the dying ,hebrew who looked at the brazen serpent8 ,not from any efficacy in the serpent1 not from any magical virtue in the look2 the new life that came to him came direct from ,god4 ,why1 then1 did ,god interpose the looking at the serpent8 ,why did ,god make the cure dependent on a gaze at a serpent erected there by ,moses8 ,i will tell you why4 ,it was not the look2 it was the change of heart that was in the look that ,god wanted4 ,the real mischief that had to be undone was not the bodily death of those men2 there was a worse evil than that1 there was the loss of faith in ,god1 the fracture of a loving dependence on ,god4 ,that is the essence of all sin4 ,sin is disobedience to ,god4 ,it means that you snatch your life out of ,god's hand1 that you will not live according to ,god's will1 that you make yourself your ,god2 you will be your own master1 you will take your own way--you can do better for yourself than ,god4 ,now1 mark1 you never would choose that sinful course as long as you trusted ,god4 ,loss of faith1 that is sin4 ,it is no good talking of cures1 no good talking of salvation1 unless you undo the mischief done by sin4 ,loss of faith3 that is the beginning1 the essence1 the end of sin4 ,ah6 that doctrine of salvation through faith that men mock at and call a legal sophism1 it has got the heart of all truth in it1 only ,i think we are to blame that we have so much talked of faith as the means of salvation as if it were some external condition attached by ,god to salvation4 ,faith is salvation2 ,jesus ,christ hangs there on the cross as ,moses lifted up the brazen serpent4 ,the moment a man believes on ,him he is saved from sin4 ,how8 ,through some magical virtue in the cross1 in the ,body hanging there1 in the blood poured out1 or in the man's mental act of faith8 ,never1 never4 ,that ,christ hanging there is the living embodiment of faith in ,god3 ,his life1 ,his death1 are the incarnate declaration that all sin is error1 that all sin is an outrage1 that men erred and went wrong when they disobeyed ,god4 ,he condemns all sin by ,his life of holiness1 by ,his death of antagonism against sin1 hanging there on the cross1 wrestling with sin1 seeking to undo it1 offering to ,god the world's love and obedience that sinful men have failed to give to ,god1 dying in their stead1 obeying in their stead1 making ,himself a perfect sacrifice and substitute for this world of ours4 ,all that still would not be salvation1 is not salvation1 to you until the sight of it turns you1 regenerates you1 makes you see that all your sin was madness1 folly2 fills you with hatred of it4 ,when once the love of ,god binds you over to follow that ,christ in obedience to ,god1 in trust to ,god1 in love of ,god1 that is faith in ,christ1 that is salvation4 ,that serpent became an object of idolatrous and superstitious worship4 ,it was very natural1 and it is very evil4 ,hezekiah with his reforming zeal took it1 and with real reverence1 though with seeming external irreverence1 dashed it in pieces4 ,has not that also a parallel1 hundreds of parallels in ,church history8 ,hezekiah rightly interpreted the heart of ,god2 he believed that the great heart of ,god up there in heaven was pained every time that a poor ignorant ,israelite1 man or woman1 poured out on that brazen image the gratitude that should have gone direct to ,him4 ,and so it is that in the ,church's story you find that whenever priests have set up any channel or means of actual grace divine1 grace supernatural1 and have attached to it undue reverence1 and made it bulk too largely in the eyes and worship of common men and women1 so as to come between them and ,god1 then ,god has raised up infidels and unbelievers to break it and dash it to pieces4 ,was not that what was done by the ,reformers8 ,at the ,reformation1 when the ,mass had been set between eager longing hearts of men and women seeking forgiveness and the great loving heart of ,god that gives it1 it was taken and shattered4 ,ay1 and when this ,bible of ours--this ,protestant ,bible of ours1 or our great evangelical doctrines1 are taken and have given to them a place of importance in our salvation and in our belief that they ought not to have1 once again be sure of it ,god will create a true1 lawful1 and blessed recoil1 and you will have these sacred things even dashed down to a position of undue depreciation4 ,it is ,god's ways of leading us to ,himself4 ,ah6 there is a grand thought in that--the unutterable glory about our ,god that shines for me through all the tale of that great battle about belief1 and doctrines1 and ,church institutions that makes up the ,church's story--through it all what ,i see is the heart of ,god our ,father longing for the touch of our hands in ,his hands1 the gaze of our eyes into ,his1 giving us things that shall help us to ,him1 lesson books to teach us about ,him1 steps that shall lead us to ,his feet4 ,but the moment we make these a barrier that keeps us far from ,him1 things sacred and good are dashed away4 ,what does that mean8 ,it means to you and me the revelation in all wonder1 awe1 and comfort of how tender1 near1 and true and clinging is the love of ,god's heart to you and me--of that ,god whom we sometimes think so awful and so terrible1 but who in ,his inmost being through and through is love1 wholly1 absolutely love4 ,,viii4 ,,the ,,gradations ,,of ,,doubt4 ,,psalm lxxiii4 ,i am going to ask you to study with me this morning the #gcrd ,psalm4 ,before ,i read the ,psalm ,i had better tell you what it is about2 then you will follow the line of thought in it with greater ease4 ,the central faith of the ,hebrew religion was that ,god governs this world according to the principles of morality1 that ,he is on the side of goodness1 and against wickedness4 ,the facts of life clashed with that dogma of ,hebrew faith4 ,good men in those old times found it as hard to believe in ,god and goodness as we do1 and they got just as little1 or just as much1 supernatural help as we do4 ,therefore they could nowhere find an absolute certainty2 they nowhere received from heaven a supernatural and complete explanation of the enigmas of life4 ,god1 because ,he loved them1 deliberately left them to fight their battle for faith with the actual facts and the actual difficulties4 ,he left them constantly trying to find a complete intellectual solution of the problem1 and failing to do that1 just as we fail2 and so ,he shut them up to discovering a resting-place for faith in the heart when they could not get it in the head4 ,a great many psalms have welled out of men's hearts1 just like fountains away among the hills1 and valleys1 and slopes4 ,this #gcrd ,psalm is brimful of human thoughts1 and duties1 and longings1 pains1 and battles1 and victories1 just like bits of your life when you were all alive to the real grandeur of your human existence1 when your heart longed to think loftily of life1 and to hold fast to ,god1 and precisely because your heart was all alive you found it was not easy4 ,i am going to ask you to follow this man's struggle against doubt1 to watch the steps by which he descended into the valley of real questioning of ,god's goodness and of ,god's government of the world1 and then to trace the steps by which he climbed back again to a hill-top of serene and tranquil certainty4 ,i have already indicated to you that ,i do not think that anywhere in the ,old ,testament1 or in the ,new ,testament1 or in all ,christian theology or philosophy1 does there exist a complete demonstration of the fact that ,god is good1 and that ,he is on the side of goodness4 ,whether that is true or not every intelligent believer will admit that this #gcrd ,psalm is no complete theodicy4 ,it will not hold its own as a logical demonstration that the government of this world is moral or just4 ,the man's certainty that there is a good ,god1 and that ,god takes sides with good men1 rests not upon sight1 but upon faith2 it is a solution of the heart1 not of the head4 ,thank ,god6 that is the universal law of religious experience4 ,one thing ,i want to point out to you at the beginning1 especially to those of you who are thinkers1 and who study the various religions of the world4 ,there is a very simple characteristic about the fashion in which the problem of life is dealt with in those ,psalms1 when we compare them1 say1 with the very finest of ,greek devotion and ,greek religion4 ,in all ,greek philosophy there is only one fixed quantity--that is1 the world4 ,the problem of ,greek thought is this3 ,given the world1 the clear1 solid1 certain fact1 to find the ,god that made it4 ,they took life as it stood1 and from its elements and components they tried to determine what kind of a ,maker this world has had4 ,now1 at the very outset1 all through ,hebrew religious thought and philosophy1 you find two fixed quantities4 ,there is the world1 but over against it there is ,god--,god1 holy1 just1 righteous2 and therefore1 while the ,greek problem was always1 ,given the world1 to construct ,god1 the ,hebrew problem is1 ,given the world as it exists1 and given ,god as ,he exists1 can those be reconciled8 ,it is a very simple and striking contrast4 ,i will tell you the picturesque aspect that it gives to the two literatures4 ,greek thought is all philosophical1 speculative--great minds rising back to the ,first ,cause1 from this actual world2 and this world being what it is1 no wonder that at one time they reached iron ,fate1 at another time ,materialism1 at another time ,pantheism1 at another time ,manichism4 ,hebrew thought does not sway about in that fashion2 it is simply concerned with this--the vindication of ,god's character2 and there is the striking contrast4 ,in ,greek poetry1 in all ,pagan poetry1 you will find warm-hearted1 large-minded men contemplating life1 with all its great wrongs1 injustices1 pains1 sorrows1 disappointments1 and then breaking into pity and compassion for men4 ,in ,hebrew poetry1 in ,hebrew religion1 you will everywhere find the same dark aspects of life fearlessly held up1 acknowledged1 and confronted2 but what do you think is the supreme pain that breaks in upon the hearts of the ,hebrew sages and seers as they contemplate the world's enigmas8 ,it is anxiety for the character of ,god4 ,it is not pity for poor men and women1 ground under the wheels of this earth1 but a terribly agonising question1 ,how can we defend ,god and ,god's goodness when the world is so evil and so dark8 ,ah1 you want to prove what the ,bible is by its own light1 to show that it has a right to be spoken of as a revelation and as inspired6 ,do not go to all the trivial ,medival theories and doctrines about it2 go to the book itself1 and go to the world4 ,it can hold its own1 without claiming anything outside to buttress it up4 ,set the heart-life in it against the heart-life of any other religion1 and you will see that it has the blue of ,god's heaven in it--unsullied1 splendid1 perfect4 ,now1 ,i am going to take this one ,psalm--to take one glimpse into that long1 painful chemistry of revelation1 as ,god came into human hearts with pain and perplexity1 with struggle1 with triumph1 with glory1 and made those hearts know ,him1 not through explanations1 but by ,his indwelling in them1 ,his life1 ,his love1 ,his holiness1 echoing and throbbing into their heart life4 ,i am now tempted to break off here for a moment1 and say to you what always strikes me when ,i look at that aspect of this revealed1 inspired ,bible--that it does seem just possible that the good ,christian ,church we belong to in our time is not in quite the right way of thinking about religious doubt4 ,i am not talking about doubt of the head1 the intellect1 and the schools--intellectual fence1 that sort of triviality2 let it alone1 it is not worth taking notice of4 ,but the real doubt of any age1 the doubt of any man's heart and head--what are we to think of that8 ,are we to stamp it as devilish8 ,are we to denounce it1 and excommunicate it8 ,why1 we might be fighting against ,god4 ,if ,i read my ,bible aright1 real1 genuine1 patient struggle for faith means just the birth-throes of ,god's revelation of ,himself in men's hearts4 ,now come to this point1 and see what it reveals to you that is sacred1 pathetic1 instructive in the heart of a man dead hundreds of years ago4 ,look into his heart1 and you may learn a great deal about your own heart4 ,the problem that confronts him is the fact that has always been very evident in every age1 that honesty is not by any means always the best policy1 if by that you mean that it pays you best4 ,i am putting it in homely language4 ,it is a big question4 ,do the world's good things go predominantly to the good men8 or do they go to the clever and unscrupulous men8 ,in the professions is it your honest1 truthful man1 of modest merit1 that succeeds best1 or your humbug1 impostor1 flatterer1 self-advertiser8 ,in the ,state1 in politics1 is it your honest man1 that speaks truths to the people1 that is lauded and flattered8 or is it your skilful adventurer8 ,in the ,city does strict honour make a man's fortune8 or are profits bigger in proportion as a man can wink at things8 ,anywhere on the large scale are the virtuous classes the most prosperous8 ,are the powers of this world raised up to their lofty elevation by goodness1 or rather in spite of badness8 ,is ,god on the side of goodness8 or does ,he not care8 or is ,he rather on the side of violence1 and wrong1 and wickedness8 ,now1 this point is the real struggle in the poet's heart1 to solve that difficulty of life4 ,i am going to read it to you1 giving you the headings of the various parts of it1 the steps of emotion and of thought through which his heart has passed4 ,he begins1 first of all1 with the point at which he ends4 ,this is the right result of that struggle of doubt and faith within him2 he believes that ,god is on the side of goodness4 ,but there is a curious little word1 very difficult to reproduce in ,english1 that expresses how the firm conviction that he has of goodness having ,god backing it was reached through painful conflict4 ,surely--yes1 after all--,god is good to ,his people1 good to such as are pure in heart4 ,then we come to the history of doubt1 the progress of doubt1 in the man's soul4 ,that you have in the first fourteen verses4 ,the first step of it was his recognition of the fact of prosperous wickedness4 ,it is a little difficult to divide the ,psalm exactly1 and ,i do not give you the divisions that ,i am choosing as certainly the precise1 original structure of the poem1 but roughly they bring out the outstanding thoughts4 ,the first division would be verses #b to #e--the fact of prosperous wickedness3 ,but as for me1 my feet were almost gone2 my steps had well-nigh slipped4 ,for ,i was envious at bad men--at successful bad men--when ,i saw the prosperity of the wicked4 ,for they have no barriers1 no entanglements2 they are never tripped up on to the time of their death--that1 ,i think1 is the real translation--but their success remains firm4 ,they are not in trouble like other men2 neither are they plagued like other men4 ,that is the first step of doubt4 ,then comes the second1 the effect upon themselves3 ,therefore pride is like a golden chain round their neck2 violence covers them as a garment4 ,their eyes stand out with fatness2 they have more than heart could wish4 ,they scoff1 and in wickedness utter oppression1 pour forth oppressive taunt2 they speak loftily4 ,they have set their mouth in the heaven1 and their tongue stalketh through the earth4 ,then there is a third step of doubt1 the effect upon good men3 ,therefore ,god's people are prevented that way1 and the waters of a full cup are drained by them4 ,they say1 ,how can ,god know8 and is there knowledge in the ,most ,high8 ,behold1 these are the wicked2 and being always secure1 they heap up wealth4 ,then there is the effect on the poet himself3 ,surely in vain have ,i cleansed my heart1 and washed my hands in innocency4 ,for all the day long have ,i been plagued1 and chastened every morning4 ,you see here the doubt reaching its last full result4 ,then we come to the recoil1 the restoration of faith4 ,that also is set in three steps4 ,the first is the perception of the fact of retribution4 ,verse #ae3 ,had ,i made up my mind1 ,i will speak thus2 behold1 ,i should have dealt treacherously with the generation of ,thy children4 ,when ,i thought how ,i might know this--how to read this riddle--it was too hard for me1 until ,i went into the sanctuary of ,god1 and considered the last end of them4 ,surely ,thou didst set them in slippery places2 ,thou hast hurled them down to destruction4 ,how are they become a desolation in a moment6 ,they are utterly consumed with terrors4 ,as a nightmare when one awaketh1 so1 ,o ,lord1 when ,thou awakest ,thou dost despise flout the presentment of them4 ,then there is the next step1 the perception of his own stupidity3 ,my mind was in a ferment1 and ,i was pricked in my heart4 ,how brutish ,i was1 and how ignorant6 ,i was no better than a proud beast before ,thee2 and ,i am continually with ,thee1 held by ,thy right hand4 ,then there is the last step1 the perception of the immeasurable joy1 the intrinsic superiority1 of goodness4 ,whom have ,i in heaven but ,thee8 and there is none upon earth that ,i desire beside ,thee4 ,my flesh and my heart faileth2 but ,god is the strength of my heart1 and my portion for ever4 ,for1 lo1 they that are far from ,thee shall perish2 thou hast destroyed all them that go straying away from ,thee4 ,but it is good for me to draw near to ,god3 ,i have made the ,lord my refuge1 that ,i may tell all ,thy works4 ,now1 for our own help and instruction1 let us follow1 step by step1 the struggle of that good man's heart4 ,is it evident on the face of things that goodness has the best of it in this world8 ,now1 ,i am going to say to you a thing that perhaps many of you will think little of me for saying1 but ,i cannot help thinking that the poet exaggerated the actual facts2 and ,i am quite persuaded that a great many people who think themselves very wise1 and are very wise1 at the present day1 make far too much of the external material advantage gained by dishonesty4 ,i am quite prepared to admit that goodness often keeps a man back from earthly joy4 ,i am quite prepared to admit that the prizes of this world go far too much to men that possess no real right to them4 ,there are endless social wrongs and individual wrongs4 ,things are not rightly adjusted1 either in the ,church or in the world1 in professions or in business4 ,all that is true4 ,nevertheless1 ,i rather think that the amount of it is exaggerated4 ,i do not think that is the predominant aspect of life4 ,it is only when a man is morbid1 when existence is pressing too hard on himself1 when he is sharply injured and wronged1 that he would take upon him to say that evil out and out1 clearly and without question1 has the best of it4 ,i am talking1 of course1 of our society nowadays2 but ,i rather think that in all states of society it could never have been the case that wickedness absolutely had the best of it4 ,i will tell you why3 ,because this world cannot stand without a good deal of love and a good deal of faith1 a good deal of honesty1 a good deal of mutual trust4 ,why1 if business were the utter mass of cheating and unscrupulosity that some men would have us believe1 you would have an end of all credit1 of all business4 ,there must be some brotherliness2 there must be a certain trustworthiness2 there must be a considerable amount of honesty4 ,it is the very salt of the world2 it maintains it2 the world would come to an end without it4 ,but all the same1 ,i am willing to admit that that is the superficial aspect of existence1 and that it is a very staggering blow to men's faith1 especially faith that is inherited from one's father1 that is not a man's own2 it is a thing to make a young man's heart bitter2 it is a thing to make him hesitate and doubt whether he ought to hold to the pathway of honour4 ,it is not1 ,i think1 the paramount1 the predominant aspect of life1 looked at calmly and dispassionately1 quite apart from religious faith1 but certainly it is a very prominent aspect--prominent because it is superficial4 ,well1 then1 that fact of successful wrong-doing is the cause of religious doubt1 but not by any means a very dangerous cause4 ,we come to the second source of doubt and questioning--an infinitely more subtle and hazardous one4 ,it is the perception that successful ill-doers do not seem to be miserable4 ,you know how we are all taught that bad men have such terribly evil consciences1 that harpies are always behind them1 that their hearts are gnawed with dread and anxiety1 that they cannot sleep at night1 that remorse haunts them4 ,not a bit of it4 ,you go into the world and pick out men who have gained their wealth1 who have wrung it out of the heart's blood of their fellow-men--got it by downright dishonesty2 their eyes stand out with fatness1 they roll about in their carriages1 they have splendid houses1 and everybody bows down to them and makes much of them2 their faces are wreathed with smiles of self-satisfaction2 you sit at their tables1 and they tell you how successful they have been2 they expect you to envy them2 they are not humble and miserable4 ,then the deadly question comes to you1 ,where1 then1 is ,god8 ,ah1 one can quite understand ,god letting the external world run its own course6 ,one might explain in some way that ,god allows1 to try men1 the prizes of wealth and the joys of life to go to men that do not deserve them4 ,as a good man once said to me1 ,it is plain that ,god does not think much of money--why1 look at the kind of people he gives it to6 ,that is so2 but the one thing you would believe is this1 that in that strange inner world of the human heart1 the mind1 the conscience ,god could not keep still4 ,if ,he gives them the external gift1 if ,he sends them the desire of their flesh1 ,he will send leanness into their soul4 ,why do you not see their faces haggard8 ,why can you not trace the lines of care8 ,why does not shame and degradation sit upon the wealthy man's face who gained his wealth by cheating and lying1 by dishonour and meanness8 ,oh1 they seem so happy1 so contented1 so pleased1 so proud1 so arrogant6 ,why does their tongue reach up to heaven1 in its pride1 and haughtiness1 and complacency8 ,well1 you would think that that is a deadly enough doubt to be gnawing at a good lad's heart2 but there is a still deadlier one4 ,here you have the deadliest cause of doubt1 when a man1 pressed hard by the great fact of prosperous ill-doing1 staggered by that blow1 does not see the inner1 ethical1 moral vengeance of ,god stamped on it4 ,he looks round for confirmation to the good men in the ,church2 he looks at religious ,christian society1 he falls back on it1 to let it support him1 to let it help him2 and what does he discover when his eyes pierce through and penetrate8 ,in the heart within him he begins to recognise the hearts of others4 ,everywhere the ,church is secretly doubting too2 good men are longing for a share in the ill-gotten gain--ay1 tampering with their consciences1 themselves turning into the same direction1 drinking of the waters of the same cup1 and then some of them1 more reckless or more honest1 speaking straight out3 ,yes1 ,i was brought up1 like you1 to believe in virtue1 in honesty1 in ,god1 and in goodness2 but ,i have seen throughout that this world is not governed by a good ,god4 ,if there is a good ,god1 ,he does not know or does not care2 ,he does not step in2 it is the wicked that have the best of it in this world2 ,i am going to take that course4 ,ah1 the moral perversion1 the tainted breath of the base1 selfish1 greedy1 unscrupulous world6 that detected in the heart of his own father1 the good elder1 the church member2 that detected in his own mother1 not valuing or choosing for the society of her home the honourable1 the pure1 the good1 the true1 but the people with money1 and tainted reputations1 and all the rest of it2 that is the deadliest thing2 that makes the real doubt1 the real unbelief2 that carries a lad1 not to books of philosophy--he will never take much harm from them1 even if he has head enough to understand them--but carries him clean away from religion1 into shady company too1 and takes the virtue and morality out of him1 making him sell himself for money in life's sacredest relationships3 it is that--the perversion of good4 ,oh1 how much we ,christian men and women have to answer for when we denounce sceptics and worldlings1 the ungodly young men who stop going to church1 and all that6 ,ay1 poor souls1 they will have to answer for it6 but how much shall we have to answer for it too8 ,the ,church1 is it not tainted by worldliness8 ,do we go and take the bravest1 the most patient1 the most loyal1 the most prayerful1 the most devout ,sunday-school teacher1 a working man1 and put him in the chair of our ,sunday-school assemblies in ,exeter ,hall8 ,no1 no2 it is not pure goodness4 ,i do not know that we can help it1 but it would be worth while trying that system1 instead of the ,church1 for want of faith1 making so very much of the world1 of social position1 and of purse power4 ,but ,i have rather wandered from my point4 ,doubt has now run its course1 completed its curriculum4 ,the question is often raised1 ,does it matter what a man believes8 ,no1 not what he believes about the abstract theories or explanations either of philosophy or theology--it will not matter much what he thinks about these abstruse questions2 but it matters infinitely and eternally what he thinks about ,god1 and goodness1 and life4 ,ah1 there a man's heart-faiths make his life-conduct6 ,it was so with the poet here1 when those dark1 demon doubts had filled his soul1 when his mind was in a ferment1 when his heart was pricked and bitter within him1 when he heard good men--men that were good once--round him saying1 ,does ,god know8 and when he felt himself in a ,god-forsaken world1 where there was nothing but each man snatching the best he could get1 where everything was given over to wickedness and evil4 ,ah1 then1 such a man does not stop at theoretical atheism and scepticism6 he goes farther4 ,surely in vain have ,i kept my hands clean2 ,i have been a fool to deny myself forbidden joys and pleasures2 ,i have been punished1 ,i have been injured2 those that were unscrupulous1 and impure1 and dishonest have had the best of it2 ,i have done with being a fool2 ,i am going to have my share too4 ,now doubt has reached its most dangerous point2 it is going to hurry into forbidden action4 ,it was at this moment that the recoil came4 ,i will tell you how4 ,if a man has got any heart at all1 he can go any length in his own head with his doubts and questions about whether there is a ,god or a heaven1 or whether it is worth while trying to be holy1 and pure1 and honest2 but if he has any heart at all1 the moment that he says1 ,i am going to be pure no longer1 but ,i am going to be foul1 then there is something in him that draws him back4 ,he sees himself1 or rather he feels1 that he is not doing harm to any one with those doubts that are in his own intellect1 but the moment he says1 ,i am going out into the world1 in the train1 in the town1 in the warehouse1 and ,i am going to tell it1 right and left1 that ,i count it an old wife's fable that there is a ,god and heaven1 that ,i count the man an idiot who denies himself any fleshly joy that he can get without coming within the grasp of the law--,i say1 if he has any heart at all1 he suddenly thinks to himself1 ,if ,i say that to my younger brother1 if ,i say that to that innocent maiden1 ,i shall be doing a cruel wrong to the generation of ,god's people4 ,oh1 there is an eternal1 immovable fact6 ,doubt may have all logic on its side1 but doubt and the denial of ,god and of virtue are the world's damnation4 ,it may be an advantage to a man to cheat and steal1 but it cannot be an advantage to his neighbours4 ,take the worst man in the ,city1 and ask him if he would wish that all goodness1 all virtue1 all religion should be so crushed out that every man should become a thief1 a robber1 a burglar4 ,no2 he does not want that4 ,even in the case of an infidel1 if he be a man of fine conscience and fine heart--,i have known such--not for his life would he tell his doubts to a child1 not for his life would he say a word to stop that mother teaching her boy to pray4 ,i have known such men who told me that they were thankful that the mother of their children kept on doing it4 ,yes1 that ,psalm is far away from our theoretical theologies or intellectual apologies and the rest of it4 ,see how intensely human it is--that recognition that doubt held within the intellect is not very harmful1 but let it go out into the world1 and it will do unspeakable mischief2 it is that that gives the doubter check4 ,ay1 and there is reason in it1 rationality4 ,when a man recognises that fact he has got to go farther4 ,if doubt manifestly would harm the world1 if the denial of ,god1 and goodness1 and the earth's moral government would damage human society1 then there must be something wrong in the reasoning that leads up to that denial4 ,the facts cannot be as ,i have fancied1 or else my inferences are wrong2 for never1 never can it be evil to know the truth4 ,therefore that denial of mine that there is a good ,god1 or that if there be a ,god ,he governs this world by goodness1 must be false4 ,now all things appear to the man in a new light4 ,why8 ,because he has got up to a great elevation4 ,suddenly it darts upon him1 ,before1 ,i was looking at this world out of my little self2 ,i judged everything by its effect upon my own personality1 my own life4 ,i was suffering1 and therefore all things must be wrong4 ,what a poor little aspect that is6 ,now he has risen up to a point where he stands as ,god stands2 he looks at the big world out of himself1 and he sees that the doubt1 the denial1 would destroy all that is best in the world4 ,and he looks farther2 he has reached to ,god's sanctuary4 ,now his eyes travel over wider reaches of human story4 ,before he was like a man down in a valley where there is a winding river1 and just where he stood the river seemed to flow in one direction1 and he went away and proclaimed to men that the river ran north4 ,now he has travelled away up the mountain1 and he is able to look over the whole extent1 and he sees that there was a winding and twisting in the stream1 but observes that its great ultimate course is to the southern seas4 ,the man stands up above this world of ours1 he looks over the great spread of its course and history1 and what is the absolute conclusion8 ,that everywhere in the end immorality has death in it2 that violence1 wickedness1 selfishness ruin themselves2 that oppressive dynasties have fallen1 and corrupt peoples have been struck down2 that sin everywhere has ,god's vengeance set in it1 and ends in death4 ,everywhere in the end virtue does triumph and survive1 goodness proves superior4 ,that is a fact which the evolutionist tells us4 ,this world seeks and reaches the moral1 the good1 the true1 the noble in intellect1 heart1 and soul4 ,it was made1 the religious man says1 by a good ,god1 and it is making for goodness4 ,yes2 but there comes another revelation4 ,for the good man says to himself1 ,now1 how came it that ,i could not see that before8 and suddenly an overwhelming shame falls upon him4 ,how could ,i not see that before8 ,oh1 because ,i was such a little soul1 because ,i lived in such a despicable1 little world6 ,i failed to see the truth because ,i was as base as those bad men4 ,what makes them forsake ,god and goodness8 ,because they count earthly gain the supreme thing4 ,why was ,i so bitter against their getting the earthly gain8 ,because ,i counted it the supreme thing4 ,i1 a man made in ,god's image1 a man held by ,god's hand1 a man whose will was being overshadowed1 and led1 and guided by ,god's ,spirit1 through all was so ignorant and so brutish that ,i thought ,god's best gift that ,he had to give to ,his children was money1 or fleshly pleasure1 or earthly adulation4 ,i was no better than a brute beast4 ,to the brute beast ,god can give nothing more than meat1 and drink1 and fleshly sensual delight2 but that a man held in ,god's hand1 loved by ,god1 should have great joy about these things6 ,ah1 my doubt grew not out of the world's enigmas alone6 it grew out of my own low morals4 ,now he stands in a new position4 ,he sees as ,god sees1 and he says to himself1 ,ah1 let this world grow as ill as it may2 even if it were the case that money1 power1 social ambition1 earthly rewards did go predominantly to wickedness1 what then8 ,here am ,i1 a man loving honour1 truth1 justice1 mercy1 purity1 ,god2 shall ,i hesitate for one moment if ,i must lose all the world8 ,can ,i hesitate for one moment8 ,no2 goodness alone1 with no earthly reward1 is heaven1 and far more precious than all worldly gain4 ,why8 ,because goodness has in it the very breath of ,god1 the throb of ,his ,spirit1 the echo of ,his heart4 ,the good man has ,god in him1 loving him1 continually with him1 he continually with ,god2 and this world lies beneath him1 and death beneath his feet4 ,ah1 the best this world can give trembles before death and the grave1 and breaks and is gone6 but in goodness the human heart clasps ,god1 and doubt is at an end4 ,oh1 how much our world to-day wants that supreme daring faith in goodness just for itself1 and that close fellowship with ,god1 that defies all questionings1 all doubts1 that would stand if all the evidences about our ,gospels and ,epistles were swept away1 still sure that ,god is up there1 that ,god loves men1 and that ,god draws them to ,himself to make them holy1 as their ,father in heaven is holy6 ,,ix4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,queen ,,esther4 ,,esther iv4 #ac-ag4 ,the subject to which ,i invite your attention to-night is the ,story of ,queen ,esther4 ,the kernel of it has been read to you in the fourth chapter4 ,i shall read the closing verses1 so as to give you the key-note to the meaning of the narrative4 ,after ,esther had refused to go and plead for the ,hebrews with the ,king of ,persia1 ,mordecai commanded to answer ,esther1 ,think not with thyself that thou shalt escape in the king's house1 more than all the ,jews4 ,for if thou altogether holdest thy peace at this time1 then shall there enlargement and deliverance arise to the ,jews from another place2 but thou and thy father's house shall be destroyed3 and who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this8 ,then ,esther bade them return ,mordecai this answer1 ,go1 gather together all the ,jews that are present in ,shushan1 and fast ye for me1 and neither eat nor drink three days1 night or day3 ,i also and my maidens will fast likewise2 and so will ,i go in unto the king1 which is not according to the law3 and if ,i perish1 ,i perish4 ,so ,mordecai went his way1 and did according to all that ,esther had commanded him4 ,it is a very difficult task to calculate how much religion there is in the world--true religion1 that ,god accepts4 ,elijah once tried to calculate1 and concluded there was nobody true to ,god but himself2 blind to the seven thousand that had not bowed the knee to ,baal4 ,it is quite possible to take superficial1 indulgent1 optimistic views of the progress made by mankind1 but ,god knows there are as deadly and wicked and more blasphemous errors committed by good men1 who talk of this world as if it were given over to the devil to reign and rule in it1 as if things were growing worse and worse1 as if the number of men and women whose hearts are ,god's were few4 ,i think the blunder comes from looking for goodness often in the wrong place1 from a mistaken idea of what true religion is4 ,it won't do to reckon up our church members2 they are not all genuine4 ,it won't do to count our acts of worship1 our prayer-meetings1 our praises4 ,these are often mere sound1 breath1 empty air4 ,if you want to know how much of ,christ there is in this world1 you must go outside the churches1 into the workshops1 into the homes of the people4 ,ay1 you must go to lands where ,christ's name is not often heard1 and you have got to listen with a sympathetic ear1 and whenever you hear the accents of ,christ's human voice ringing out in any way of genuine love and tenderness1 whenever you see duty done patiently1 and loyally1 and uncomplainingly1 whenever you see a heart or a soul follow the light1 however dim and glimmering1 understand that there you are touching ,christ1 and stand on a bit of the kingdom of heaven4 ,the eleventh chapter of ,hebrews is the golden roll of the ,old ,testament heroes1 men of ,god1 stamped by ,god ,himself as genuine2 and the deeds recited1 too1 as having been done by them1 that gave them their degree and title as heroes1 and nobles1 and princes in heaven's kingdom1 are not the preaching of sermons1 or the writing of books of theology1 or the fighting about petty little trivialities of doctrinal explanation1 or the performance of rites and ceremonies and acts of worship1 but brave deeds of battle1 noble1 dauntless generalship1 heroism1 and courage1 and self-sacrifice1 loyalty to the cause of truth and righteousness in this world4 ,these are the deeds that were done1 following the guidance of ,god1 under the inspiration of ,heaven1 and the men who did them are recited in one long unbroken chain1 and linked on in line direct with ,jesus ,christ1 whose death and redemption are presented as the crown and consummation of that long series of priests1 and kings1 and prophets1 and warriors1 and heroes1 true-hearted men and women who lived for ,god and fought for ,god in the olden time4 ,it is sometimes said that ,christ was not present in the ,old ,testament times4 ,true1 the human ,jesus of ,nazareth was not there1 but oh1 the spirit of ,him was6 ,he was the very heart-beat1 and pulse1 and inspiration of all that long1 continuous struggle to bring heaven down into earth1 for that is what the ,old ,testament story presents to us4 ,in every brave deed1 in every true word1 in every pure and righteous life1 it was not the heart of man that glowed1 but the very spirit of ,christ--,christ coming to full birth and maturity in this world's story4 ,some people are puzzled to discover how the ,book of ,esther comes to be in the ,old ,testament4 ,it is said to be a romance of history4 ,it contains no religious teaching4 ,the name of ,god is not once mentioned in it1 from the first verse to the last4 ,how comes it in the ,bible8 ,now1 it is quite true that there is no direct dogmatic teaching of religious truth4 ,it is absolutely true that the name of ,god is not to be found in its pages4 ,but what of that8 what of that1 if the book is one of the most powerful presentations of ,god's providence working among men1 if the book itself has for its very soul and idea the conception of ,god overruling events in a marvellous fashion to preserve ,his kingdom on earth8 ,is the great thing to get the name of ,god1 spelt with its three letters1 or to be shown ,god8 ,ah6 it is the same kind of blunder that causes us to make so much of mere forms of words in the ,church1 instead of looking to see if the ,spirit of ,god animates the man and woman and the preacher who inhabit the professed house of ,god on earth4 ,there may be no teaching of religion1 no prophesying of ,jesus1 no foreshadowing of the evangelical truths of redemption in the ,book of ,esther2 but what it does paint for you is a majestic picture of a human heart struggling against its own weakness1 rising to a grandeur that had in it the glory of ,christ's own self-sacrifice4 ,the name is not there1 the phrase is not there2 but the core1 and kernel1 and heart of ,christ's love1 and faith1 and redemption of men are pulsing and beating in the book4 ,it is a puzzling book4 ,there is a great deal in it that is revolting4 ,the background on which ,esther's deed of heroism was done is ugly and repulsive4 ,she lived in a social state that was degraded and base1 containing in it customs and habits that almost sicken us who1 through ,christ's mercy1 have been lifted into comparative purity and sweetness4 ,you remember the story4 ,a dissolute ,persian monarch1 in a drunken frolic1 requires of his queen to do a deed that ran against all that was womanly within her1 and she refused4 ,mercilessly he deposes her from the throne1 and he sets to to select another queen4 ,the fair maidens of the land are collected1 and in a very disgusting fashion presented to the tyrant1 and from among them he chooses the beautiful young ,jewess ,esther1 and makes her his queen4 ,one cannot but pity her for having lived in such a time1 for having had to play a part on such a stage of the world's story4 ,one may even fairly ask the question1 if it had not been nobler if she had not been presented by her guardian in such a revolting competition8 ,but it is no good for us finding fault with the actual course of the world's story4 ,if ,god was not too fine to lead men in all the bygone days--polygamy and such like practices were tolerated in the ,old ,testament time1 because of the lowness of men's hearts1 as ,christ explains to us--it is a mistake in you and me being too fine to recognise ,god where ,god was numbering ,himself among transgressors1 that ,he might lift mankind to ,his own level4 ,and then the narrative proceeds2 presents to us a succession of cruel1 unscrupulous intrigues1 mainly between ,esther's guardian1 ,mordecai1 7a ,jew whom one cannot admire and love1 taking the picture of him drawn in this book7 and the king's favourite courtier1 ,haman4 ,in the course of the rivalry between the two1 the very existence of ,god's people throughout the ,persian empire is imperilled4 ,partly through ,haman's scheming1 but also through dauntless devotion to what they believed to be the cause of ,god1 and which was the cause of ,god1 in spite of the earthliness and imperfections attaching to its soldiers and defenders1 partly by evil fixed to them1 partly through nobility and goodness1 a drama is presented to us1 a struggle of heroism and bravery1 and in the centre of it is that young queen doing a deed that we cannot but call ,christlike4 ,now1 ,i want to say this to you3 ,men's lights in the world are very diverse4 ,the possibilities of goodness and attainment for one man are far greater and far higher than for another4 ,some of you may be so entangled with evil customs and habits of commercial or of social life that you feel your very position there is impossible to make quite consistent with the full requirements of ,jesus ,christ4 ,thus things are4 ,it is no good blinking them4 ,and what are you to do8 ,to despair1 to give up any attempt to be good1 and pure1 and noble8 ,never6 never6 ,look at all that ,old ,testament story--men far behind in their notions of common morality1 yet on that low1 degraded background discerning always a higher that may be done1 a lower that may be avoided4 ,no matter where you may stand1 no matter how difficult the achievements may be1 the one great question is1 not what is the framework1 but what is the painting you put in it4 ,are you living for self8 or are you living for ,god8 living to your own self-will1 or striving to do your duty as far as you can do it8 ,from a very lowly lot ,esther rose to be the first lady in the land1 and ,i suppose all her sister ,jewesses envied her1 and thought that there was nothing that was not happy1 and prosperous1 and pleasant in her position4 ,yes1 it was a position of great advantage1 of great pomp1 flattering to her pride--rich raiment1 jewellery1 the adulation of fawning courtiers1 the admiration of the great monarch of the mightiest kingdom in the world1 promoted to the throne as queen1 wielding power over the destinies of man4 ,ah6 it was a very enviable1 happy lot1 and yet not altogether so very enviable4 ,i will tell you why--a thing that we apparently forget4 ,when we all of us enter into our estates1 when we come of age1 nearly all good fortune in this world is heavily mortgaged4 ,it is encumbered estates that we come heir to2 and without disloyalty1 without being renegades and dishonourable1 we cannot cast off these encumbrances4 ,the present has always got to pay the purchase price to the past4 ,you must not kick away the ladder by which you rose to fortune4 ,ah6 and sometimes into the bright sunshiny present the past comes with a very long bill to pay--comes with a very stern face and a demanding hand1 and bids you1 perhaps1 risk all that is making your heart so warm1 and so proud1 and so gay4 ,that was the case with ,esther4 ,she was a ,jewess4 ,she owed her birth and her breeding to that despised1 exiled people4 ,she had won her proud position on the emperor's throne through the planning1 and toiling1 and sacrifice of her ,jewish guardian4 ,and now her people's destiny hangs on the balance4 ,a deadly conspiracy against them has brought it about that on a given day1 rapidly approaching1 there is to be a universal merciless massacre of these defenceless ,jews4 ,and through the mouth of her old revered guardian the demand comes to her--the one human being that might have influence with the cruel king to cancel the decree and save the lives of men1 women1 and children--at the risk and peril of her own life in asking it1 to go and intercede for them4 ,hard6 oh1 how hard6 ,don't you judge harshly the poor queen when she shrank away from it and could not face the stern summons4 ,think of it1 the young flesh1 the soft heart--a woman's heart--within her1 and think of the cruel death by torture that was wont to be inflicted upon any one that1 unbidden1 dared to force his way into the king's presence2 coming1 too1 in the bright noonday of all her good fortune4 ,it would have been easier to risk life when she was an unknown ,jewish maiden2 but oh1 in this good luck1 this fortune1 this love1 this adulation1 this admiration1 with her right fair beauty all upon her1 to take it all and go and confront grim death6 it seemed too much to ask4 ,and so ,esther began arguing within herself3 ,was she bound to hazard her life for these ,jews8 ,after all1 what had they done for her8 ,they were her race1 her kindred1 but what of that8 ,had she not come out from among them8 ,has not destiny taken her lot and separated it from theirs8 ,why cannot she live her own life apart from them8 ,why should she come down from the throne and take her stand among them1 exposed to cruel massacre and death8 ,what is the obligation8 ,where are the ties that bound her lot to theirs8 ,ay1 where were the ties of love and the obligations to generosity8 ,they are too fine and impalpable to be proved by argument4 ,the moment you begin discussing them or questioning them--ties that bind brother to brother1 sister to sister1 child to parent--they vanish like life dissected for4 ,you destroy them4 ,they have to be felt1 not proved1 but are more real1 more solemn1 more important in determining a man's destinies than all the legal bonds and moral obligations that bind him in society4 ,but then1 again1 the queen would ask herself1 ,what would be the good of her running such a risk8 ,is it reasonable that she1 a single weak woman1 unskilled in the ways of courts and of cunning courtiers2 that she should be asked to plunge into a whirlpool of race-hatreds and furious feuds between unscrupulous nobles and potentates about the court2 that she should confront the reckless rage of the royal tyrant--she1 so defenceless1 so impotent1 so frail8 ,ah1 yes6 once again the argument was good to shirk the path of heroism2 but once again1 what business had she to argue8 ,when duty comes to you it is not a thing to reason about4 ,you have got to just go and do it4 ,mother1 when your little one was struck down with the deadliest and most infectious ailment1 did you reason for one moment whether you could be expected to risk your life1 whether you were not too delicate to make it worth while doing it1 whether you would not be throwing away your existence8 ,if any man came and suggested that to you1--,no6 ,love1 duty1 they do not argue1 they command4 ,the fact of the matter was1 the queen was standing in a false position4 ,she could not see the truth1 she could not see the right1 where she stood4 ,i hope ,i have been able to show you how very plausible1 how very weighty1 the grounds were on which she made her refusal to risk her life4 ,but have not you yourselves felt something about a home atmosphere in which such reasoning moved that is contemptible and despicable8 ,have not you recognised its infinite pettiness and littleness8 ,oh1 what a narrow1 contracted1 selfish world that woman's heart is living in6 ,it has been all a question about ,esther--,esther's life1 ,esther's risks1 ,esther's obligations1 as if that were the whole4 ,why not break down those prison walls of littleness8 ,look at those thousands of ,jews--fathers1 mothers1 young maidens1 brave lads1 little children with their bright eyes1 and with terrible death impending over them4 ,how is ,esther so forgetful of them1 with their white faces and their anxious eyes1 and of ,god's purposes in this world8 ,ah1 no man can ever choose the path of right1 of heroism1 of goodness1 of duty1 till he sees and feels himself in ,god's big world1 and with ,god above him up in heaven6 ,mordecai recognised the root of the queen's cowardice1 and swiftly and sternly he sent back a reply that shattered those barriers of her selfishness1 and lifted her out of her little self-centred world1 and set her on the pinnacle whence the whole line and way of duty shone out unmistakably4 ,go back1 said he--go back and tell the queen to be ashamed of her despicable selfishness4 ,does she imagine that she lives separate and unconnected in this world of ,god's1 so that she can save her own life by sacrificing1 cowardly1 the lives of her kinsmen8 ,go1 tell the queen that she does not live in a will-less1 random world1 where she may pick and choose the best things for herself4 ,go1 tell her that confronting her1 sweeping round her1 seizing her in its currents1 the great will of ,god is moving on down through the centuries4 ,if she will not save ,god's people1 then ,god will find another deliverer1 and she herself shall be dashed aside4 ,go1 tell the queen she may refuse the task1 but the deed shall be done4 ,god's purpose in ,his chosen people shall not be baulked4 ,deliverance will come to the ,jews1 but she1 poor blind queen1 may have missed a noble vocation4 ,go1 bid the queen look at the strange providence that picked her out among her people1 that placed her on the throne1 that set her by the side of the despot in whose hands the fate of her people is held1 and then bid her ask whether she thinks ,god did that deed out of partial1 indulgent favour of her petty self1 or whether it is not clear as noontide that just for this hour of peril1 and of danger1 and of death1 to be the redeemer and the saviour of the ,jews1 ,god gave her that dignity and set her on the throne4 ,ah1 what a new world we are in now6 what a new light floods everything6 ,the queen felt it4 ,all that was noble1 all that was good in her waked and gained the upper hand1 and crushed down her baseness1 and her meanness1 and her selfishness4 ,and yet heroism had a struggle with the weakness of the flesh4 ,that is nothing strange4 ,remember ,christ in ,gethsemane3 ,oh1 watch with ,me1 with your human sympathy and fellowship1 in ,my dire hour of need6 ,it was a cry like that that made ,esther send back that message to ,mordecai4 ,she wanted to feel the binding force of the ties of common human brotherhood that connected her with her people to make her strong4 ,she saw how it was4 ,away from them1 and living alone1 proudly1 selfishly1 her heart had got hard1 and she could not go out among them2 but it would mean a deal for her during those days if she knew that in every ,jewish home men and women1 young men and maidens1 and little children1 from morning till night1 were fasting1 and by the pain and abstinence of fasting kept thinking1 from morning till night1 of the deadly danger hanging over them1 and ,esther steeling herself to risk her life for love of them4 ,oh1 wrapped round with that sense of human sympathy1 nerved and braved by the thought of all these human lives hanging on her heroism1 the weak woman conquered1 and she could go and do the deed of valour6 ,but one thing more3 the other element1 the sense of her own weakness1 her own impotence--for that she needed to fall back on ,god4 ,ah1 if it were the case simply of a nation pleading with her to intercede on their behalf1 she could not have done that all alone6 ,but when she herself1 through those two days1 lived face to face with ,god1 till this world was filled with ,his presence1 till all the old stories of the generous rescues of bygone days were blazing resplendent before her eyes1 guaranteeing that it was a call of ,god1 that ,god would be behind her and with her and that ,his strength would be sufficient for her weakness--so backed with intimate love and sympathy with her fellow-men1 and a strong faith in ,god1 she could go and do her duty4 ,look at this striking contrast4 ,read that first refusal of hers--selfish1 self-centred1 cowardly1 prudent4 ,i think you feel all through it a restlessness1 a dissatisfaction1 a vacillation1 a nervous excitement1 a sense of uneasiness1 a hidden doubt whether in saving her life she may not be losing it4 ,read that reply now1 when she pledges herself to go and dare the king's deadly rage4 ,how grand1 and majestic1 and calm it rings out6 solemn1 earnest1 like the voice of a brave veteran going on a forlorn hope1 but with the tranquillity1 the serene certainty1 of a brave heart doing what it knows to be duty4 ,ah1 the man that goes through this world regardless of right or wrong1 not asking what is duty1 taking and choosing what shall be for his own advantage1 trimming1 and chopping1 and setting his sails to catch every breeze of dishonourable prosperity1 the restless heart that made response hanging upon himself1 every step his own1 if wrong then the upbraiding and the remorse all will be his4 ,oh1 the sweetness1 the grandeur1 the calmness of the man who has asked simply1 in any circumstances of danger and difficulty1 ,what is right8 what is duty8 what is the will of ,god8 what alone can and ought to be done8 and then does it1 ay1 with death hanging over4 ,he can sleep tranquilly4 ,he is not responsible for the issue1 no matter what it be4 ,here on earth he has done the right1 done his duty1 and the responsibility rests on ,god4 ,esther1 by that deed of heroism1 delivered ,god's people from destruction4 ,in her measure she did the same thing that ,christ did perfectly later4 ,like ,him1 too1 she laid her own life down on the altar4 ,that it was not sacrificed does not diminish the value of the offering4 ,a man does not need to perish in saving another from drowning1 if he plunge into the wild1 stormy sea1 to deserve an admiration as great as if he had perished in the task4 ,she did a deed of ,christ4 ,that deed roused the admiration of her day and generation4 ,that deed of hers was told with kindling eyes and ringing voice1 and pride and triumph1 from father to child1 generation after generation4 ,that deed of hers stood out as a pledge1 a guarantee1 of the reality of ,god's purpose for ,his kingdom on earth4 ,by her deed1 in her own day and generation1 she saved ,god's people from imminent destruction2 by that deed1 preserved in history1 she lifted up and made strong the hope and faith of generations after4 ,and so1 rightfully1 her story finds its place in that long record of the hearts1 noble1 and brave1 and true1 who1 for love of men and faith in ,god1 at the bidding of ,heaven1 loved not their own lives to death1 but laid them down for their brethren4 ,oh1 we men and women have got to learn this lesson from this ,bible of ours--the real service of ,god1 that is real religion1 and that does build ,god's kingdom on earth1 is done not altogether1 by a long way1 in our churches1 in our religious exercises of worship2 but done in purity1 love1 and truth1 and goodness1 out of generous kindliness to one another1 at the bidding of ,god1 through all the common chapters that make up our daily life4 ,x4 ,,the ,,example ,,of ,,the ,,prophets4 ,take1 my brethren1 the prophets1 who have spoken in the name of the ,lord1 for an example4--,,james v4 #aj4 ,we possess the books produced in olden times by a number of different nations4 ,each national literature has its own peculiarities4 ,the literature of ,israel has various features that are very characteristic of it4 ,among them all1 one stands out and is unique4 ,all along the nation had a conviction that they were destined to be the greatest nation in the world1 and they believed that this destiny of theirs lay in the fact that through their government the world was to be made good1 righteous1 holy1 and happy4 ,they believed that ,god had a large plan1 embracing the whole world in its operations2 they believed that ,god was using all the different races as tools to work out that design of ,his2 but they held that infinitely beyond all lesser instruments1 ,he had made up ,his mind to employ ,israel in accomplishing that great purpose of ,his high heart2 through ,israel ,he was to make the whole world into one ,divine kingdom1 ruled by ,himself1 and reverencing ,himself as the one only ,god and ,lord4 ,the mass of the people constantly forgot that sense of a lofty destiny2 they constantly tired of that great ideal2 they chose to prefer present gain and advantage2 they disregarded that predicted end of their history in determining their contemporary policy in relation to other nations2 they were dumb1 and blind1 and deaf to that feeling of ,god's movement in history and ,his purpose for the future4 ,nevertheless1 in every age down through that nation's story there existed in their midst men who were possessed by a supreme conviction of this presence1 and power1 and purpose of ,god1 men who sacrificed bread1 profession1 home1 happiness1 and life itself1 that they might seek to carry out that intention and desire of ,god4 ,in every age they declared what ,god wanted ,israel to be and to do4 ,in every age they recommended a policy founded on that destiny of ,israel and that design of ,god4 ,the darker the national history grew1 the more decided was their certainty of the fulfilment of ,god's purpose4 ,but this singular change took place in the form in which they conceived that fulfilment3 ,in the earlier times ,israel--the whole nation--was to be the minister of ,god's intention2 but as age after age exhibited the depravity1 the unholiness1 and the jealousy of the nation1 the thought of the coming kingdom of promise1 and of gladness and goodness1 concentrated itself not so much about the people1 but about the ,king4 ,more and more1 it was not the chosen people of ,israel1 but it was the chosen ,son of ,israel1 the chosen ,heir of ,david1 the coming ,deliverer1 the ,king1 that was to bring it in4 ,it is a strange spectacle to behold how ,god1 by ,his external dealings with the people of ,israel1 and by the development of their conduct1 led ,his servants the prophets to see that if ever this grand purpose of ,god for mankind was to be accomplished1 it could not be done by the whole people1 or any number of them1 but must be done by one single individual1 who should combine in his character all the goodness1 and all the truth1 and all the knowledge1 and all the power of ,god that were necessary to make a kingdom of ,god on earth4 ,so it came to pass that inside the progress of ,israel's history1 as a wall down the long march of that history1 there was a line of men first of all foreseeing a grand future1 mainly connected with ,israel in the government of the nation1 and gradually defining more brightly the covenant1 and the establishment1 and the maintenance of that kingdom as contained in the person1 in the character1 in the work1 in the heart1 in the sufferings1 in the triumph of a great coming ,messenger of ,god1 a ,man of ,god1 a ,son of ,god1 yet so stamped with ,divinity that ,he gets names which set ,him on a level with ,god4 ,it is the long procession of prophets1 the line of foreseers1 who1 in succession to the patriarchs1 touch1 ages in advance1 the coming of ,christ1 and make the world expect it1 and preserve faith in mankind till ,christ does come4 ,the history of these men within their own nation is striking4 ,as a rule1 they stood in a small minority1 were despised and disbelieved1 had to maintain the truth of their ,divine conviction in the face of almost universal denial1 were ill-treated and persecuted1 were declared to be impostors or traitors to the national cause1 were cast out1 and an immense number of them were killed4 ,but as time rolled on the development of events proved that those men had seen the calamities and vengeances of ,god which had been foretold as about to fall on ,israel1 because of ,israel's sin4 ,the people were cast out of their own native land2 they were driven into captivity1 and in captivity they remembered what the prophets had spoken2 and then1 with humble hearts and penitent spirits1 they said to themselves ,those men were right2 they spoke true2 they anticipated what has come to pass2 ,god was with them2 they were ,his messengers2 we were in the wrong2 it was a true word from heaven that they uttered amongst us2 and so the old contempt and disbelief vanished away1 and there came a reverence and a faith for those prophets that almost reached the verge of superstition2 they gathered together their writings2 they treasured them1 and made the books of those prophets into their ,bible4 ,it is in that fashion that our own ,old ,testament of the prophets was formed4 ,the prophets were first rejected1 derided1 put to death1 and1 then with repentance and humility1 accepted as the true messengers of ,god1 taken as authoritative interpreters of ,god's mind and will2 their writings were treasured and preserved1 and made into the national ,bible4 ,it is these prophets that the ,apostle ,james bids us take as an example4 ,he means that every ,christian man and every ,christian woman is1 in a measure1 to be a prophet2 ,he means especially that every ,christian man and every ,christian woman in the battle of life stands in some measure between ,god and others1 and is to be a prophet4 ,he means further that every father is to do for his children what those prophets did for ,israel--he is to make them know ,god4 ,he means that every mother is to be the very channel of making her children come into contact with ,god's character1 and comprehend ,god's intentions for them4 ,he means especially that every ,sunday-school teacher is to be just what those old prophets were in ,israel--to make others who are more ignorant than he is sensible of the presence1 and purpose1 and progression of ,god's designs through life in his own present age and time4 ,he means that every preacher1 and every teacher1 and every man who speaks about religion is1 in his conduct and character1 and what he teaches and what he preaches1 to be a prophet4 ,and above all1 he means that one and all of us of this age shall1 even down to the humblest ,christian1 who hardly has any influence1 act as a mediator or interpreter between other men and ,god1 as did many of the prophets1 with an unswerving belief of the truth1 and with a patience and perseverance of spirit in every unenlightened time1 and amidst the most adverse circumstances1 founded upon the certainty of the fulfilment of ,god's promise that ,christ should come1 and shall come again4 ,now ,i want to say a few things to you about the character and the office of those prophets in the world1 that we may see some respects in which we may and certainly ought to imitate them4 ,what was a prophet8 ,i imagine that many of us are content with a very superficial notion of the part played in actual life by those men4 ,i imagine1 because of the class of books that has been written in great profusion in our present century1 and is still written1 that we are apt to think of a prophet simply and only as a man who predicted things that were going to happen--incidents and events that were to fall out in the unfolding of history4 ,the prophets did a vast deal more than that1 and the very essence1 and life1 and grandeur of their character and conduct appear only in a small fragment in that portion of their office4 ,their real movement and meaning are in quite another department4 ,if we wish to know what a prophet is1 we may1 first of all1 take the names given to the prophets in the ,bible4 ,then1 again1 we may remember who were the prophets4 ,and then we may take their writings1 the records of their deeds1 the history that tells of their fortunes4 ,what are the names given to a prophet in the ,old ,testament8 ,the first and holiest is a man of ,god--the man of ,god4 ,all that that tells us is that in a peculiar sense the prophet belonged to ,god4 ,the next name is the servant of ,god4 ,that tells us that he belonged to ,god in the sense of serving ,god1 doing things for ,god4 ,then he is called the ambassador1 or the messenger1 of ,god4 ,that tells you that he served ,god by bringing messages from ,god4 ,then he is called an interpreter4 ,that tells you that it was to men he took ,god's message1 and that he had to make it understood by them4 ,the next thing that we come to is a seer1 connected with the word watchman1 a spier or seer4 ,it means one who saw what other men could not see1 who saw into ,god's mind1 who saw ,god1 who saw what ,god was about4 ,it tells us how he got to know his message1 how he learnt it2 it was by insight1 seeing into the hidden1 underlying purposes of ,god4 ,then the last name of all is what we translate prophet1 and it literally means a man who bubbles up and runs over1 whose heart gushes out1 in the sense of being poured into1 that what is poured in comes out of him4 ,it tells us that he pours out what he has learnt1 to other men2 and it adds this shade of meaning 7the very form of the ,hebrew word does so71 that he is1 as it were1 spoken through2 it does not end with himself1 nor does it take its rise with himself1 but it comes into him like a flood1 and it overflows2 he cannot help himself2 he is possessed1 he is pressed2 he is compelled to utter what his ,god tells him4 ,the names of a prophet1 therefore1 tell us this2 this is his function2 he1 beyond other men1 has to do with ,god1 belongs to ,god2 he belongs to ,god in being ,god's servant2 he is ,god's servant in being ,god's messenger2 he is ,god's messenger in bringing things to men that ,god wants men to know2 he learns what he has to tell men by seeing it himself1 by knowing it1 understanding it1 feeling it1 and then he utters it by a resistless compulsion and impulse1 the fire burning in his heart1 a pressure being put on him to tell what ,god has taught him4 ,already you have got the thought of a man with a grandeur1 a greatness1 a significance1 and a meaning immensely above what you think of when you think of a man who can tell you where an axe which has been lost is to be found1 or whether a sick person will die or live1 or whether a town is going to be destroyed or not4 ,what you have is a living1 breathing1 warming channel of communication between the great ,god in heaven and the human hearts of men on earth4 ,then1 who were the prophets8 ,moses was a prophet1 the greatest of all the ,old ,testament prophets4 ,he was a prophet because of his whole life work1 not because once or twice he predicted a thing which was going to happen4 ,because he was ,moses1 the moulder and the maker of ,israel1 and the giver to them of all their knowledge about ,god which is contained in ,god's law1 therefore ,moses was a prophet4 ,samuel was a prophet2 ,saul the king was a prophet for one night1 when he lay on the ground in an ecstasy1 and uttered strange sayings4 ,there were all kinds of prophets2 ,i cannot deal with them all4 ,isaiah was a prophet2 ,daniel was a prophet supremely4 ,christ was the ,prophet1 and the complete ,prophet4 ,how8 ,because ,he foretold the doom of ,jerusalem8 ,because ,he foretold ,his own death8 ,undoubtedly because ,he did those things2 but that was not why ,he was called the ,prophet4 ,why was it8 ,a very excellent book1 the ,shorter ,catechism1 puts it better than ,i can3 ,jesus ,christ is a ,prophet in making known to us the mind and will of ,god for our salvation4 ,i put this deliberately and very strongly1 almost unduly depreciating the idea of foretelling future events1 just because ,i know from my own experience1 and certainly from the experience of others1 that one thinks that the latter is the whole meaning of the word4 ,it is startling and intensely interesting when you can pick out a prediction which was uttered ages before1 and which was afterwards fulfilled4 ,by all means take that2 but never forget that1 just like ,christ's miracles1 it was1 as it were1 only the accompaniment of the prophet's main work as a prophet1 and that the real work of a prophet is making known unto us the whole character1 and heart1 and mind1 and will of ,god1 as these are revealed in working out the world's salvation4 ,if you turn to the writings of the prophets in the ,old ,testament you instantly discover that that is the true idea of a prophet4 ,take ,isaiah1 take ,micah1 take ,jeremiah1 take any prophet you please2 every here and there you come upon a prediction--,babylon shall be destroyed2 ,nineveh shall be destroyed4 ,yes1 but it is one prediction1 as an impassioned declaration of ,god's ways to men1 showing how ,he must punish their wickedness1 and must visit the impenitent4 ,but the story of ,god's character and dealings for the world's redemption is1 after all1 the grand substance of ,old ,testament prophecy2 it is a record of ,god's pity for mankind1 and ,his determination to make them holy and happy1 and of the fact that it is all to be done by the great coming ,christ1 the world's ,sacrifice and the world's ,saviour4 ,and when you are told to take the prophets as your example do not go away saying1 ,i cannot predict future events1 and astonish people1 and make them feel that ,i have some supernatural power4 ,no1 they could not be that example to you4 ,a prophet was a man who knew the character of the true and living ,god2 and because he knew and loved ,him1 and was living with ,him1 he made other men know ,him1 and feel ,him1 and understand ,him too4 ,i have no time to enter into all the questions concerning the precise manner in which the prophet got to know ,god's mind and will--by dream1 in ecstasy1 in lofty rapt thought1 in wonderful insight into the ,spirit of ,god1 and sometimes by a vision like that of ,isaiah1 where he saw the ,lord1 high and lifted up1 on ,his throne4 ,or1 the prophet got to know ,god in a similar way to that which we read of in the case of the child ,samuel1 when the voice of ,god in the lonely ,temple struck upon the child's ear so that there was nothing startling1 and he thought it was his master's voice calling him2 but he lived to see the terrible fulfilment of the first teaching which ,god gave to the child1 in that which befell the master4 ,i have no time to go into all that1 nor to enter largely into the place and purpose of the prophets in working out that history which shows1 when properly understood1 nothing else but the growth of the ,spirit of ,jesus ,christ through the ages1 till that ,spirit came in its completion in ,jesus the ,son of ,mary2 for there is the whole meaning of the prophets in ,israel2 they were an incarnation of the very same heart1 and mind1 and will of the ,divine dispensation and of ,god for the world's redemption which were in ,jesus2 it was the ,spirit of ,jesus4 ,and do not put away the words as a mere figure unless you put away the words as a mere figure when you read that ,jesus was the incarnate ,son of ,god4 ,it was the very ,spirit of ,god4 ,the same ,spirit as was consummate in ,jesus1 the perfect ,prophet because the perfect ,revelation of ,god1 in its measure was present in every prophet who made the people believe ,god as they had never done before1 and recognise ,his presence in the history of their time4 ,the prophets taught them to repent of their sin1 to live for ,god1 to take their share in the great conflicts for righteousness that ,god was fighting in their age4 ,in a measure the ,spirit of ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son of ,god1 the ,saviour of the world1 was present in every age of it4 ,there is scarcely any occurrence1 any story1 any ,psalm1 in the prophecies of the ,old ,testament1 which has not an application to ,jesus ,christ1 and a meaning showing that ,he is in it4 ,it is made a specimen1 as it were1 of all that is practically to be found in ,him4 ,the history of ,israel in prophecy1 which was the rising and the beginning of the future history of ,israel1 was just the growing of ,jesus through the ages1 till at length ,he culminated in the ,son of ,mary4 ,i want to-day rather to tell you some of the qualifications of a prophet--some of the elements of character that a man must have if he is to play the part of a prophet to the people he lives among1 bidding myself and you take the prophets as an example4 ,one thing is remarkable--the office of a prophet was not hereditary4 ,the great departments of ,god's government1 and teaching1 and dealings with ,israel were the kingship1 the priesthood1 and the prophethood--the rule1 the fellowship1 and the teaching and guidance4 ,now1 all these culminated in ,jesus2 ,he is ,prophet1 ,priest1 and ,king4 ,in ,israel no mere man or body of men was fit in unity to fill those offices2 they were distributed4 ,the burden was too great1 the power was too grand1 for any single man1 except the perfect ,son of ,man1 to combine them in their fulness1 and so they were divided in ,israel1 to be reunited in the perfect embodiment of ,israel1 ,god1 ,prophet1 ,priest1 and ,king to the people4 ,god's meaning was that all ,israel in its completeness should be king1 and prophet1 and priest1 without any active1 separated1 divided government2 that it should be a theocracy1 as ,god's kingdom1 ruling themselves1 every one of them being a king to ,god1 every one of them being a priest1 every one of them being able to come direct to ,god for himself1 and to bring his prayers to ,god without any intervention of man2 in the same way every man1 as a prophet1 hearing ,god's voice direct to his heart1 and being taught the truth that ,god revealed4 ,god wanted them all to be prophets2 ,god wanted them all to be priests2 ,god wanted them all to be kings3 but they were not fit for it1 and so among them special men had to be cultivated to fill those offices4 ,now1 there is this distinction between those divided offices or faculties of ,god's rule and guidance in ,israel3 the kingship was hereditary2 the priesthood was hereditary3 the prophethood was never hereditary4 ,a priest's son was born a priest2 a king's son was born a king3 a prophet's son was not born a prophet4 ,the prophets were selected1 not born4 ,why8 ,because it was the supreme and grandest office1 the most difficult1 the most responsible1 the most sacred4 ,any man was fit to be a priest1 to conduct the ritual and external ordinances of worship1 through which men's hearts were brought to ,god4 ,and any man1 comparatively1 might be a king1 so long as he devoted to his office that amount of thought and time which was necessary4 ,it needed no special moral qualifications and no special insight4 ,a man was the better who had these1 but he could be a good enough king without them4 ,but a prophet could not be born a prophet2 a prophet had to be chosen1 a prophet had to be made by ,god4 ,and the reason was this3 the prophethood was a creative office and function4 ,god's dealings with ,israel were not done when ,he had given the ancient economy of a religious priesthood and kingdom4 ,god had to reshape1 and remodel1 and adopt ,his laws1 and teaching1 and meaning1 and the outward ordinances of religion to every age4 ,as the nation both externally and internally altered1 new teaching had to come to it at the hands of the prophets4 ,were the priests the channel by which ,god could do it8 ,their duty was fixed1 and in the law1 as well as in the form of government1 men could not err2 they could follow the ,divine precepts exactly in administering them4 ,but when an addition has to be made1 and a remoulding to take place1 it wants a man capable of entering with strange1 grand insight into ,god's purposes1 a man with eyes1 with soul2 it needs a man lifted up4 ,and so the prophets' office was never hereditary2 they were always selected2 ,god chose them2 why8 ,why did ,god choose one man1 and not another8 ,i think that ,he chose a man1 first of all1 who had a natural adaptation1 who had rare powers of mind1 who had rare genius and sympathetic feeling1 and not a mere presentiment of the movements of the world and its destiny as it went on round about him4 ,i think that1 as a rule1 ,god selected a man with a natural adaptation1 and prepared him for all that he had to do and tell4 ,it transformed a man's life2 it took him clean out of the common world in which men lived4 ,we presume that it was so from what is recorded1 and from the facts which we know concerning the prophets' characters and lives4 ,god caused something to happen to a man that made ,god appear to him what ,he was not to common men4 ,an awful vision was presented to ,isaiah of the great1 grand ,god1 and thenceforth all earthly considerations were nothing to ,isaiah4 ,he had seen ,god1 and the future was ,god's making4 ,in the face of empires1 however mighty in name and in armies1 it is the will of ,god that settles the future1 and such a man disregards all earthly advantages2 he knows that ,god means to do ,his deed2 he says1 ,it shall be done2 and if you set yourselves against it there is no other end than destruction1 which is sure to fall upon you1 for ,god will do the deed which ,he means to do4 ,it was a revelation of ,god which made the man a prophet2 it made him a man who felt ,god to be supreme2 it made him to be certain of ,god's sovereignty1 and absoluteness1 and the goodness of ,god's authority2 so that nothing could induce him to swerve from the path that ,god appointed for him4 ,he was a man who stood like a rock amidst the earthly1 selfish1 planning1 scheming men of his time1 and declared the future truly1 because he had seen ,god's meaning1 and held men to it2 and when they would not be so held he was content to die1 declaring the truth of his message1 and looking forward to the time when the future would manifest its truth4 ,he was a fit prophet1 a living teacher1 who spoke of the future--a grand man1 with a grand office and a grand destiny to play in the world4 ,the man1 the father1 the mother1 the teacher1 the preacher1 who takes the prophets as examples1 who will play his destined part in his own little home1 in his own ,sunday-school class1 in his own congregation1 in his own neighbourhood1 in the great world round about him1 must be a prophet2 he must be a man who knows ,god2 he must be a man who feels ,god to be all about him2 he must be a man who is not merely orthodox in theology1 and believes all that is written about ,god's dealings in the past2 but he must be a man that will make you know that ,god is living1 and moving1 and loving in the events of his own time2 he must be a man who recognises ,god in the providences of his own life2 he must be a man who does not shape his conduct for earthly gain or for social advantage2 he must be a man despising all these things1 and paying heed to his own high destiny1 yet whose character and conduct move on the lines which ,i have indicated2 who says1 ,god is making me great1 but ,he bids me live as ,he lives--but ,he bids me sacrifice friends and home2 ,i must do it2 ,i must tell this truth1 though all good men should be against me1 for ,i have learnt it of ,god1 at my risk of having mistaken its meaning2 yet ,i must speak it4 ,ay1 even if such a man makes mistakes in learning this new lesson of ,god1 and does not read it quite right1 even if he goes wrong1 nevertheless he has life in him1 ,divine life2 he has honesty2 he is a true man2 he is a man who is not of the world2 he is a man who is not a mere ecclesiastic2 he is a man who is not a mere self-seeker4 ,that man does ,god's work on earth4 ,and ,i venture to say that in the ,church's story you will find that there has been a succession of men who have done what was the work of the priest in the old time1 and there has been a succession of men who have done the work of the prophet4 ,you need both2 you need the priest1 to keep alive1 as it were1 the ordinary level of religion1 to preserve some sort of uniformity2 and in the ,church's story you will find that ,god has raised up prophets1 men who sometimes broke loose1 who were not always true1 who sometimes mistook ,god's meaning1 who had but little of the character of the old prophets1 and yet who taught truth1 and adapted the old ecclesiastical doctrines to the new necessities1 suiting their work to the age2 and though disbelieved and openly denounced in their own day1 they have become our teachers since4 ,what of the ,reformers8 what of ,wesley8 what of ,whitefield8 what of many another name1 much nearer our own time1 but which does not diminish the effect of the general principle8 ,ay1 and what of men not so good and great as these1 but who had life in them2 who broke up the stagnation of ecclesiastical life1 and brought new faith to men2 who by their dazzling earnestness1 and spiritual insight1 and their teaching brought up the ordinary level of ,god's presence8 ,thank ,god it is so4 ,it is the lot of the human prophet and priest1 and of similar teachers1 in our day1 to make men know that there is a ,god1 and a ,christ1 and a soul to be saved1 and that they are men1 and not mere machines4 ,thank ,god for it2 but pray ,god to make you and me true prophets2 pray ,god to give us the passion of prophets1 to give us sympathy with all the wants of the age1 to give us to know that ,he is moving1 to give us to know what new teachings come from ,him2 pray ,god to give us generosity1 and self-sacrifice1 and liberality1 and largeness of heart1 with our means1 with our abilities1 with our whole soul1 with our prayers and spirits1 and all that we have1 to play our part as faithful prophets in the world's story1 showing men ,god1 and winning them to follow ,him4 ,,xi4 ,,the ,,making ,,of ,a ,,prophet4#b ,in the year that ,king ,uzziah died ,i saw the ,lord sitting upon a throne1 high and lifted up1 and ,his train overspreading the temple floor4 ,seraphs were poised above1 each with six wings1 with twain veiling his face1 with twain veiling his feet1 and with twain hovering4 ,and those on one side sang in responsive chorus with those on the other side1 saying1 ',holy1 holy1 holy is the ,lord of hosts4' ',the fulness of the whole earth is ,his glory4' ,and the foundations of the threshold trembled at the sound of that singing1 and the house was filled with incense smoke4 ,then cried ,i1 ',woe is me6 for ,i am a dead man2 because ,i am a man of unclean lips1 and ,i dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips2 for mine eyes have seen the ,king1 the ,lord of hosts4' ,then flew one of the seraphs unto me1 having in his hand a burning ember1 which with a tongs he had taken from off the incense altar2 and he touched my mouth with it1 and said1 ',lo1 this hath touched thy lips2 and thine iniquity is taken away1 and thy sin purged4' ,thereupon ,i heard the voice of the ,lord1 saying1 ',whom shall ,i send1 and who will go for us8' ,then ,i cried1 ',see me2 send me4'--,,isaiah vi4 #a-h 7annotated74 ,isaiah was a prophet4 ,a prophet1 we say1 was a man who foretold future events4 ,it is not an apt description4 ,he did that1 and much more besides4 ,he interpreted past1 present1 and future alike in the light of eternal truth4 ,but his supreme concern was with the present1 and he cared for the past and the future only as they threw light on the problems of instant1 pressing duty4 ,the prophet was no dealer in futurities1 no dreamer babbling to an age unborn4 ,he was a potent actor in history1 living and working amid the actual sins1 and sorrows1 and struggles of his day and generation4 ,read the memoirs of ,isaiah1 and you will see how intense and intimate was the part he played in the life and movement of his age4 ,one day you will find him at the ,temple1 scathing with scornful reprobation the hypocrisy and hollowness of the established ritual of religion4 ,another time he has taken his stand over against the fashionable promenade of ,jerusalem1 and as he watches the passing procession of pomp and opulence1 built up on the misery and degradation of defenceless poverty1 his heart grows hot with honest indignation1 and he breaks into impassioned invective against the stream of selfish luxury1 as it rolls by with a smiling face and a cruel heart4 ,again1 he forces his way into a meeting of the ,privy ,council1 fearlessly confronts the ,king and his advisers1 denounces the iniquity of a faithless foreign policy and sternly demands its abandonment4 ,in every department of national life1 in every section of social and religious existence1 his voice was heard and his personality felt4 ,yet nobody ever mistook him for a mere politician1 philanthropist1 or reformer4 ,he was ever1 and was ever felt to be1 a prophet4 ,for he did not speak like other men1 he did not act like other men1 he did not reason like other men4 ,he spoke not for himself1 but for ,god4 ,he claimed for his speech1 not the persuasiveness of human probability1 but the imperativeness of ,divine certainty4 ,he relied solely on the coercive power of truth4 ,he did not touch the tools of political partisanship or scheming statecraft4 ,he cared nothing for the suggestions of expediency2 he defied the most certain conclusions of earthly wisdom1 and followed absolutely the bidding of an unseen guidance4 ,he was a man taken possession of by an irresistible perception of the will of ,god1 and an all-absorbing passion to have that will done on earth4 ,he held in the commonwealth the place that is held by that inexorable voice which1 deaf to all balancings of earthly gain or loss1 unflinchingly proclaims the antithesis of right and wrong1 and imperatively demands that right shall be obeyed4 ,the prophet was the conscience of the nation4 ,preachers and teachers of religion1 that is what ,england asks of us4 ,it is a high calling4 ,the office of a prophet was not an easy one4 ,the man had to hazard or sacrifice most of those things that men count dear--property1 popularity1 home4 ,every day he had to take his life in his hand1 as he risked the rage of a royal tyrant1 or faced the fury of insensate mobs4 ,still harder was it to stand alone in his faith and opinion1 rejected by the multitude1 by the wealth1 by the wisdom of his day1 mocked or pitied as a madman2 hardest of all to see his efforts foiled1 his country humiliated1 his people depraved1 to feel his heart sink within him1 to struggle with dark misgivings1 to doubt the reality of the ,divine prompting1 and despairingly to ask whether this world were indeed governed by a righteous ,will1 or were not rather the sport of blind caprice or the slave of iron fate6 ,ah6 it was not easy to be a prophet4 ,before a man could become a prophet he needed to possess a knowledge of ,god of such absolute certainty as nothing could shake4 ,once at least in his life he must have come into actual contact with ,god4 ,the experience that made ,isaiah a prophet took the form of a vision4 ,it happened in a period of distressing perplexity and gloom4 ,wrestling passionately with the darkness1 craving wistfully for light1 the yearning to see ,god in the man's soul became so intense and sensitive that the great ,heart in heaven answered the longing of the heart on earth1 and aspiration leapt into realisation1 and faith flashed into vision4 ,on a throne1 high and lifted up1 crowning and dominating all things1 fixed on immovable foundations1 untouched by the changes of time1 unshaken by the shocks of history1 ,isaiah beheld1 seated in sovereign supremacy1 a ,form of ineffable splendour1 the power and presence of the ,eternal in awful actuality1 beyond all doubt or question the ,lord of the universe and the ,arbiter of destiny4 ,henceforth he could never doubt the being and the might of ,god4 ,that is a great experience1 but it leaves the heart unsatisfied4 ,we want to know the nature1 the character of this ,god1 who holds our fortunes in ,his awful hands4 ,is ,he good1 and just1 and gentle1 or hard1 and cold1 and cruel8 ,the answer came to ,isaiah in the seraphs' song of adoration1 with its ascription of perfect triune holiness4 ,it told him that in ,god is light1 and no darkness at all4 ,through and through1 utterly and absolutely1 in every chord and fibre of ,his being1 there is no baseness1 no harshness1 no injustice2 there is nothing but stainless purity and splendour1 nothing but radiant justice1 goodness1 and truth4 ,holy1 holy1 holy is the ,lord of hosts4 ,still1 one wistful doubt1 one anxious question1 lingers in the human heart4 ,for what were our poor world the better of this holy ,god if ,he be content to sit aloof in the light and glory of heaven1 leaving the web of human story to be woven by the blundering fingers of sinning1 erring men on earth8 ,that fear1 too1 was laid for ever in ,isaiah's soul by the comforting response of the seraphs' chorus4 ,god does not sit apart in frigid isolation1 but with ,his own hands ,he guides and controls our lost world's course4 ,into its strange1 sad1 perplexing progress ,he is pouring the goodness1 truth1 and love of ,his holy heart2 and so when the record is finished and fulfilled1 every page and syllable shall shine with that hidden holiness come to manifested light and splendour4 ,the fulness of the whole earth is ,his glory6 ,that sight of ,god--the living1 holy1 loving ,god--made ,isaiah a prophet4 ,preachers and teachers of to-day1 if we are to be prophets1 we need just such a sight of ,god4 ,the vision of ,god made ,isaiah a prophet2 but the immediate effect was something very different4 ,the first effect of contact with ,god was to produce in his soul an intolerable sense of sin4 ,woe is me6 for ,i am undone2 because ,i am a man of unclean lips1 and ,i dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips3 for mine eyes have seen the ,king1 the ,lord of hosts4 ,was1 then1 ,isaiah an exceptionally wicked man8 ,hardly1 when ,god chose him as ,his ambassador4 ,but if not1 is1 then1 the proper effect on a good man of an access of nearness to ,god an overwhelming consciousness of personal defilement8 ,what else should it be8 ,had ,isaiah been a ,pharisee1 he would have seized the opportunity of his sudden vicinity to the ,almighty to direct the ,divine attention to his virtues1 and excellence1 and superiority over other men4 ,had he been one of those philosophers in whom the heart has been overlaid by the intellect1 he would have calmly proceeded to make observations on the ,divine for a new theory of the ,absolute and ,unconditioned1 in sublime insensibility to the deepest problem of existence1 the awful antithesis of human sin and of ,divine holiness4 ,because ,isaiah was a good man1 his new proximity to ,god woke within him a crushing horror of defilement and undoneness4 ,and it was so precisely because he had never been so near to ,god before1 and had never felt himself of so much importance4 ,away down here1 sinning among his fellow-men1 the blots and blemishes of his soul seemed of little moment4 ,but up there1 in the stainless light of heaven1 with ,god's holy eyes resting on him1 every spot of sin within him grew hot and horrible1 every defiling stain an insult and a suffering inflicted on the sensitive holiness of ,god4 ,what he does has an effect on ,god2 what he is1 is of consequence to ,god4 ,never had ,isaiah felt himself so near to ,god2 never had he felt himself of such importance to his ,maker2 and therefore never had he felt his sin so black and so unpardonable4 ,believe me1 these two things are linked together1 and no man can divorce them--the dignity of humanity and the damnableness of sin4 ,you cannot tamper with the one without touching the other4 ,men may1 of laxity or of pitifulness1 seek to extenuate the guilt of sin and its infinite possibilities of woes2 but be sure of this1 they will be compelled ere long to attenuate the moral grandeur of our human nature1 and to surrender its majestic birthright of immortality4 ,two things go hand in hand through the ,bible1 from the first chapter to the last1 and mark it out from all other books3 the one is its unique and awful sense of the guiltiness of sin2 the other is the quite unapproachable splendour of its conception of the dignity of man1 made in the image of ,god1 and destined for ,his service here1 and the fellowship of ,his love for evermore4 ,the ethical process by which1 in the imagery of the vision1 ,isaiah's sense of sinfulness came home to him1 is finely natural and simple4 ,it was at his lips that the consciousness of his impurity caught him4 ,woe is me6 for ,i am undone2 because ,i am a man of unclean lips4 ,that1 judged by our formulas and standards1 might seem a somewhat superficial conviction of sin4 ,we should have expected him to speak of his unclean heart1 or the total corruption of his whole nature4 ,but conviction of sin1 actual conviction of sin1 is very regardless of our theories1 and is as diverse in its manifestations as are the characters and records of men4 ,sin finds out one man in one place1 and another in a quite different spot1 and perhaps the experience is most real when it is least theological4 ,isaiah felt his defilement in his lips1 for suddenly he found himself at heaven's gate1 gazing on the glory of ,god1 and listening to the seraphs' ceaseless song of adoring praise4 ,isaiah loved ,god1 and instinctively he prepared to join his voice to the seraphs' chant1 but ere the harmony could pass his lips he caught his breath and was dumb4 ,a horrible sense of uncleanness had seized him4 ,his breath was tainted by his sin4 ,he dared not mingle his polluted praise with the worship of that pure1 sinless host of heaven4 ,oh1 the shame and agony of that disability6 for it meant that he has no part or place in that fair scene4 ,he is an alien and an intruder4 ,its beauty and its sweetness are not for him4 ,he belongs to a very different scene and a very different company4 ,he is no inhabitant of heaven1 no servant of ,god2 but a denizen of earth1 and a companion of sinners4 ,down there1 amid its squalor1 and shame1 and uncleanness1 is his dwelling-place1 remote from heaven1 and holiness1 and ,god4 ,woe is me6 because ,i am a man of unclean lips1 and ,i dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips4 ,with that1 the horror of his situation reached its climax4 ,he stands there1 on the threshold of heaven in full sight of ,god and of ,his holiness1 dumb and praiseless1 while all heaven rings and reverberates with the worship of its adoring hosts4 ,the awful tremor of that celestial praise passed into ,isaiah's frame1 and it seemed like the pangs of instant dissolution4 ,he1 a creature of ,god's1 stands there in his ,maker's presence1 alone mute1 alone refusing to chant his ,creator's glory1 a blot and blank in the holy harmony of heaven1 a horrible and foul blemish amid the unsullied purity of that celestial scene4 ,it seemed to ,isaiah as if all the light1 and glory1 and holiness of heaven were gathering itself into one fierce lightning fire of vengeance1 to overwhelm and crush him out of existence4 ,woe is me6 for ,i am undone2 because ,i am a man of unclean lips1 and ,i dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips3 for mine eyes have seen the ,king1 the ,lord of hosts4 ,isaiah in the presence of ,god felt within him the pang of that death which must be the end of unpardoned sin in contact with the ,divine holiness4 ,he felt himself already as good as dead1 yet never in all his life had he so longed to live as now1 in sight of ,god1 and heaven1 and holiness4 ,he did not ask to escape4 ,he was too overwhelmed to pray or hope4 ,but to ,god's heart that cry of despair was an infinitely persuasive prayer for mercy4 ,ah6 ,heaven needs no lengthy explanation1 nor requires the recital of prescribed forms or theories4 ,the moment a sinful soul turns loathingly from sin1 and longingly to ,god and goodness1 that instant the ,heart above responds1 and meets it with pity1 pardon1 hope4 ,ere the piteous echo of ,isaiah's cry had died away1 one of the seraphs flew with a burning ember from the incense altar1 and laid it on ,isaiah's mouth1 and said1 ,lo1 this hath touched thy lips2 and thine iniquity is taken away1 and thy sin purged4 ,the action is of course symbolic1 but the thing symbolised is a great spiritual fact4 ,in it we have mirrored the very heart of the process of redemption4 ,the cleansing efficacy of the burning ember resided not in the ember1 but in the ,divine fire contained in it4 ,in the imagery of sacrifice the fire is always conceived as ,god's method of accepting and taking to ,himself the offering4 ,the sacred flame that comes down from ,god1 licks up the sacrifice1 and in vapour carries it up to heaven2 a sweet-smelling savour represents1 therefore1 the pitying holiness of ,god1 that stoops forgivingly to sinful men1 and graciously accepts and sanctifies them and their sacrifices4 ,contact with that has sin-cleansing power1 and nothing has besides4 ,pagan sages and ,christian saints alike unite in proclaiming the overmastering strength of sin4 ,mightier than nature's most potent forces1 stronger than all influences of persuasion1 not to be reversed or uprooted by any resources of earthly origin1 is the grasp of inveterate sin within the sinner's soul4 ,is there1 then1 no possibility of recovery1 no way of cleansing1 no ray of hope8 ,one there is1 and one alone4 ,if ,divine ,purity would but stoop in pity to the sinful one1 would but enter1 in claiming love1 into his polluted soul1 would but come into actual contact and conflict with the sin and uncleanness in a decisive struggle of triumph or defeat1 then which must prove the stronger1 which must conquer--human sinfulness or ,divine holiness8 ,ay1 if only ,god so loves our sin-stained race as that ,his stainless purity enters really into our humanity1 and wrestles with our impurity in a contact that must be suffering to the ,divine holiness1 and is sin-cleansing to us1 that were salvation surely1 that were redemption4 ,but is it a reality8 ,brethren1 ,jesus ,christ has lived1 and died1 and lives again1 and we know that ,his ,holy ,spirit dwells in us and in our world4 ,that1 and that alone1 is salvation--not any theories1 nor any rites1 but ,god's ,holy ,spirit given unto us4 ,it was at ,isaiah's lips that the sense of sin had stung him1 and it was there that he received the cleansing4 ,the seraph laid the hot ember on his lips1 and it left about his mouth the fragrance of the celestial incense4 ,he felt that he breathed the atmosphere and purity of heaven4 ,he too might now join in heaven's praise and service2 no more an alien1 but a member of the celestial choir and a servant of the ,king4 ,that act of ,divine mercy had transformed him4 ,he was a new creature1 and instantly the change appeared4 ,the voice of ,god sounds through the temple1 saying1 ,whom shall ,i send1 and who will go for us8 ,and the first of all heaven's hosts to offer is ,isaiah4 ,a moment before he had shrunk back1 crushed and despairing1 from ,god's presence1 feeling as if the ,divine gaze were death to him4 ,now he springs forward1 invokes ,god's attention on himself1 and before all heaven's tried and trusty messengers proposes himself as ,god's ambassador4 ,was it presumption8 was it self-assertion8 ,i think if ever ,isaiah was not thinking of himself at all1 if ever he had utterly forgotten self1 and pride1 and all things1 and was conscious only of ,god1 and goodness1 and gratitude1 it was then1 when his heart was running over with wonder1 love1 and praise for ,god's unspeakable mercy to him4 ,it was not presumption2 it was a true and beautiful instinct1 that made him yearn with resistless longing to do something for that ,god who had shown such grace to him4 ,oh1 the tender love and irrepressible devotion of a forgiven heart6 ,nothing can restrain it1 nothing hold it back4 ,salvation1 real salvation1 springs resistlessly onward into service4 ,footnote #b3 ,preached at ,nottingham1 before the ,congregational ,union of ,england and ,wales1 on ,monday evening1 ,october #hth1 #ahhh4 ,,xii4 ,,for ,,and ,,against ,,christ4 ,he that is not with ,me is against ,me3 and he that gathereth not with ,me scattereth4--,,luke xi4 #bc4 ,he that is not against us is on our part4--,,mark ix4 #dj4 ,it has never been an easy task to settle with any degree of exactitude who among men should be reckoned the ,saviour's friends1 and who ,his foes4 ,but perhaps no time has surrounded the problem with such difficulties as those that arise from the circumstances of our own age4 ,on every side we see truth and error intertwined in such a perplexing tangle that we scarce know on which side to rank men and parties4 ,the ,church of ,christ is divided into so many divergent sections1 within which good and evil are so strangely combined1 that you can hardly tell if they are for ,christ or against4 ,you find men of unexceptionable profession and ample creed1 but with a jarring life and scant morality4 ,on the other hand1 you see men whose creed is erroneous or imperfect1 but whose life and character are instinct with the spirit of ,christ4 ,and amid such anomalies you feel it almost impossible to determine1 with even an approach to certainty1 whom you shall count followers1 and whom foes1 of the ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,true1 we are not called to sit in judgment on the inner state of heart1 the hidden attitude of men's spirits1 which is cognisable only by larger1 other eyes than ours2 yet we must for practical guidance form a conditional opinion regarding the position and action of our fellow-men2 for so alone can we determine our treatment of them2 so alone can we decide whether it is our duty to oppose or co-operate with them1 to acknowledge them as brethren or deny to them the name of ,christ4 ,besides1 for your own comfort1 you must have some standard or test to determine who are ,christ's and who are not1 for otherwise how shall you be able to adjudicate on your own case8 ,you are confronted1 it may be1 by large and influential bodies of ,christians who declare you to be no member of ,christ's ,church at all1 because you do not follow after them4 ,you feel all the weight that attends such a verdict2 you are sensible of the solemn1 tragic awfulness of the question2 you are humble1 diffident1 uncertain yourself of many things1 and so1 perchance1 your heart knows little rest or peace4 ,you would give much to ascertain some sure test by which you could settle1 once and for ever1 whether you are on ,christ's side or against ,him4 ,for our guidance in such matters we can do no better thing than to try and understand how the ,saviour1 when ,he was on earth1 estimated the attitudes of men to ,himself4 ,let us try1 then1 to determine the principles that guided ,him4 ,he had come with a very definite aim in view1 viz41 to establish a kingdom of heaven on earth2 that is to say1 to secure the domination of men's hearts by ,god's will1 so that they should always act in accordance with the ,divine decrees4 ,or1 in other words1 ,he had come to perform this work of delivering men from sin1 of making them pure1 and holy1 and ,godlike4 ,for this end1 ,he sought to bring them under ,his immediate influence1 to gather and attach them to ,his ,person1 to inspire them with faith and love for ,himself4 ,all who aided in this1 all who contributed to draw men to ,him1 all who strove to make ,christ and ,his word accepted and esteemed1 all who were at one with ,him in ,his aim1 manifestly1 were counted by ,him as friends2 while1 on the contrary1 those who exerted themselves to thwart ,him1 who endeavoured to alienate men from ,his ,person and doctrine1 all such were ,his enemies1 were against ,him4 ,but1 you may be inclined to say1 while it is true there were some men who did devote themselves to active support of ,christ1 and others who did commit themselves to declared hostility1 was there not1 between these two opposing classes1 a large number who took sides neither for nor against ,him1 but preserved a sort of neutrality8 ,what1 then1 does ,christ say of these8 ,the two sayings of our ,lord which ,i have taken for my text have both been applied to solve this problem4 ,at first sight they have the appearance of clashing with one another4 ,he that is not with ,me is against ,me seems to be a declaration that all who were not positive friends were really enemies1 and thus to imply that the ,master classed this whole body of neutrals as foes2 and so some use it4 ,but again1 the second saying1 ,he that is not against us is on our part1 has the appearance of asserting that all who are not declared foes are in reality the ,saviour's friends1 and so1 according to this principle1 all neutrals should be counted as allies4 ,the appearance of discrepancy only lasts when you look at these sayings singly and apart from their occasions4 ,they speak not of neutrals at all4 ,taken in conjunction1 they are seen to enunciate1 in fact1 quite a different principle1 viz41 that in regard to ,christ1 indifferentism1 neutrality1 is impossible1 and that every man must be either for or against the ,saviour4 ,he that is not a friend is a foe1 while he that is not a foe is a friend2 consequently there is no such thing as a position of neither friendship nor enmity4 ,let us1 then1 run cursorily over the incidents that gave rise to these two sayings1 in order that we may see what is the essential character of the two attitudes of being for or against ,christ1 and so exhibit how neutrality is impossible4 ,one day a man possessed of a dumb devil was brought to ,jesus4 ,by ,his word of power ,jesus cast out the evil spirit1 and immediately the man regained the power of speech4 ,the crowd looking on were filled with wonder and admiration4 ,they were pleased at the good deed which had been done4 ,they partook in the dumb man's joy and gratitude1 and they regarded the ,saviour with increased reverence and esteem4 ,the influence of the miracle was to attach men to ,himself1 and draw them towards the kingdom of ,god4 ,but among the spectators there were some who had no pleasure in the act of healing at all4 ,they were not glad to see their fellow-man in new possession of speech and soundness of mind4 ,on the contrary1 they wished it had not been done1 for they grudged the credit it brought to the ,saviour4 ,his popularity was gall to them4 ,it pained them to see men revere or trust ,him4 ,they did not wish that men should be drawn to ,him4 ,accordingly1 they attempted to turn the people's admiration into distrust by flinging out a dark suggestion that it was by the aid1 not of ,god1 but of the evil one1 that the ,lord had been able to work the cure4 ,the effect designed is manifest4 ,such a suspicion would have the effect of turning men away from ,christ1 of preventing them from submitting to ,his guidance4 ,their purpose was not to draw men to ,him1 but rather to alienate from ,him any who were attracted4 ,thus they were in direct antagonism to ,christ's purpose and striving4 ,they did not like ,himself1 nor ,his teaching1 nor ,his aims1 so they set themselves to oppose ,him in every way4 ,it was of such men our ,lord said1 ,he that is not with ,me is against ,me2 and he that gathereth not with ,me scattereth4 ,turning to the second story1 we find that ,christ's disciples had come upon a man casting out devils in the name of their ,master4 ,it is evident this man had not been much in direct communication with ,christ1 if at all1 for apparently he was not known previously to the disciples1 and their grievance is that one who did not with them follow ,christ should thus employ the ,master's name4 ,it cannot but have been1 therefore1 that this man knew very little of ,christ's ,person or teaching4 ,his knowledge of ,him must have been very much more imperfect than that of the disciples1 and he did not deem it his duty to become an immediate follower of the ,lord4 ,nevertheless1 he had made the discovery that ,christ's name had power to cast out devils1 and for this beneficent purpose he was in the habit of using it4 ,the disciples1 perhaps jealous that another1 not of their number1 should possess the same power1 and believing that he could not be one of the ,lord's privileged servants1 forbade him to make any further use of the ,saviour's name4 ,on reporting this to the ,master ,he countermanded their decision and gave ,his grounds for so doing4 ,they were these3 ,though he did not attach himself to the personal company of ,christ1 though he might be very ignorant1 etc4 etc41 nevertheless1 by performing miracles of healing through ,christ's name1 he was bringing new honour and reverence to that name2 and again1 while he was thus in deed spreading ,christ's fame and arousing belief in ,him1 he was not likely to imitate the ,pharisees in slandering the ,saviour--for in our ,lord's words1 ,there is no man which shall do a miracle in ,my name that shall be able easily to speak evil of ,me4 ,that is to say1 ,by using ,my name to perform a miraculous cure1 he puts himself out of a position to say anything that would detract from ,my credit4 ,such an one was certainly not a scatterer1 but a gatherer4 ,and he that is thus not against us is on our part4 ,reverting now to the first narrative see how the active antagonism of the ,pharisees was the inevitable outcome of the fact that inwardly they were not with ,him in heart and aim4 ,because they did not like ,him1 and did not desire ,him to gain influence with the people they would not unite in the general approbation of the crowd4 ,such conduct was marked and demanded an explanation4 ,apparently a good and wonderful miracle had been wrought4 ,it will not do for them to merely refrain from approving4 ,they must justify their reticence4 ,neutrality is impossible4 ,if they will not adore they must malign4 ,so they are forced to impugn the character of ,christ's act4 ,to justify their want of sympathy they must disavow its claim to their approbation4 ,there is no alternative between frank acceptance of the miracle or open repudiation and disparagement of its character4 ,still you must take sides for or against ,christ1 and you cannot be neutral4 ,for ,his claims reach you not as external facts to be passively gazed at1 but as imperative1 active demands that lay hold of you1 and insist that you shall take action upon them4 ,you must yield or you must resist4 ,you must comply or you must oppose4 ,christ lays ,his hand on you and if you will not obey you must shake that hand rudely off4 ,in countless forms that strange1 drawing power lays hold of you1 and you must follow or reject4 ,it may be a call to you to yield your reverence1 your support1 your participation to some benevolent or religious movement4 ,if you will not1 while others do accede to this claim1 you must seek to justify your refusal4 ,so you are forced into disparaging it1 depreciating it1 slandering it4 ,you cannot own it to be of ,god and yet remain a rebel against its demands4 ,so you must1 with evil1 malignant tongue1 sneer at it as folly1 or revile it as delusion--thus imitating the ,pharisees who set down ,christ's work to be the doing of the devil4 ,remember1 too1 what a black-hearted1 hateful sin that was they were guilty of4 ,try and picture that gentle1 beneficent1 holy ,jesus4 ,realise the cruel blow such a thought was to the man just healed4 ,surely caution1 reserve1 would have made men hesitate to speak so4 ,but they cruelly1 malignantly1 eagerly cry1 ,by ,beelzebub ,he casteth out devils4 ,it was in the face of such light1 such considerate helpful words of ,christ1 that they did it4 ,think of the gracious words ,he spoke1 and of the beauty of all that life1 which in our days bring from the hearts of unbelievers encomiums that sound like adoration4 ,in spite of all that1 they were not made reverent1 careful1 slow to condemn4 ,nay1 they were exasperated by it all4 ,but you may say1 ,they were zealous1 mistaken men1 wrongly trained2 they thought ,christ a heretic2 they were the victims of an erroneous creed4 ,so many had deceived them1 so many false ,christs had appeared6 ,besides1 did not ,moses say that they were not to believe a miracle simply1 but to judge it by the teaching of the worker8 ,it is true1 there were many such4 ,but you do not find them among the number who ascribed ,christ's works of healing to the devil4 ,there were1 indeed1 honest but timid souls who were staggered by the pretensions and claims of ,christ1 but how did they act8 ,remember how one such came to ,christ and went away with mingled feelings of attraction and perplexity2 but when the body of ,christ lay lone and forsaken ,nicodemus came and did honour to the sacred dead4 ,but these men were not such as he2 their error was not of the intellect1 but of the heart4 ,they did not yield to the beauty of ,christ's character1 life1 and teaching4 ,they were not one with ,him in ,his longing to establish ,god's kingdom on the earth4 ,there was an inner antagonism of spirit1 of nature4 ,they were proud1 haughty1 self-righteous1 and they were hypocrites1 evildoers1 cruel4 ,they hated ,christ because ,his pure life shamed and pained them1 and they dreaded the loss of their own prestige and power4 ,the secret and the essence and seat of their antagonism was not intellectual error1 but deep1 dark1 moral perversion and evil of heart and conscience4 ,thus1 because they were not with ,christ1 even in so far as to have sympathy with the undeniable good in ,him1 therefore they were in act and word against ,him4 ,finally1 from the second narrative see what it is to be with ,christ and how those who inwardly are not against are by ,his own verdict on ,his side4 ,and1 first of all1 note the error into which the disciples fell4 ,very like the conduct of the ,pharisees is theirs4 ,they find a man doing good in ,christ's name4 ,he is not all he should be1 not one of them1 and not a constant pupil of ,christ's4 ,but instead of seeking to draw him to more perfect light1 they intolerantly forbid him to do the good he was doing4 ,so mistaken an action must have come from a wrongness of heart4 ,they1 too1 fell before that evil1 monopolising tendency that grudges to another ,god's gifts which we possess4 ,it was a cruel thing to the man1 a harmful thing1 and might have turned him from ,christ4 ,let us take the lesson to ourselves4 ,let us beware of refusing to allow good in those who differ from us2 let us beware of rashly judging those who are not just the same as we4 ,harm--grave harm--is often done by treating imperfect1 immature followers of our ,master as if they had neither part nor lot with ,him4 ,but mark how this man was with ,christ2 only1 remember1 he is not an example of what we should be1 rather he is a specimen of one just over the borderland3 but over4 ,it was not intellectual orthodoxy2 not a perfect knowledge of ,god's mysteries that he possessed4 ,he was very ignorant about ,god1 about ,christ4 ,he did but know a little of the power of ,christ and ,his majestic character and stupendous work4 ,yet so far as his knowledge went of ,christ he had received it gladly4 ,he rejoiced in the power of the ,saviour's name to cast out devils1 to cure the troubled ones4 ,he did the good he knew4 ,he acted up to his light4 ,in his measure he gave glory and reverence and obedience to the ,saviour4 ,he was working for good and mercy and truth and ,god in the world4 ,thus he was not against ,christ in these his aims1 and so was for the ,lord4 ,it is only of those who are not against ,christ in this sense that ,he says they are on ,his side4 ,friends1 there is warning and comfort in that4 ,warning there is1 for1 mark1 that vain dream is dispelled which would read ,christ's words as meaning that if only you do not oppose ,him actively you are to be counted on ,his side4 ,no6 if that is your position1 you are not for ,him2 you must be against ,him3 for passivity1 neutrality is impossible4 ,comfort there is1 on the other hand1 to you who feel yourselves very feeble1 very imperfect2 to you who find it hard to understand2 to you who fear you are mistaken about many things4 ,ah6 men may condemn you2 the disciples may dissuade you from taking ,his name and counting yourself ,his1 but do not fear4 ,if you do1 as far as you see how1 strive to do the good ,he has taught you2 if you do1 it may be afar off1 follow in ,his footsteps2 if you have learned to find in ,him in any degree a power that helps you to cast out the evil spirits in your soul and in the hearts of men3 be sure that though you may not follow with other disciples1 though you may be very deficient1 very immature1 a very unworthy servant--be sure that1 nevertheless1 you are not against1 but for ,him1 and that in the end of the days ,he will not forbid you to claim ,his name1 but will acknowledge you for ,his own4 ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,prophecy ,,of ,,nature4 ,when ,i consider ,thy heavens1 the work of ,thy fingers1 the moon and the stars1 which ,thou hast ordained2 what is man1 that ,thou art mindful of him8 and the son of man1 that ,thou visitest him8 ,for ,thou hast made him a little lower than the angels1 and hast crowned him with glory and honour4 ,thou madest him to have dominion over the works of ,thy hands2 ,thou hast put all things under his feet4--,,psalm viii4 #c-f4 ,but now we see not yet all things put under ,him4--,,heb4 ii4 #h4 ,the ,eighth ,psalm is a very striking one4 ,it lifts the mind of the reader to a lofty height where he seems to have soared above sin and sorrow4 ,it exults in man's greatness and ,nature's grandeur4 ,it is not ,hebrew and theocratic1 but human and universal4 ,what it says is said of man as man2 of man as he ought to be1 was meant to be1 may be4 ,the subject is ,humanity4 ,the ,new ,testament writer of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews takes what is said in this psalm to be true of ,christ1 and he thinks that he has a right to find in the words a prophecy of ,christ's coming4 ,if you read the psalm without thinking of what is said in the ,epistle you would not immediately apply it to ,christ4 ,how1 then1 is there a real connection between this old ,hebrew utterance and the coming of our ,lord8 ,it is a fact that the patriarchs expected the coming of some great and wonderful blessing in the future1 and it is a fact that in the coming of ,christ a gift came to men in the lines of anticipated blessing2 but far greater than they ever dreamed of4 ,reflecting on those predictions and anticipations of future blessing1 might there not be in the very structure of the world1 of the material universe itself1 in the course of events as they have fallen out in history1 something to lead men to expect the advent of their ,christ8 ,god makes ,his plans looking1 as a wise man looks1 to the end4 ,we should expect1 then1 in all the foundation-laying1 that that was provided for and expected which should be the crown of all4 ,is there not in creation an aspect of things which makes men think that there is something great and grand in store for their race8 ,the writer of this psalm conceived his poem as he stood in the open fields and looked up into the solemn sky1 and watched the unhasting and untiring motion of the shining stars--worlds upon worlds burning and throbbing in the abyss of space4 ,away from the hum and tumult of men1 no one can look at those hosts of silent stars without a subdued and awed sense of the mystery of being1 of the infinite possibilities that the universe discloses4 ,the star-studded heaven at night makes a man irresistibly think of ,god4 ,it makes a man think1 too1 of himself4 ,the silence1 the shining1 the mystery and the solemnity of the starry heavens make a man's beating1 living life1 as it were1 become heard4 ,a man is intensely conscious of himself4 ,that is exactly what passed through the heart of this writer4 ,it was not he who chose to have these thoughts1 no more than it is our wish to have these thoughts4 ,god was playing upon the strings of this man's heart--more directly1 more rigorously in him1 but just as ,he plays upon the strings of your own when you have had great solemn thoughts of ,god on a dark night1 beneath the burning stars4 ,the man's thoughts went up1 and then they went down into himself1 when he looked up into heaven1 when he saw the moon and the stars1 when he realised all their wondrous being1 the regularity1 the order1 the vastness1 the distance2 then he thought of ,god1 and ,god became great and grand and majestic1 and then he burst out1 ,o ,lord1 our ,lord1 how excellent is ,thy name in all the earth6 ,that is what he said4 ,then he looked into himself1 his own conscious life1 met its failure1 and his first thought was of his own terrible pettiness4 ,in the face of these countless worlds revolving in the far heaven1 what is man8 ,and then there came another thought to him3 ,and yet how great is man6 ,that mighty moon1 millions of times vaster than man1 does not know its own shining1 its lustre1 its own motions1 its majesty4 ,it is blind1 and deaf1 and dumb1 and insensate1 and man sees it and wonders at it1 measures and weighs it1 and understands its nature2 and so man in all his meanness1 in all his smallness1 in all his weakness1 in all the fragility of his life1 is greater far than sun and moon and stars1 and all revolving worlds4 ,how little is man--and yet how great1 ,o ,god6 ,here down below on earth man watches the stars1 and up in heaven ,god watches them too4 ,man thinks1 ,god thinks2 man creates1 ,god creates2 man loves1 ,god loves2 so little1 so great1 and yet so like2 ,father and child1 the ,one so grand1 the other so insignificant4 ,then he turned to the earth on which he stood1 and with a grandeur of soul he recognised man's position on earth sharing the likeness of ,god1 gifted with ,god's power of thought and of plan1 of will and of love2 man stands lord of all lower things that have been made1 king and ruler with power to control1 with mastery to move them1 he is lord and master over all their ways1 uncontrolled by aught1 undismayed by aught1 king1 god of earth3 ,thou hast made him ruler over all the works of ,thy hands4 ,is it not a grand poem1 that8 ,if ,i could read to you the best poems written in other lands by men of other days1 by men of other faiths1 if ,i could compare the thoughts of this psalm with other thoughts of ,god's plan and of man's position1 you would understand what ,i mean when ,i say the psalm is grand1 the psalm is a revelation of man and of ,god4 ,if ,i had the capacity or the time to try and show you how these thoughts about ,god and about ,nature and about man1 give man all the dignity1 all the elevation of character1 all the powers and abilities to shape and fashion the world he is in1 one could not but wonder at the grandeur of that psalm4 ,the faith about ,god1 and the faith about man's destiny written down in that psalm--that faith is the ,magna ,charta of humanity that has emancipated men from the slavery to sun1 moon and stars1 and all the powers of ,nature4 ,the psalm is a true conception of man's relation--upwards to ,god1 and downwards to ,nature4 ,it has been perfectly described by a ,german commentator as a poetical echo of creation6 ,a psalm1 a poem1 such as this flings a spell about you4 ,you forget actualities4 ,it is so good1 it seems so true1 it is so human1 it is so living1 you yield your soul to it1 you are filled with its glow and joyfulness1 you are warmed with its strength and triumph4 ,you hail it2--and then you begin to think1 you look round1 and what do you see8 ,mankind lord over lower things1 yourself lord over your own body1 master of your appetites8 ,your neighbours kings8 ,the best of men enslaved6 ,bound down by the greed of gain6 ,so that the nobler powers of mind and body1 and soul1 are degraded and cramped in them--men and women slaves of superstition1 slaves of prodigies and foolish fancies wrought into their very nature4 ,we see not yet all things put under him4 ,if exultation was the mood made by the picture of the psalm1 depression is the mood made by the picture of mankind2 and are we to end with that8 ,no4 ,the writer to the ,hebrews has given us the key by which we can unlock the secret1 and have confidence in the triumph of man's better nature1 and hope for a better future4 ,let us look a little deeper into things1 let us do men justice4 ,has man ever acquiesced in his sinful1 sorrowful slavery8 ,never4 ,it is always under protest that he regards it4 ,it is always with a sense of fallen greatness4 ,it is always with discontent4 ,it is always with an unconquerable conviction that man was made for something better4 ,proof1 do you want8 ,why is it when you read a story of heroic generosity1 like that of the captain who gave away his own life for that of a wretched boy the other day1 that you feel life to be worth living8 ,what is the meaning of that sense of grandeur1 of greatness1 of triumph1 that comes over you8 ,how is it8 ,what is it8 ,when you see a brave deed of self-denial2 at another time1 when we hear of a cruel1 mean deed done--how do we feel towards each8 ,are we all bad8 ,if that were our natural lot we should acquiesce in the evil deed1 we should have no shock1 no surprise2 instead of that there is a sense of surprise1 and revolt4 ,there is an error somewhere--a disaster1 a calamity4 ,it is a sin--sin--a thing that robs us of our heavenly nature4 ,do we recognise it as a part of human nature8 ,no4 ,sin is unnatural1 sin is horrible4 ,that is the meaning of the death scene in ,macbeth4 ,a knock at the door reveals to the murderer the distance his crime has set between him and the simple ordinary life of man4 ,sin is something unnatural1 it is a calamity1 an intrusion1 it ought not to be there4 ,fellowship with ,god6 ,impossible to us6 ,why8 ,because we were never meant to have it8 ,no4 ,if there be a ,god at all1 if ,he made this world1 if ,he made men to think1 and feel and understand1 then ,god meant the world to be like a written book that should speak of ,him4 ,why does not all ,nature so speak to man8 ,because we have sinned1 because we have lost the lineage1 because we are not like ,christ1 the sinless ,son3 to ,him the lilies had the touch of ,god on them1 the birds in every song proclaimed ,his praise4 ,so1 then1 while we see that all things are not put under man1 we see plainly that ,god meant it otherwise1 and that ,god made man to be lord of creation4 ,what ,god does not wish is hardly likely to stand4 ,if man has missed being what he was meant for1 there is good possibility that he may regain it4 ,if ,god be love1 there is certainty4 ,i enter a master-painter's studio1 and ,i see upon his easel a spoiled picture4 ,i can see the majesty of the design1 the beauty of the ideal1 but from some defect in the pigment or flaw in the canvas1 it has gone wrong2 it is blurred and dim and spoiled4 ,but not so to himself2 that man will not allow the disaster to prevent him creating in visible form the vision of beauty that once charmed his heart4 ,the man would not be a man of will and determination if he allowed the disaster to hinder him in his purpose4 ,god is unchangeable4 ,god is ,god4 ,man is not what ,god made him for2 man is not what ,god made him to be2 and ,god is ,god4 ,his purpose may lapse for a little1 ,his designs may be delayed on the way1 but if the beginning points to the grand end1 that end will be reached4 ,god meant it4 ,god means it4 ,god shall do it4 ,we stand farther on along the track of ,god's providential dealings with men4 ,we see more than the writer to the ,hebrews saw4 ,he1 too1 remembered that psalm when he described man as he ought to be4 ,why did he still let it live and exist as a thing that is true8 ,he could wait4 ,what was he waiting for8 ,and what were the singers thinking of as they chanted that psalm8 ,they thought of a good time coming1 they thought not the less of the disaster1 they thought of ,god redeeming men1 of ,god causing a ,man to be born who should be a ,deliverer1 they thought of ,him reaching out hands of help to all who came to ,him1 and the writer to the ,hebrews writes truly when he says that that is prophesied of ,christ4 ,it is a prediction of ,his coming4 ,god cannot be foiled4 ,man is not yet what ,god created him to be1 the crown of all the earth-creation1 but in the divine heart and mind there has been that vision--man wanting but little of exaltation to be next to ,god--man the lord of all--and the writer to the ,hebrews was able to say1 ,god has achieved it2 in ,christ1 crowned ,king and ,lord of all creation1 the psalm is fulfilled4 ,what depth of meaning and of wonder1 of future joy and triumph1 there is in that feeling he has of ,christ as the ,flower and ,fruit of ,god's design in all creation6 ,what depth of meaning there may be ,i do not dare to fathom1 of good to all mankind2 but this ,i will think1--that in the end of time when all things have been summed up and restored in ,jesus ,christ1 when ,god shall have gathered together in one the broken threads1 when the whole creation that with man groaneth until now1 shall be delivered from its bondage--,god will be seen not to have failed4 ,what future revelation of grandeur1 and of ,divine goodness1 and of redemption beyond our utmost thoughts1 there may be1 ,i do not think we were meant to know4 ,i do not think we should dare to dogmatise2 but we were meant to have our eyes drawn away to that glorious1 radiant1 splendrous future1 and we are bidden there to see all ,god's loving pity and wise provision for us4 ,ah6 ,god is working2 ,he is creating1 loving2 ,he is providing1 planning2 ,he is redeeming creation1 gathering together into one grand whole a restored humanity and a ransomed creation2 and all mysteriously and strangely wrought into a great unity with ,christ1 and through ,christ1 with ,god4 ,,xiv4 ,,christian ,,giving4 ,,preached ,,in ,,willesden ,,presbyterian ,,church1 ,,september #bd,,th1 #ahhb4 ,o death1 where is thy sting8 ,o grave1 where is thy victory8 ,the sting of death is sin2 and the strength of sin is the law4 ,but thanks be to ,god1 which giveth us the victory through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 ,therefore1 my beloved brethren1 be ye steadfast1 unmovable1 always abounding in the work of the ,lord1 forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the ,lord4--#a ,,cor4 xv4 #ee-h4 ,now concerning the collection for the saints1 as ,i have given order to the churches of ,galatia1 even so do ye4 ,upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store1 as ,god hath prospered him1 that there be no gatherings when ,i come4 ,and when ,i come1 whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters1 them will ,i send to bring your liberality unto ,jerusalem4--#a ,,cor4 xvi4 #a-c4 ,i have read this passage for one single purpose2 it is to draw your attention to the singular way in which ,st4 ,paul passes from the doctrine of the ,resurrection to the practical duty of ,christian giving4 ,it almost startles us1 who have not quite ,st4 ,paul's way of thinking about collections1 to hear him pass from that triumphant apostrophe of death1 ,o death1 where is thy sting8 to ,now concerning the collection4 ,this seeming incongruity in the ,epistle1 and in the ,church's work1 is not confined to the ,bible or to the ,church2 it runs all through life4 ,man has a poor1 fleshly body1 needing food1 and drink1 and sleep1 and nursing2 and he has an immortal soul4 ,say what you will1 we cannot deny that the body is there2 and ,i do not think we shall ever come to deny that the soul is there too1 and will live1 so long as goodness1 tenderness1 and devotion1 and truth1 and being last4 ,life has got into it2 and the material framework which carries that soul-man's life corresponds to himself4 ,in our homes1 in our national life1 in our business life there is the strangest intermingling of tragedy and comedy1 of what is reverent and sacred1 and what is most secular1 and common1 and mean4 ,you cannot divorce the two4 ,you may dislike the commonplace1 and the mean1 and the material2 but if you hope to preserve the region of the spiritual and the sympathy of the good1 that you can only do by preserving the body2 they are gone when you forget the body4 ,what is it that is the brightest1 heavenliest thing in the whole earth8 ,it is love4 ,no amount of mere common propriety1 in the humblest action1 will make up for the absence of that which comes out in a sudden tear or looks out in a sweet smile4 ,we all know it1 however earthly and material we are4 ,but what ,i have to say is this3 ,look at that sacred thing1 that love1 which is almost too refined to put its hands on the soiling things of earth2 what do you find it doing8 ,nursing at the sick bed1 doing tasks that are repulsive1 planning1 with all kinds of material medicaments1 and helps1 and reliefs1 to ease bodily pain4 ,now1 it is easily possible for a coarse heart and poor bodily eyes to be in the midst of all that is sacred1 and secular too1 and to call it all common1 and poor1 and mean4 ,it needs a quick1 warm heart1 and it needs almost1 ,i may say1 some imagination1 some touch of a fine fancy1 something of that ,divine power which comes of tender affection and love1 to do such acts for ,god4 ,in the life of ,christ's spiritual family1 which we call the ,church 7and by calling it the ,church so often put it clean away out of all control of common sense and of affection71 the very same law holds4 ,the ,church is worth nothing if it is not lit up and warmed with heavenly devotion to ,jesus ,christ4 ,it may look solemn at the ,communion-table2 but it is not worth having if it does not reach men's hearts with fingers which squeeze out their hardness1 and make them penitent for their sins2 it is not worth having if it has not ,god1 and ,christ1 and the life of the soul all throbbing through it4 ,and yet it has a body1 and material buildings1 and expenses to maintain its earthly fabric and framework2 and the spiritual life and the spiritual love that will have nought to do with these cares of all the ,churches1 which ,paul1 the greatest preacher and ,apostle1 carried1 or with collections and planning for the maintenance of preachers1 thereby destroy themselves4 ,if we try to put away that1 and say1 ,it is not spiritual1 or ,it is a low thing1 we are simply committing suicide of the religious life4 ,it cannot live without that4 ,christ ,himself had to plan how ,his preachers were to be maintained2 and ,he spoke a great word when ,he said that they were to go and live on those who could not preach2 not taking it as charity--never6--but taking it as a helpful service1 which1 combined with their searching of the ,divine ,word1 should make it triumph in the world4 ,he that receiveth into his house--maintaining him1 that he may preach--a preacher 7that is the meaning of a prophet71 in the name of a preacher--not because he brings honour to the house1 and because he is a great man1 but because he is a man who is converting souls1 a man that takes ,god at ,his word1 and prays1 and preaches unto men--will have the same reward in heaven1 ,christ providing for the spiritual wants and for the bodily wants of the preacher1 and for his maintenance4 ,and so1 if once we lived in good earnest into that real1 loving1 great1 broad thought of the actual life of ,christ1 we should not feel any surprise when we read how ,st4 ,paul passes from the great triumph of the doctrine of the ,resurrection to the enforcement of ,christian liberality4 ,now ,i am going to spend the time at my disposal this morning in a very practical way4 ,i hardly think that it needed that introduction to justify this use of the time at a ,sunday morning's service2 still1 possibly1 what has been said may be of use1 not so much as a justification1 but just as a preparation4 ,i think that these things are for you4 ,the subject is not a mere question of ,church business2 it is not a mere question1 either1 of interest to the men whose minds have a little of the statesman in them1 and who consider the problems of ,church government and ,church management1 as well as of national government and management2 but ,i will say that it is a subject which ought to have a thorough interest to every one of you4 ,i have been led to take it as my subject this morning because ,i was sent1 a fortnight ago1 by our ,synod1 as a deputy to one of our largest ,presbyteries in the ,north1 in order that ,i might interest congregations there in our ,church's financial system of maintaining the preaching of the ,gospel throughout this country2 and ,i had the feeling1 when ,i was doing it1 and ,i had the assurance from those whom ,i visited1 that it did them good4 ,i have thought1 therefore1 that it might do my people good4 ,moreover1 ,i had this feeling about the very strong and plain things that ,i said to them1 that ,i should hardly be an honest man if ,i did not care openly to say the same things to my own people4 ,nay1 ,i was led in some things to speak of my congregation1 and what they had done not only for their minister1 but for all the schemes of the ,church1 as an example2 and therefore ,i feel my honour somewhat pledged that our congregation should not only do well1 as it has done1 but should do better4 ,i say these things that ,i may have your sympathy in what ,i am going on to explain and to say to you4 ,the special subject1 in our ,church's government and economy1 of which ,i want to make you understand a little is what is called the ,sustentation ,fund4 ,i wish to be short and to be simple4 ,let me begin in this fashion3 ,we believe that wherever there are ,christian congregations who have the love of their ,master in them1 and some spiritual life1 all these are blessed spots and centres1 wherever they stand4 ,we know how sorrows are soothed away by that ,christian brotherhood and friendship1 by those common prayers and praises1 and by those words of truth which are read out of the ,bible and often spoken by preachers4 ,we believe that1 or we do not believe in ,christ at all4 ,that is how ,christ comes to men and women1 and boys and girls1 and little children1 on earth4 ,oh1 ,he does nothing for them like that6 ,well1 now1 it is a very practical question1 that comes to all ,christian men and women who are gathered together into any section of ,christ's ,church1 how they can make their ministers1 and their managers1 and their elders1 and their deacons1 and their office-bearers 7by whatever name you call them71 and all their members1 most useful and effective for good4 ,it is the first question that their ,master puts to them4 ,he says1 ,do your best4 ,it is the duty of every ,church in ,england just now to do everything in its power1 by business methods as well as by spiritual methods1 to make every congregation have a happy1 harmonious1 earnest1 liberal1 joyful1 successful ,christian life4 ,now ,i will say this3 ,it seems to me that the good which will be done by any denomination in ,england just now depends1 of course first of all on its possession of the living ,spirit and heart of ,jesus ,christ in its members2 but that is not my subject to-day2 ,i am talking of the material side1 the body surrounding the soul2 ,i say1 the good which will be done by any ,church in ,england will depend upon three things3 first of all1 that it shall have devised a government which will exercise power--superior control--over individual members1 office-bearers1 ministers1 congregations2 which will preserve a harmonious1 law-abiding1 just1 and generous spirit and conduct between them all2 not leaving it to two individuals in the ,church1 or some individual member1 to fight the thing out1 if a disagreement arises1 without asking1 before an impartial tribunal1 which party is right1 and each of them being willing to take the right4 ,i say that a government which1 without the evils of undue centralization1 without crushing individual freedom1 and liberty1 and enterprise1 will combine all congregations into one strong1 united body1 powerful to do ,foreign ,mission work and ,home ,mission work1 cemented together so that the strong carry the weak when they are overtaken by sickness or disaster--and the strong get the blessing when doing work like that--a government the likest to that is a government which will make the most useful and the most spiritual and successful ,church in our ,england4 ,i say that ,i have watched the progress of things in these times of profound interest1 and it seems to me that men are looking at one another in the ,churches for what is good and desirable4 ,that ,i believe to be our attitude in watching other ,churches1 and to be the attitude of other ,churches in watching us4 ,i look forward to a powerful1 happy future in consequence4 ,the second thing which seems to me to be a great spring of a ,church's usefulness in this modern ,england is the earnestness and success with which it devises methods of instructing its young people2 not merely winning their affections for ,christ1 but giving them a reason for the faith that is in them2 not merely teaching them that there is a ,saviour to protect them at the ,judgment1 but giving them the life and thoughts of ,christ1 and that knowledge which shall cause them to grow into the perfect manhood of ,christ4 ,i say1 the ,church that most successfully and thoroughly1 from the children in the ,sunday-school and in the ,bible-classes to those under higher systems of instruction1 carries forward a knowledge of the ,bible1 and of ,god's ways with man1 and of human nature in its religious aspects1 to its young people1 will be the greatest blessing in ,england2 and once again ,i see that all the ,churches are awake to it4 ,and the third thing is this 7not by any means that there are not other things1 which are perhaps just as important1 but these three stand out prominent on account of the state of men's minds in ,england just now73 the ,church that can devise a method which will fill its pulpits with men who are not merely earnest converted men1 loyal to ,jesus ,christ1 but men abreast of the intelligence and thought of the times1 men who have a calm reliance in their own faith by having looked all difficulties in the face1 men who have something of the self-control and the large thoughts that come with culture2 men who will be1 not despised1 but respected by the people that come to listen to them1 and with whom they come in contact in the sorrows and trials of life--the ,church that can best fill its pulpits with such preachers1 and put such pastors into its congregations1 will do the best work in ,england4 ,and1 mark you1 it is not merely a question of denominational success2 ,god forbid that ,i should care for that2 but that ,church is best fulfilling its ,master's command1 best doing its ,master's work1 most contributing to the realisation of that time when ,christ shall be ,king of men4 ,i now come to the particular part of our ,church's method of government and order which ,i have chosen for explanation to you to-day4 ,we aim at having all our ministers men who1 with great differences of original natural ability1 have at least had all the thorough discipline and culture that training can give them4 ,our ministers have all passed through a high school course1 a ,university course1 and a course of study at a theological hall4 ,now1 all that means a period of education of something like at least twelve years4 ,we aim at having men who have ability1 men who will be able to bear themselves1 in all the relations of life1 with dignity4 ,we aim at having men worthy to speak in ,christ's name4 ,it is a worthy aim4 ,well1 now1 how are you to have such men8 ,by praying for them2 by planning thoroughly disciplined study for them2 by seeking them out in families1 and persuading and inducing them to give themselves to the work of preaching ,christ's ,gospel1 and keeping alive spiritual love and truth in people's hearts4 ,it is a worthy object4 ,but ,i will be very plain3 the ,church's hands are largely tied by a very mean1 material fact2 it is the question of the salary which is attached to that office4 ,if it be a wretched pittance1 then it is a simple matter of fact that you will not get men who are capable of taking a position in the ,christian world with dignity and efficiency to devote themselves to the work of preachers4 ,why should they8 ,you say1 ,why should a mercenary motive act8 ,very good2 why should it8 ,but it does4 ,but why should it not8 ,sometimes it is said1 ,you must not make the ministry a bribe by the largeness of its emoluments4 ,does it cease to be a bribe when its emoluments are a pittance8 ,you only lower the level of temptation to an inferior grade of men1 as well as where nothing is paid at all4 ,god meant that men should be tempted1 and you cannot get rid of it2 they must battle with it and withstand it4 ,but how does the thing work8 ,i do not think that many men of much ability will be tempted1 at least till the ,millennium comes1 by the emoluments of preaching1 however good they come to be4 ,i1 for my part1 should regret if it ever became a temptation to the highest ability--a money temptation1 ,i mean4 ,but what ,i have to say is this3 ,i am talking of a thoroughly adequate maintenance--not of payment4 ,the kind of service that is done by a man who saves a human being from sin and hell is a service which cannot be paid4 ,that man can only be maintained to do that work2 there is no money equivalent to such a service4 ,partly the same thing is true of a medical man's service2 he saves a life4 ,why1 if you paid him the commercial value of his service you must give him your fortune2 he saves your life4 ,there are some things which cannot be paid for4 ,you cannot pay for the love of wife and children4 ,the sweetest things cannot be paid for2 you can only show your appreciation of them by a worthy maintenance2 it would be a pity to talk of paying for them4 ,now1 suppose that the maintenance awarded to ministers1 to preachers1 be so small that they cannot live and bring up their children as men of such culture and such ability are made by ,god to require that they should be able to do2 what is the effect of it8 ,you often break that man's heart2 you embitter it2 he would be more than human if you did not4 ,to go about begging for wife and child6 ,that is the result2 and it is not the result of mere disaster1 but of stinginess and meanness in ,christian ,england4 ,i will tell you how it works4 ,where shall we get young men with brains1 with talent1 with ability1 that they may give themselves to a life which is not thought to be worth a decent maintenance by ,christian people8 ,look at it4 ,here is a young man1 a member of some country ,church2 ,god has moved his heart1 and made him wish to do all the good he can in the world4 ,he has a feeling that he could do more if he were a minister4 ,he would like to be one4 ,he knows himself to possess powers to rise in the world and take a position of eminence1 a position of dignity1 and to do good in that fashion4 ,here is this youth with a warm heart1 who wishes to be a minister4 ,but ,i will suppose that the minister of his congregation has had some wretched pittance to live on1 has been worn out with the cares of just making ends meet1 has often been behindhand1 has been talked of as such1 and more than talked of1 even by kind-hearted ,christian men and women1 with something of pity1 and something of concern2 and this youth says to himself1 ,that is the life of a preacher4 ,he would be more than human if he thought it right and wise to choose it4 ,and what of his father and mother--will they encourage him to do so8 ,they would not be parents if they did4 ,they will tell him1 ,do not you suppose that there is anything so excellent1 or dignified1 or worthy1 in a minister's work4 ,ah1 you may say that it is a mercenary thing6 ,true2 but where does the mercenariness begin8 who brings it in8 ,after all1 men will go by reason1 and they will estimate what are the worth and dignity of the career of a preacher of the ,gospel by what ,christian men and women set them down at in pounds1 shillings1 and pence4 ,that is reason4 ,i have said these things strongly2 ,i have said them very strongly here1 because1 though ,i dislike to speak of things concerning ourselves1 ,i am bound to say frankly that you to your minister have always acted with rare liberality and generosity1 beyond what sometimes ,i have thought was proportionate4 ,you will perfectly understand1 then1 that in what ,i speak it is not to reproach you2 far from it2 it is to interest you1 and make you feel the importance of this question4 ,since ,i came to be myself a teacher of theological students1 and to take a pride in my students1 and to seek that they should be able ministers1 ,i have come to feel how my hands are hampered and crippled1 and that the best men are kept out by such poor1 mean drawbacks as these4 ,you will understand me4 ,i now come to explain more fully the working of the particular method adopted by our ,church to maintain an honourable1 able1 dignified ,christian ministry3 ,we call it the ,sustentation ,fund4 ,the immediate aim is this1 to gather together the strength and liberality of rich congregations1 and distribute them in districts where they are poorer4 ,in that way the poorer congregations are able to give a more handsome maintenance to their ministers4 ,in that way1 instead of the ,church having men of parts1 and culture1 and dignity in the wealthier charges only1 it has men of at least fair eminence1 and dignity1 and ability in all its branches2 and that is an immense advantage4 ,if it is a bane to society to have too great extremes of wealth and poverty1 it is the same with the ,church4 ,if any ,church is bound to avoid it1 it is our ,church2 for one of the central principles of our ,church is that its ministers and office-bearers should all sit as equals in a deliberative assembly1 and that none should be able to make their will press upon others4 ,if you have one set of ministers begging for doles from other and richer ministers1 what have you8 ,you have destroyed the ,church as a brotherhood1 as a family4 ,now ,i have given you in that a reason why we endeavour to distribute the generous strength of the richer among the poorer congregations by the ,sustentation ,fund4 ,another method would be by an ,augmentation ,fund1 by which wealthier congregations would dole out money to poorer congregations4 ,that is not our system2 our system is this3 ,every congregation is asked to give1 as ,god has prospered them1 to a fund which we prefer to call by our old ,scotch term1 a ,sustentation ,fund2 they have to give all that it is in their hearts to give to that fund1 and they send it up to a central committee1 charged with the duty of distributing it4 ,the whole amount is divided by the number of the ministers1 and an equal share is sent to each4 ,note how that works4 ,it does not preclude the wealthier congregations from adding a supplement1 as it is called--adding as much as they like to the income of their own minister4 ,it would be unreasonable that a man should not give more to the minister to whose ministrations he has attached himself1 and who has drawn out his sympathies2 and therefore no such liberality is asked to this fund1 which goes among all the ministers4 ,again1 the weaker congregations are urged to contribute a sum which is equal to their common share2 but if they come short the deficiency is made up by the surplus from the other ,churches4 ,for instance1 suppose the distributed sum is #bjj1 and one congregation sends #bcj4 ,of that sum #bjj comes back1 #cj remains1 and goes probably to some congregation in ,northumberland who have only sent up #agj4 ,now1 ,i have no time to go into details1 or to talk about objections1 technical objections1 and so on2 but just let me show you very briefly some of the advantages of this way of working4 ,i have spoken about the sentiment of the thing4 ,ministers1 like men1 have feelings4 ,the poorer ministers prefer to get their larger stipend in that fashion1 rather than getting the money as a dole4 ,that point has to be considered2 and when you remember how great a part feeling plays in all our life you will not disregard such a thing1 even if it is only sentiment4 ,but look at the thing practically4 ,it may be said1 ,what is the use of sending up the whole amount8 ,what good is there in a congregation sending up #bcj1 and getting #bjj back8 ,what good is there in a congregation sending up #agj1 and getting #bjj instead8 ,cannot you just as well send the #cj8 ,if you did that it would become a ,dole ,fund2 it would not be a ,sustentation ,fund4 ,then is it a mere difference of arrangement or sentiment8 ,not a bit of it4 ,i will show you how the thing works practically4 ,it is one of those secondary sorts of advantage which generally go1 more than anything else1 to prove a principal good4 ,i suppose that1 if you have ever thought of it1 you are not surprised to find that ,church business is constantly done in a most slovenly way4 ,i suppose you are aware that even down in the ,city there are many offices where things are done in a slovenly1 hap-hazard fashion4 ,if that is so in business1 and parish matters too1 it is worse in ,church matters2 for even ,church people seem to think that ,church business need not be done with the same method and regularity as that with which secular matters should be done4 ,now1 that is especially the case in country congregations1 and the bearing of it upon finances is that moneys are not collected as they should be2 they are not asked for1 and are lying out when they ought to come in4 ,a man who can give a shilling a month cannot get up twelve shillings at the end of the twelve months4 ,all of you who are business men know what an immense advantage it is to business to have the whole of the book-keeping1 and everything1 done in an efficient manner4 ,i saw1 in this visitation of mine1 congregations that had not connected themselves with this ,sustentation ,fund whose business affairs were in a shameful condition4 ,it meant that the minister did not get his salary2 it did not come in at the time2 not that the money would not be given the moment it was applied for1 but the treasurer was careless about it1 and never thought of it4 ,you can see the foolishness of such a position1 and what a bad thing it is for the ,church4 ,what do they care about giving1 when the thing is done in that careless fashion8 ,now1 the ,sustentation ,fund means that the whole money collected for the minister's maintenance goes up to ,london2 and the country people down in ,northumberland try not to disgrace themselves in the eyes of the central officers in ,london1 and the central officers in ,london have no hesitation in giving them a reminder4 ,the advantage is the same as it is to a business house every year to have all its books and business pass through the hands of an accountant4 ,it makes a man careful2 things do not fall behind4 ,this mode of working brings regularity and punctuality1 not merely into the ,sustentation ,fund1 but into the whole of the funds of all our charges4 ,well1 but you may say1 ,what is the use of aid-giving congregations sending up their #bjj8 ,they do it1 who do not need it1 to get the others1 who do need it1 to do it too4 ,i have shown you what a very practical thing the ,sustentation ,fund is4 ,i am now going to mention an advantage which requires little more of ,church statesmanship to appreciate it4 ,it is not the minister1 but the congregation1 who gets the greatest benefit2 ,i will tell you how4 ,ministers do not like to go to congregations where they are kept in arrears1 and where they do not get that proper maintenance which they should1 just through carelessness1 or where they have to ask the treasurer for money4 ,to revert to the commercial illustration1 you would not go as partner into a firm where all the books were carelessly kept1 and everything was in a slovenly1 negligent condition4 ,and the congregation that has its whole business arrangements and financial affairs completely regular and punctual stands in a much better position when it has to seek a minister than one that has not2 it will get a better man4 ,that is a very real consideration4 ,once more1 the system of the ,sustentation ,fund acts in such a fashion that does not allow congregations to impose on it4 ,the ,committee of the ,sustentation ,fund say this3 ,we fix with the poorer congregation how much of the money it shall send up1 and we undertake that it shall share with the richer congregations so long as it does its duty4 ,if they find that it is imposing on them1 then they act very sharply2 but if there is some local disaster1 the loss of a wealthy member1 or some sweeping misfortune1 the ,sustentation ,fund will do what a family does for a sick child2 it will nurse the sick child till it is strong again1 and will not let it die out4 ,once again1 look how this system improves the position of the congregation 7to use a commercial phrase7 in the ministerial market4 ,see what the ,sustentation ,fund amounts to4 ,you know how the credit of a weak ,state is improved when a powerful ,state backs it up2 it can borrow at a lower rate of interest4 ,any man1 or any firm1 whose business is punctually done1 and whose books are properly kept1 can get money from a banker much more readily than one who has the reputation of being slovenly4 ,and the system of the ,sustentation ,fund improves the character of a congregation2 it gives the shield of the whole ,church to an individual congregation2 it says that disaster shall not depress it2 it carries such a congregation through a time of difficulty4 ,a minister has more heart to go to a weak charge1 to a congregation exposed to such disasters1 when that congregation has its credit backed by the general credit of the whole ,church4 ,that is a businesslike and statesmanlike consideration1 and it is a very real one4 ,there are a great many other things which ,i could tell you4 ,let me mention one fact to show what our ,sustentation ,fund has already done4 ,it has always been weak hitherto1 and there has been a great deal of opposition to it1 and there have been a great many difficulties in introducing it4 ,it has not been able to do what it would do if it were strong2 but ,i will tell you what it has done already4 ,in ,northumberland1 where our ,churches get the best members and ,church officers--young men brought up properly--young women brought up with prayers morning and evening--,churches with full light in them1 but very poor--in these ,northumberland ,churches the annual ministerial stipend has in many cases been nearly doubled4 ,of course you may say that many ministers are not worth even #bjj a year4 ,that is true2 but if they are not worth #bjj a year they are not worth anything2 it is better to have them out4 ,it is not a question of degree or amount1 but the question is1 ,is the man doing a minister's work in an honest way8 ,if he is1 it is not fair that he should have to struggle on upon such a pittance as many of the ministers have been receiving4 ,well1 now1 ,i will tell you what the ,sustentation ,fund has done4 ,with the exception of two or three charges that have to be nursed by the ,home ,mission ,fund1 and put1 as it were1 on the child platform1 this ,sustentation ,fund has given to every one of our ministers an annual income of #bjj2 and what has it proved8 ,that our giving it has brought before the congregations the duty of supporting their ministers as has never been done before4 ,it has taught them to be more liberal in maintaining their ministers2 it has induced them in that way to be more generous and liberal themselves4 ,now ,i have left myself no time for some more spiritual thoughts with which ,i wanted to end4 ,i do not think that it much matters1 if you remember how the spiritual lives on the practical material working of ,church organisation2 but ,i just want to say this 7,i wish ,i could feel it for myself1 and ,i do wish that our members could feel it71 that there is a great risk of well-to-do congregations unconsciously growing very selfish1 and being shut up in themselves4 ,that position brings a curse with it if it brings a blight in the heart1 and if we come to ,christ just to get our souls saved1 and then selfishly congratulate ourselves upon that4 ,christ wants a great1 loving heart1 panting to do good to every one1 and to save him from sin4 ,he says1 ,do not be satisfied with just coming to say your own prayers1 and sing your praises1 and get your sorrows comforted1 and have your joys brightened1 by belonging to a congregation2 but think of all the great ,church everywhere1 and whether you might not do something for it4 ,i think that ,god gathers us into congregations just for the same reason that ,he gathers us into families4 ,our love is too weak to be left spread out--it would die altogether2 it would be chill and cold as the world--and so he shuts it in1 and bids a man love wife and child with family affection2 and so he nurses that love1 and makes it profound4 ,what is it that causes the love of father and mother to be so strong and tender8 ,is it not that there are such endless demands upon them for giving their money1 and time1 and prayers8 ,it is ,god's greatest gift4 ,but sometimes ,i see men and women misuse it1 and make gigantic walls1 and turn them into prison walls1 and they do not care for any human being outside their little circle4 ,it becomes a blight and a curse to them4 ,our ,church is strong now in ,england under the ,presbyterian system1 while others are isolated4 ,there is a real danger that our hearts will be dried up and narrowed2 and ,i put it to you that here is one means of counteracting it1 by giving with a warm heart1 thinking of the manses away in the ,north1 and the ministers' homes1 that will be made happier and better by the liberality of those whom ,god has prospered4 ,the ,church that shows most liberality and loyalty to others is the ,church that will have most love and loyalty to the ,master4 ,,xv4 ,,our ,,lord',s ,,treatment ,,of ,,erring ,,friends4 ,,sunday ,,readings4 ,i4 ,read ,ps4 cxxxviii41 and ,john xiii4 #a-ag4 ,,the ,,self-,,asserting4--,john xiii4 #d1 #e4 ,on the evening before ,he died1 ,jesus washed the disciples' feet4 ,this touching action of our ,lord is constantly taken and turned into a picture of spiritual truths1 and it is a very fair use to make of the story4 ,no wonder if there is ever an overflowing surplus of meaning in all the things that ,jesus said and did4 ,but we must not forget that their symbolic use is a matter of secondary moment1 and we must take care1 first and chiefly1 to recognise in our ,lord's words and deeds that simple1 direct meaning which ,he intended them to have4 ,in the present case ,he has ,himself told us why ,he did this strange and beautiful act of self-abasement to ,his faulty followers1 and what effect the memory of ,his great humility ought to have on our hearts and characters1 if we would be like ,him1 divinely wise and good in our treatment of erring friends4 ,in the country where ,jesus lived the roads were hot and dusty1 and the people wore sandals that left the upper part of the foot exposed4 ,in the course of even a short journey the skin became covered with an irritating kind of sand4 ,therefore1 on the arrival of a visitor1 it was the first duty of hospitality to offer water to wash and cool the weary feet4 ,when a feast was made the guests1 as they entered1 would lay aside their sandals1 and take their places on the couches that surrounded the table4 ,then the humblest servant of the house was wont to come with basin1 towel1 and pitcher of water1 to kneel behind each couch1 to pour the water over the projecting feet1 to wash them clean and free from stain1 and to wipe them gently dry4 ,it was a comfortable and kindly custom1 and we know1 from the anecdote of ,simon the ,pharisee1 that our ,lord missed it when it was omitted1 and gratefully welcomed it when it was observed4 ,this night ,jesus and ,his disciples are gathered for supper in the upper room of a strange house in ,jerusalem4 ,the room has been lent for the occasion1 and so there is no servant in attendance on them4 ,in such circumstances it had been customary among the little company for one of their number1 ere the meal began1 to do this needful service for the rest4 ,in a corner of the room stood the pitcher and basin1 with the towel folded by their side4 ,they had all taken their places round the table1 and the time to commence supper had come 7so read verse #b74 ,but this night--the last of their ,master's life on earth--none rose to wash their feet1 none stirred to perform that friendly office4 ,one and all1 they kept their places in painful and embarrassed silence4 ,their refusal of the lowly but accustomed task was due to an unwonted access of pride and self-assertion in their hearts4 ,that very day1 in the way1 there had been a fierce contention among the disciples as to which of them was greatest4 ,the dispute reached the ,master's ear1 and he firmly rebuked their rivalry and quelled the quarrel4 ,the storm of passion was silenced on their lips1 but the sullen surge of anger had not quite died out of their hearts4 ,not yet would it be easy for any one of them to forget his dignity1 and do a humbling service to the rest4 ,and so it came to pass on that solemn evening1 when their ,master's heart was so soft and tender1 their hearts were hard with pride and anger1 and though they felt the painfulness of the pause and the wrongfulness of their obstinacy1 not one of them had the manliness to rise and end it1 and by humbling himself make peace and harmony in their hearts4 ,the consciousness of discord entered the holy heart of ,jesus and pierced it4 ,his soul was filled that night with love unspeakable1 and ,he longed to pour out to ,his friends the joy and the pain of ,his mighty purpose4 ,but that could not be while their breasts were possessed by petty rivalries1 and mean thoughts1 and angry feelings4 ,he must first shame away their pride1 and melt their hardness1 and make them gentle1 lowly1 and loving4 ,how can ,he do this most quickly and completely8 ,he riseth from supper1 and laid aside ,his garments2 and took a towel1 and girded ,himself4 ,after that ,he poureth water into a basin1 and began to wash the disciples' feet1 and to wipe them with the towel wherewith ,he was girded4 ,who is not able to picture the scene--the faces of ,john1 and ,james1 and ,peter2 the intense silence1 in which each movement of ,jesus was painfully audible2 the furtive watching of ,him1 as ,he rose1 to see what ,he would do2 the sudden pang of self-reproach as they perceived what it meant2 the bitter humiliation and the burning shame6 ,the way ,john recites each detail tells how that scene had scorched itself on his soul and become an indelible memory4 ,truly his ,master had given him an example4 ,to his dying day ,john could see that sight1 and many a time in the hour of temptation it crossed his path and made him a better man4 ,may that same vision of our ,lord's great humility rise before our eyes1 when life is full of pride and rivalry1 and our hearts are hot and angry2 and may its sweet influence come on our spirits like cool1 pure water1 to wash these evil passions out1 and to make us good and gentle1 like ,jesus6 ,,ii4 ,read ,job xvi41 and ,matt4 xxvi4 #ca-df4 ,,the ,,unsympathetic4--,john xiii4 #a-c4 ,the preface to the narrative of the feet-washing is long and involved4 ,the ideas move in a lofty sphere1 seemingly very remote from the simple scene they prelude4 ,at first sight the reader is tempted to count the introduction cumbrous1 and to question the relevancy4 ,a more profound appreciation of its contents and connection changes questioning into admiration1 and transforms perplexity into wondering delight4 ,we perceive how the thoughts of the prelude light up the whole scene with a golden glow of human tenderness and ,divine grandeur1 so that1 like a picture set in its true light1 we now discern in it a depth of meaning and a wealth of beauty previously unsuspected4 ,the perplexing preface proves to be the vestibule that leads into the innermost shrine of the temple4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john was not written till half a century later than the events it records2 yet it is written as though it were but yesterday the ,apostle had witnessed the scenes he describes4 ,those recollections had not been casual visitants1 but constant inmates of his mind and heart4 ,there was hardly ever a day he had not thought about them4 ,at night when he lay awake and could not sleep he had thought about them4 ,he conned them over in memory1 he pored over them in his mind1 he cherished them in his heart lovingly4 ,and the promise his ,lord had given came true to him1 for the ,holy ,spirit took of these things of ,christ1 and showed them unto him1 so that they grew to his eyes better and better1 and more beautiful1 and more full of meaning1 till their inmost heart of ,divine goodness was revealed to him4 ,ah6 when we first get to know ,christ it is but ,his face1 ,his eyes1 ,his outer form we see4 ,that is a great sight6 ,but to see and know all the heart of ,god that was in ,him--that takes a very long time2 it takes half a century2 it takes eternity to get at that6 ,john lived in that high quest almost all his life1 gazing at the ,master1 worshipping and adoring1 laying his heart on the ,master's heart2 and the result was that he got to know ,jesus far better than he did when he lived with ,him4 ,hence it is that the fourth ,gospel is so different from the other three4 ,they just tell us what ,jesus said and what ,jesus did4 ,but ,john's ,gospel mixes up the acts and words of ,jesus with ,john's own thoughts and explanations1 so that it is sometimes hardly possible to tell whether we are reading what ,jesus said or what ,john thought about it4 ,he is ever passing behind the loveliness of the human life1 to trace its explanation in the inner heavenly nature4 ,he paints for us the tree with its beauteous branches1 leaves1 and blossoms1 and then he bids us behold the great root in ,god's earth out of which it grew2 that wonderful root1 which is ,divine1 and which is the source of all the sweetness that is brightening the upper air4 ,the ,jesus of ,john's ,gospel has more of ,god in the look of face and eyes1 and in the ring of ,his voice1 than the ,jesus of ,matthew1 ,mark1 and ,luke4 ,it is the ,jesus that lived and grew on in ,john's loving memory1 year by year becoming greater1 holier1 ,diviner in the illumination of the ,holy ,spirit1 that was brooding over that home of ,christ in the heart of ,john4 ,it is1 indeed1 ,jesus coloured by ,john's thoughts and ,john's feelings2 but then they are true thoughts and true feelings4 ,and so it is that sometimes1 in the evangel of the ,beloved ,disciple1 we almost lose sight of the outer form and familiar features of our ,lord1 but only that we may see more clearly the glory of ,his inner nature and the beauty of ,his heart ,divine4 ,it is to this loving industry of ,john's mind that we owe the preface of our story1 so laden with great thoughts4 ,it bids us1 before we scan the picture of our ,lord's humility1 gaze into ,his heart1 and see how that night it was filled with contending emotions of exaltation and agony1 of tenderest devotion and unrequited love1 and then1 in the light of ,his inner grandeur1 grief1 and forlornness1 measure the marvel of this wondrous act of self-abasement4 ,he who washed the feet of those sinful men was the ,son of ,god and the world's ,saviour4 ,he made ,himself their servant6 ,he washed their feet6 ,but more than that1 ,he was a dying man that night1 and ,he knew it4 ,his hour was come4 ,already the presaging pangs of the bloody sweat1 of the scourging and the spitting1 of the anguish and forsakeness of the cross1 had broken like stormy waves of a troubled sea on ,christ's sensitive spirit4 ,the pain1 and the parting1 and the solemn awe of death had fallen upon ,his soul4 ,he was going to bid good-bye to the faces ,he had loved1 to the things that were so beautiful in ,his eyes1 to the lilies and the birds1 to those ,he had clung to on earth1 to mother1 and brother1 and friend1 to all that was sweet and dear to ,his human heart4 ,his thoughts were preoccupied that night4 ,he was preparing ,himself for death4 ,his heart was already getting detached from earth4 ,oh1 if ever there was an hour when ,he might have been forgiven1 if ,he had had no thought but of ,himself1 it was that night6 ,if ever ,he might have held ,himself exempt from thinking of others1 and expected them to think of ,him1 it was that night4 ,if ever there was an hour when ,he might have counted selfishness unforgivable1 and bitterly resented want of sympathy1 it was that night1 when ,his grief was so great and ,his love so warm and tender4 ,and yet1 says ,john1 it was on that night that amongst us all1 engrossed in our petty1 selfish rivalry1 ,he was the one that could forget ,himself1 could lay pride aside1 and humble ,his heart1 and do the lowly act that made peace amongst us1 and melted all our pride away1 and made us good1 and loving1 and fit to hear the wondrous thoughts of grace and love that were glowing in ,his heart for us and for all mankind4 ,the lesson is one for good men and women4 ,they are too apt to think1 because they have set out on some great enterprise of goodness1 that therefore they are exempt from the little courtesies and forbearances of lowlier service4 ,they mean to do good1 but they must do it with a high hand and in a masterful fashion4 ,they cannot stoop to conciliate the lukewarm and to win the unsympathetic4 ,and so too often their cherished purpose ends in failure1 and we see that saddest sight in ,christ's ,church--beautiful lives marred and noble service spoiled1 because the sacrifice is not complete enough1 because pride lingers in the heart1 and self-assertion and selfishness4 ,we cannot be faithful in that which is greatest unless we are willing to be faithful also that in which is least4 ,,iii4 ,read #b ,sam4 xxiv41 and ,john xxi4 #ae-bc4 ,,the ,,wilful4--,john xiii4 #f-aj4 ,the character of ,peter stands clear cut in the ,gospels4 ,he had a warm heart1 an eager mind1 an impulsive will1 a quick initiative1 and a native aptitude for pre-eminence4 ,he took the lead almost unconsciously and without premeditation1 but none the less he was conscious of a keen pleasure in being first4 ,prominence with him was not a choice of calculation1 but rather an innate instinct and necessity of nature4 ,alike by what was best and by what was worst in him1 it was natural for ,peter to stand out from the rest1 and whether right or wrong1 to be their spokesman1 champion1 and chief4 ,as ,jesus went round1 washing the disciples' feet1 there was perfect stillness in the room4 ,none ventured to speak in explanation or remonstrance till ,he came to ,peter4 ,but as ,he prepared to kneel down behind him1 ,peter stopped ,him with a protest3 ,lord1 dost thou wash my feet8 ,it looks on the face of it altogether good1 and pure1 and manly4 ,but then ,christ was no narrow-hearted pedant1 eager to find fault1 and imagining offence where none existed4 ,yet ,peter's protest1 instead of being approved1 is gently but firmly refused4 ,what ,i do thou dost not understand now1 but thou shalt understand presently4 ,beneath the fair surface of the remonstrance there must have been some unlovely thing that had to be rebuked away4 ,what was the jarring chord8 ,had ,peter's motive been contrition1 and contrition only1 would he have waited till it came to his turn8 ,would he not have leapt to his feet at once1 and insisted on taking the ,master's place1 and washing the feet of them all8 ,did he sit still1 ashamed for himself and them1 but angrily ashamed1 resolving first that he would not basely allow his ,lord to demean ,himself1 then thinking hard things of the others1 who suffered it without protest8 ,and so1 when it came to his turn1 was his heart full of censorious thoughts1 and a proud resolve that he would come out of the humiliation better than the rest8 ,if1 without breach of charity1 we may take this to have been his mood1 then we can understand ,christ's kindly deprecation of his words and act4 ,he fancied his impulse all good and noble4 ,he did not know the treachery of his own heart4 ,he did not fathom the necessity for the humbling experience of having to be washed by his ,master4 ,with the cleansing of his feet in simple obedience1 his heart would be cleansed also of pride and of anger4 ,then he would understand what his ,master was doing1 and how ,he had to do it to put right so much that was wrong in the heart of ,his wayward follower4 ,it is not easy to obey without understanding4 ,what was noble in ,peter1 and what was base1 combined to hold him back from yielding4 ,peter's love recoiled from the humbling of his ,master4 ,peter's pride shrank from the humbling of himself4 ,thou shalt never wash my feet4 ,truly a noble1 proud refusal6 ,there was in it a strange mixture of good and evil4 ,peter wanted to come back to right1 but he wished to come in his own way4 ,christ's way was painful1 and the disciple would fain choose another that did not lead through the ,valley of ,humiliation4 ,but then1 if you have gone wrong through pride you cannot get right again and yet keep your pride4 ,if you would be good you must abase yourself4 ,peter's refusal meant that his spirit still was not quite subdued1 his heart not quite humble and contrite4 ,in that mood he could not enter into the sacred communion of his ,master's dying love4 ,with that spirit cherished and maintained he could not belong to ,his fellowship4 ,if ,i wash thee not1 thou hast no part with ,me4 ,christ knew ,peter's heart4 ,the man loved his ,master with a passionate personal attachment4 ,these words fell on his spirit with a sudden chill4 ,to have no part with ,christ--that was more than he could bear4 ,lord1 not my feet only1 but also my hands and my head4 ,it is as though he would say1 ,a great part in ,thee6 ,and we might readily count the request blameless1 and the mood that uttered it commendable only4 ,but ,jesus declines it1 and in refusing suggests that it has in it something of unreality and excess4 ,so then1 without his knowing it1 there must have lurked in the thought ,peter's love of pre-eminence4 ,first of all1 he had wished to differ from the others in not being washed at all4 ,now that he must be washed1 he would be the most washed of all4 ,ah1 the subtle danger of wanting to be first1 even in goodness6 ,we cannot safely try to be good for the sake of being foremost4 ,we must be good just for goodness' sake1 with no thought of self at all4 ,and surely silent submission had become ,peter better than any speech4 ,when a man knows he has gone wrong again and again1 and ,christ has undertaken to set him right1 his wisdom is to offer no resistance1 nor make any suggestion1 as if he knew better than ,jesus what had best be done4 ,self-will in choosing the way in which we are to be saved and sanctified is a blunder from which few are quite free4 ,we cannot leave our souls simply in ,god's care and teaching4 ,we catch at ,christ's hands1 and distrust the simplicity of ,his grace1 and dictate to the ,holy ,spirit the experience and discipline we deem best4 ,surely it is not becoming and it is not wise4 ,when a man has been taken into ,god's hands1 and has been forgiven his sins1 and is being taught by ,god1 he should just keep very still and very humble1 and let ,god make of him what ,he will4 ,,iv4 ,read #a ,sam4 xxiv41 and ,luke xxii4 #dg-fb4 ,,the ,,faithless4--,john xiii4 #aa4 ,jesus enjoined us to love our enemies4 ,we count it a hard saying4 ,an enemy is not lovable4 ,the sight of him wakes instinctively not affection1 but antagonism4 ,it is not easy to wish him well1 to do him good4 ,we find it difficult to endure his presence without show of repugnance4 ,still harder is it to pity him1 to help him1 to do him a service4 ,but there is something worse than an enemy1 something more repulsive1 more unforgivable4 ,that is a traitor--the faithless friend1 who pretends affection with malice in his breast1 who receives our love while he is plotting our ruin1 and under cover of a caress stabs us to the heart4 ,open hostility may be met1 resented1 and forgotten1 but cold-blooded treachery our human nature stamps as the all but unpardonable sin4 ,its presence is revolting1 and its touch loathsome4 ,an honest heart sickens at the sight of it4 ,among the guests gathered around the table1 that night before our ,lord's death1 was ,judas1 who betrayed ,him4 ,he had sold his ,master for thirty pieces of silver1 and was watching his opportunity to complete the covenant of blood4 ,he sat there while ,jesus washed their feet4 ,jesus knew all his falseness1 all his heartlessness1 all his treachery4 ,he knew it1 and ,he washed the traitor's feet4 ,the perfection of our ,lord's holiness is apt to mislead us into the idea that because it was faultless1 it was therefore easy4 ,we conceive ,his goodness as spontaneous1 ,his sinlessness as without effort4 ,but in truth ,he was a man tempted in all points like as we are4 ,he was obedient unto death1 but ,his obedience ,he learned by the things which ,he suffered4 ,he was perfect in purity1 meekness1 self-denial1 but only by humbling ,himself and crucifying the flesh4 ,his self-control was absolute1 but it cost ,him as much as it does us--perchance more4 ,his sinless1 holy heart shrank from sin's foulness1 and suffered in its loathsome contact as our stained souls cannot4 ,the base presence and false fellowship of a ,judas must have been a perpetual pain to ,his pure spirit4 ,but ,he endured his meanness with a heavenly self-restraint that curbed each sign of repugnance1 and to the last ,he maintained for the traitor a ,divine compassion that would have saved him from himself1 and that in ,jesus's nature compelled the very instincts of loathing to transform themselves into quite marvellous ministries of superhuman loving4 ,it was no empty show of humility and kindness1 it was pity and love incarnate1 when ,jesus knelt at ,judas's back1 and washed the feet of ,his betrayer4 ,that seems to me one of the most wondrous1 most tragic scenes in this world's story4 ,could we but have seen it--,jesus kneeling behind ,judas1 laving his feet with water1 touching them with ,his hands1 wiping them gently dry1 and the traitor keeping still through it all6 ,what a theme for the genius of a painter--the face of ,jesus and the face of ,judas--the emotions of grandeur looking out of the one1 of good and evil contending in the other6 ,if anything could have broken the traitor's heart1 and made him throw himself in penitent abasement on the ,saviour's pity1 it was when he felt on his feet his ,master's warm breath and gentle touch1 and divined all the forgiving love that was in ,his lowly heart4 ,this was our ,lord's treatment of a faithless friend4 ,on the night of ,his betrayal ,he washed the feet of ,his bitterest enemy1 of the man who had sold ,him to death4 ,he rises from that act1 and speaks to you and me1 and says1 ,i have given you an example1 that ye should do as ,i have done to you4 ,if you have a friend that has deceived you1 do not hate him2 if you have an enemy1 forgive him2 if you can do him a humble kindness1 do it2 if you can soften and save him by lowly forbearance1 be pitiful and long-suffering to the uttermost4 ,it is the law of ,christ4 ,if you call it too hard for flesh and blood1 remember how your ,master1 that night ,he was betrayed1 washed the feet of the man that betrayed ,him4 ,v4 ,read ,isa4 xl41 and #a ,cor4 xiii4 ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,magnanimity4--,john xiii4 #ab-ag4 ,there is a contagious quality in greatness4 ,young hearts1 generous souls1 dwelling in the vicinity of a hero1 are apt to catch his thoughts1 and words1 and ways4 ,christ's greatness is ,his goodness1 and that is absolute4 ,men look at ,jesus1 behold ,his perfection1 grow to love ,him1 and hardly knowing how1 become like ,him4 ,we see ,his tranquillity1 whose minds are so perturbed by life's worries and men's wrongs4 ,we wonder at ,his infinite peace1 whose hearts are so hot and restless with the world's rivalries and ambitions4 ,our spirits1 tired1 and hurt1 and fevered1 gaze wistfully at the great serenity of ,his gentle life1 and ere we know it a strange longing steals into our breast to learn ,his secret and find rest unto our souls4 ,plainly the panacea does not consist in any change outside us1 for1 do what we will1 still in every lot there will be crooks and crosses that cannot be haughtily brushed aside1 that can only be robbed of their sting by being humbly borne and patiently endured4 ,moreover1 the world was not least1 but most unkind to ,him1 yet could not mar ,his peace1 nor poison the sweetness of ,his soul4 ,within ,himself lay the talisman of ,his charmed life1 the hidden spring of ,his unchanging goodness4 ,it was the spell of a lowly1 loving1 and loyal heart4 ,this is the key to the enigma of ,his perfect patience4 ,he loved us1 and ,he gave ,himself for us4 ,and so1 whether ,his friends were gentle and obedient or wayward and rebellious1 whether they were kind and sympathetic or cold1 and hard1 and selfish1 whether they were good or evil1 ,he remained unchanged and unchangeable4 ,having loved ,his own which were in the world1 ,he loved them unto the end4 ,the machinery of life is not simple1 but complex and intricate4 ,in its working there cannot but be much friction4 ,if the strains and jars of social existence are to be borne without irritation and ill-will1 there must be between us and our neighbours a plentiful supply of the oil of human kindness4 ,the pressure and constraint that from a stranger would be irksome or unendurable become tolerable or even gladsome when borne for one we love4 ,did we1 as ,god meant us to do1 love our neighbour as ourself1 life's burdens would seem light1 for love makes all things easy4 ,but then the difficulty just is to love our neighbour as ourself4 ,here1 as elsewhere1 it is the first step that costs4 ,for too often our neighbour is not lovable1 but hateful1 and our own self is so much nearer to us than any neighbour can be4 ,its imperious demands silence his claims on our kindness1 and drown the calls of duty4 ,its exuberant growth overshadows his1 and robs him of the sunshine4 ,its intense acquisitiveness absorbs all our care and interest1 all our sympathy and affection1 so that we have no time or heart to spare for his exactions--no1 not even for his necessities4 ,clearly in this inordinate love of self is the root of the wrong and unrest of our life4 ,because we love our own self too much1 we love others too little to be able to be generous and good like ,christ4 ,wrapped up unduly in selfish anxiety for our own happiness and dignity1 we become too sensitive to the injuries of foes1 the slights of friends1 the cuts and wounds of fortune4 ,the reason why we lack the lowliness of ,jesus1 and miss the blessedness of ,his heavenly peace1 is our refusal to take up the cross and follow ,him in the pathway of self-sacrifice4 ,it was ,his detachment from self that made ,him invulnerable to wounds1 imperturbable amid wrongs1 good and kind to the evil and to the froward4 ,because ,he cared much for others and little for ,himself1 ,he was lifted above the strife and restless emulation of our self-seeking lives4 ,the charm that changed for ,him the storm of life into a great calm was the simple but potent spell of self-renunciation4 ,the thought is one that captivates fresh hearts and noble souls with the fascination of a revelation4 ,it seems to unlock all doors1 to break all bars1 and to lift from life its mysterious burden of perplexity and pain4 ,the pathway of renunciation opens before their eyes with an indefinable charm1 unfolding boundless vistas of lofty achievement1 haunted by sweet whispers of a joy and content1 dreamt of many a time1 but never before attained4 ,it is a fond delusion1 that experience soon dispels4 ,at the outset the way glows with the rosy light of a new dawn1 and our footsteps are light with the bounding life of a fresh springtide2 but ere many miles are traversed the road becomes hard and rough1 and we1 with heavy hearts1 drag hot and dusty feet along a weary way4 ,for the way of the ,cross has indeed blessedness at the end of it1 but easy it cannot be till it is ended4 ,to curb our pride1 to crush our self-seeking1 to conquer passion1 to quell ambition1 to crucify the flesh--these things are not easy4 ,they have the stern stress and strain of battle in them4 ,to be patient under injuries1 to suffer slights and wrongs1 to take the lowest place without a murmur1 are conquests that demand a strong heart and a great mind4 ,where shall we learn a serenity that can be disturbed by no trouble1 where find a peace that disappointment cannot break1 where reach a goodness that no wrong can ruffle8 ,what is the secret of magnanimity8 ,the answer comes to us from ,john's picture of his ,lord's humility4 ,in the forefront we behold ,jesus kneeling on the ground and washing ,his disciples' feet1 and we wonder at such lowliness4 ,but now ,john's finger points1 and our eyes rest on the heart of this lowly ,saviour1 and reverently we read ,his thoughts4 ,jesus1 knowing that the ,father had given all things into ,his hands1 and that ,he was come from ,god and went to ,god1 washed the disciples' feet4 ,there is at once the marvel of ,his condescension and its explanation4 ,he was so great ,he could afford to abase himself4 ,his followers stood on their dignity1 and jealously guarded their rank4 ,he was sure of ,his position4 ,nothing could affect ,his ,divine dignity4 ,he came from ,god2 ,he was going to ,god4 ,what mattered it what happened to ,him1 what place ,he held1 what humiliation ,he endured1 in the brief snatch of earthly life between8 ,and we1 if we would be great-minded like ,him1 must have the same high faith1 the same heavenly consciousness4 ,we must know that this world1 with its wrongs and disappointments1 is not all2 that this life1 with its pride and pomps1 is but a passing show4 ,we must remember ever the grander world beyond1 the infinite life within1 and even now1 amid the glare and din of time1 live in and for eternity4 ,then we should no longer fret for a thousand trifles that vex us1 we should not trouble for all the wrongs that pain and grieve us4 ,what dignity1 what grandeur1 what ,divine nobility there would be in every thought1 in every word1 in every deed of all our life on earth1 were the consciousness ever glowing in our hearts that we too came from ,god and are going back to ,god6 ,,xvi4 ,a ,,hymn ,,of ,,heart',s ,,ease4 ,,sunday ,,readings ,,for ,,the ,,month4 ,lord1 my heart is not haughty1 ,nor mine eyes lofty3 ,neither do ,i exercise myself in great matters1 ,or in things too high for me4 ,surely ,i have behaved ,and quieted myself2 ,as a child that is weaned of its mother1 ,my soul is even as a weaned child4 ,let ,israel hope in the ,lord ,from henceforth and for ever4--,ps4 cxxxi4 ,i4 ,read ,job xxvi41 and #a ,cor4 xiii4 ,,the ,,source ,,of ,,unrest4 ,things too high for me4 ,we are apt to think and speak as if difficulty of faith were an experience peculiar to our age4 ,it is indeed true that at particular periods speculative uncertainty has been more widely diffused than at others1 and our own age may be one of them4 ,but the real causes of perplexity in things religious are permanent and unchanging1 having their roots deep-seated in the essential nature of man's relation to the world and to ,god4 ,there has never been a time when men have not had to fight hard battles for their faith against the dark mysteries and terrors of existence1 that pressed in upon their souls and threatened to enslave them4 ,what is this brief ,psalm1 echoing like a sea-shell in its tiny circle the heart-beat of a vanished world1 but the pathetic record of a soul's dread struggle with doubt and darkness1 telling in its simple rhythm and quiet cadences the story how through the breakers of unbelief it fought its way to the firm shores of faith1 and peace1 and hope8 ,it reads like a tale of yesterday4 ,it is just what we are seeking1 suffering1 achieving4 ,yet more than two thousand years have come and gone since the brain that thought and the hand that wrote have mouldered into dust4 ,the poem must have been penned at a time when the poet's own misfortunes1 or the general disorders of the age1 were such as seemed to clash irreconcilably with his preconceived notions of ,god's goodness1 character1 and purposes4 ,the shock of this collision between fact and theory shook to its foundations the structure of his inherited creed1 and opened great fissures of questioning in the fabric of his personal faith4 ,he was tempted to abandon the believing habits of a religious training and the confiding instincts of a naturally devout heart1 and either to doubt the being and power of the ,almighty1 or to deny ,his wisdom and beneficence4 ,for a long time he was tossed hither and thither on the alternate ebb and flow of questioning denial and believing affirmation1 finding nowhere any firm foothold amid the unstable tumult of conflicting evidence and inconclusive reasoning4 ,at last out of the confusion there dawned on his mind a growing persuasion of something clear and certain4 ,he perceived that not only was the balance of evidence indecisive1 but also that the issue never could but be indeterminate4 ,for he saw that the method itself was impotent1 and could never reach or unravel the themes of his agonised questioning4 ,a settled conviction forced itself upon his mind that there are in life problems no human ingenuity can solve1 questions that baffle man's intellect to comprehend1 great matters1 and things too high for him4 ,it was a discovery startling1 strange1 and painful4 ,but at least it was something solid and certain2 it was firm land1 on which one's feet might be planted4 ,moreover1 it was not an ending1 but a beginning1 a starting-point that led somewhere4 ,perchance it might prove to be the first step in a rocky pathway1 that should guide his footsteps to heights of clearer light and wider vision1 where the heart1 if not the intellect1 might reach a solution of its questioning and enter into rest4 ,the quest he had commenced had turned out a quest of the unattainable1 but it had brought him to a real and profitable discovery4 ,he had recognised and accepted once and for ever the fact of the fixed and final limitation of human knowledge4 ,it is an experience all men have to make1 an experience that grows with age and deepens with wisdom1 as we more and more encounter the mysteries of existence1 and fathom the shallowness of our fancied knowledge4 ,what do we know of ,god1 the world1 ourselves8 ,how much1 and how little6 ,how much about them1 how little of them6 ,who of us1 for instance1 has any actual conception of ,god in ,his absolute being8 ,you remember how in dreamy childhood you would vainly strive to arrest and fasten in some definite image the vague vision of dazzling glory you had learned to call ,god1 which floated before your soul1 awing you with its majesty and immeasurable beauty1 but evading every effort to grasp it4 ,with gathering years and widening horizon you watched the world's changeful aspects and ceaseless movements1 till nature seemed the transparent vesture of its mighty ,maker1 but it was all in vain that you tried to pierce the thin veil and behold the invisible ,worker within4 ,you took counsel with science1 and it told you much concerning the properties of matter and the sequences of force1 but the ultimate cause1 that which is beneath1 that which worketh all in all1 it could not reveal4 ,you turned to philosophy1 and you traced the soaring thoughts of the sages1 that rushed upward like blazing rockets1 as if they would pierce and illuminate the remotest heaven2 but you saw how1 ere they reached that far goal1 their fire went out1 their light was quenched1 and they fell back through the darkness1 baffled and spent4 ,you betook yourself to revelation1 counting that at last you were entering the inner shrine1 and you did indeed learn much that was new and precious2 but soon came the discovery that here also we do but see through a glass darkly1 and that our best knowledge of ,god is no more than a knowledge in part4 ,lo1 these are but the outskirts of ,his ways2 and how small a portion we know of them6 ,but the thunder of ,his power1 who can understand8 ,we are1 as it were1 surrounded on every hand by mighty mountain peaks1 whose rocky sides foil every effort to explore the pinnacles that lie hidden in distant cloud and mist4 ,the achievements of the human intellect are many and marvellous1 but above and beyond its realm remain1 and doubtless ever shall remain1 great matters1 and things too high for us4 ,,ii4 ,read ,ps4 xxxvii41 and ,matt4 xi4 ,,the ,,secret ,,of ,,rest4 ,lord1 my heart is not haughty1 nor mine eyes lofty4 ,there is in the human intellect an insatiable eagerness and an indomitable energy of acquisitiveness4 ,it carries in its consciousness an ineradicable instinct of domination1 that spurs it to boundless enterprise and prompts it to spurn defeat4 ,this lordly quality of the human mind is the natural outcome of its sovereignty over the physical creation1 and the appropriate expression of its kinship with the ,creator4 ,it is part of man's ,divine birthright1 and the insignia of his nobility4 ,but it brings with it the peril of all special prerogative1 the inevitable temptation that accompanies the possession of power4 ,it tends to breed a haughtiness that is restive of restraint1 a self-sufficiency that forgets its own boundaries1 and an arrogance that refuses to wield the sceptre of aught but an unlimited empire4 ,so it comes to pass1 when reason in its restless research is brought to a stop by the invisible but very actual confines of human knowledge1 it resents the suggestion of limitation1 and declines to accept the arrest of its onward march4 ,the temptation that besets it is twofold4 ,on the one hand1 pride1 irritated by the check1 but too clear-sighted to ignore it1 is tempted to refuse to admit any truths it cannot fathom or substantiate1 and to deny the real existence of any realm of being beyond its natural ken4 ,this is the characteristic error of ,rationalism and ,positivism4 ,on the other hand1 there is in the opposite direction a tendency1 born equally of intellectual pride and self-will1 to refuse the restriction1 to ignore reason's incapacity1 and so to venture to state and explain that which is inexplicable4 ,alike in the spheres of science and of religion men strive recklessly to remove from ,god's face the veil which ,his own hand has not drawn1 and irreverently intrude into mysteries hopelessly beyond human thought to conceive or human speech to express4 ,this is the transgression of rash speculation and of arrogant dogmatism1 and it is in itself as sinful1 and in its consequences as harmful1 as are the blank negations of scepticism4 ,each of these errors the author of our poem was fortunate enough to escape4 ,recognising the limitation of all earthly knowledge1 he does not rage against the restrictions and beat himself against the environing bars4 ,he does not take it on himself1 by a foolish fiat of his finite littleness1 to decree the non-existence of everything too subtle for his dim eyes to perceive1 or too fine for his dull ear to hear4 ,where he fails to understand the wisdom or goodness of ,god's ways he does not intrude and try to alter them1 neither does he wildly struggle to comprehend their meaning1 nor madly refuse to submit to them4 ,he adapts himself to the ,divine dealing1 and is content to obey without insisting on knowing the reason why4 ,he curbs in the cravings of his mind1 nor will suffer the swift stream of his thought to rush on like an impetuous torrent1 dashing itself against obstructing rocks1 and fretting its waters into froth and foam4 ,he possesses his soul in patience1 and does not exercise himself in great matters1 or in things too high for him4 ,this attitude of acquiescence is the position imposed on us by necessity1 and prescribed by wisdom4 ,but1 as a matter of fact1 its practical possession depends on the presence of a certain inner mood or disposition4 ,we have seen that the denials of scepticism and the excesses of dogmatism are alike the offspring of pride1 and spring from an over-estimation of the potency of reason4 ,therefore1 as we might expect1 the poet's simple acceptance of limitation and contentment with partial knowledge are due to the fact that he has formed a modest estimate of himself4 ,lord1 my heart is not haughty1 nor mine eyes lofty4 ,his submission to restraint has its root in humility4 ,he does not exaggerate his capacity4 ,he takes the measure of his mind accurately4 ,he does not expect to be able to accomplish more than his abilities are equal to4 ,it seems to him quite natural that men should not be able to comprehend all ,god's ways4 ,it is to be expected that there should be many things in ,god's operations beyond their knowledge1 and in his thoughts passing their understanding4 ,it is1 therefore1 no matter for surprise that men should encounter in ,god's universe great matters1 and things too high for them4 ,nay1 the wonder and disappointment would be if there were no mysteries1 no infinitudes1 transcending our narrow souls4 ,would it gladden you if indeed ,god were no greater than our thoughts of ,him8 ,what if the sun were no brighter and no vaster than the shrunken1 dim1 and tarnished image of his radiance framed in a child's toy mirror8 ,alas for us if ,god and the universe were not immeasurably grander than mankind's most majestic conceptions of them6 ,measuring ourselves thus1 in truth and lowliness1 over against ,god1 who will not say1 with the poet of our ,psalm1 ,lord1 my heart is not haughty1 nor mine eyes lofty3 neither do ,i exercise myself in great matters1 or in things too high for me8 ,,iii4 ,read ,ps4 lxxiii41 and ,heb4 xii4 ,,calm ,,after ,,storm4 ,surely ,i have behaved and quieted myself4 ,peace bulks largely in all our dreams of ideal happiness4 ,without repose of heart we cannot conceive of perfect contentment4 ,but we must not forget that the peace of inexperience is a fragile possession1 and that the only lasting rest is the repose that is based upon conquest4 ,we speak with languid longing and ease-seeking envy of the peace of ,jesus1 because we forget that ,his peace was a peace constituted out of conflict1 maintained in the face of struggle1 and made perfect through suffering4 ,therefore it was a peace strong and majestic1 and the story of ,his life is the world's greatest epic4 ,a life that commenced with effortless attainment1 proceeded in easy serenity1 and ended in tranquillity were a life without a history1 pleasant but monotonous1 devoid of dramatic interest1 and destitute of significance4 ,the young cadet1 in his boyish bloom and unworn beauty1 furnishes the painter with a fairer model1 but the grizzled hero of a hundred fights1 with his battered form and furrowed face1 makes the greater picture4 ,it means so much more4 ,and it means more precisely because the tried valour of the veteran is so much more than the promise of the untested tyro4 ,innocence unsullied and untried has a loveliness all its own1 but it lacks the pathos of suggestion1 the depth of significance1 and the strength of permanence that make the glory of virtue that has borne the brunt of battle1 and has known the bitterness of defeat1 the agony of retrieval1 and the exultation of recovered victory4 ,we talk proudly of the faith that has never felt a doubt1 that has been pierced by no perplexity1 and shows no mark of the sweat and stress of conflict4 ,we look askance on difficulty of faith1 have no mercy on lack of assurance1 and reckon them happy who are convinced without trouble and believe without effort4 ,that is not quite the ,bible estimate4 ,the ,psalms echo with the prayers of hard-pressed faith1 and throb with the cries of agonised doubt4 ,the ,new ,testament speaks of faith as a fight1 counts them happy who endure1 and pronounces blessed the man who encounters and overcomes temptation4 ,if strait is the gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life1 how should faith be easy1 since faith is that gate1 that way8 ,the truth is that we invert the ,divine standard of values1 and put last what ,god puts first4 ,we count enviable the land-locked harbours of unthreatened belief1 that are protected from assault by their very shallowness and narrowness4 ,we are blind to the providential discipline which ordains that men should wrestle with difficulty1 and in overcoming it attain a tried and tempered faith possible only to those who have passed through the furnace of temptation4 ,for sinful men there can be no real strength that is not transmuted weakness1 no permanent peace that is not a triumph over rebellion1 no perfect faith that is not a victory over doubt4 ,the saints that have most reflected the spirit of ,christ formed their fair character1 like their ,master1 in lives of which it may be said1 ,without were fightings1 within were fears4 ,the way of the cross has ever been a way of conflict1 and it is they who come out of great tribulation that enter into the rest that remaineth4 ,the deep lakes that sleep in the hollows of high mountains1 and mirror in their placid depths the quiet stars1 have their homes in the craters of volcanoes1 that have spent their fury1 quenched their fires1 and are changed into pools of perpetual peace4 ,there breathes through our ,psalm an atmosphere of infinite repose--a subdued rest1 like the hush of a cradle song4 ,nevertheless1 if we listen closely enough to its music1 we catch under its lullaby the low echo of a bygone anguish1 the lingering sob of a vanished tempest4 ,nature's most exquisite embodiment of calm is the sweet fresh air that is left by a great storm2 and the perfection of the ,psalm's restfulness is that it consists of unrest conquered and transmuted4 ,for the poet's peace is the result of a great struggle1 the reward of a supreme act of self-subjection4 ,surely ,i have behaved and quieted myself2 or1 preserving the imagery of the words1 ,surely ,i have calmed and hushed my soul4 ,his submissiveness had not been native1 but acquired4 ,his lowliness of heart was not a natural endowment1 but a laborious accomplishment4 ,his acquiescence in ,god's mysterious ways was a thing not inborn and habitual1 but was rather the calm that follows a storm1 when the tempest has moaned itself into stillness1 and the great waves have rocked themselves into unruffled rest4 ,for his soul had once been rebellious1 like a storm-lashed sea dashing itself against the iron cliffs that bounded its waves1 and impetuous like a tempest rushing through the empty air1 seeking to attain the unattainable1 and spending its force vainly in vacancy4 ,he had longed to flash thought1 lightning like1 athwart the thick darkness that surrounded ,jehovah's throne1 and to lay bare its hidden secrets4 ,it was all in vain4 ,hemmed in on every hand1 beaten back in his attempts to pierce the high heaven1 baffled in every effort to read the enigma of ,god's ways1 he had been tempted to revolt1 and either to renounce his trust in the ,almighty's goodness or to refuse to submit to ,his control4 ,it cost him a hard and weary struggle to regain his reliance1 to restore his allegiance1 to calm and hush his soul4 ,there was nothing wonderful in this conflict1 nor anything exceptional in the experience4 ,it is the common lot of men4 ,true1 there are some natures for whom the tenure of faith is less arduous than it is for others4 ,but in almost every life there come crises when this same battle has to be fought4 ,for it is not always easy to be content to trust without seeing1 and to follow ,god's leading in the dark1 when the way seems all wrong and mistaken4 ,there are things in life that rudely shake our faith from its dreamless slumber1 and sweep the soul away over the dreary billows of doubt and darkness4 ,there are times when1 to our timorous hearts1 it seems too terrible to be compelled just to trust and not to understand4 ,such conflicts come to us all more or less4 ,painful and protracted the struggle sometimes is1 but not necessarily evil1 not even harmful4 ,for if we do but fight it out honestly and bravely the fruits will be1 as they were with our poet1 wholesome1 good1 and peaceable4 ,,iv4 ,read ,ps4 xlvi41 and ,phil4 ii4 ,,victory ,,by ,,surrender4 ,as a child that is weaned of his mother3 my soul is even as a weaned child4 ,it is good to cheer men on in a noble strife by speaking of the certainty of victory1 and by the story of heroic deeds to nerve their arms for battle and stir their hearts to war4 ,but that is not enough4 ,they want more than that4 ,they want to learn how to wage a winning war1 how to secure the highest triumph1 how out of conflict to organise peace4 ,in the good fight of faith what is the secret of success8 ,has our ,psalm any light on that point8 ,by what method did the poet still the turmoil of his doubt and reach his great peace8 ,the process is finely pictured in a homely but exquisite image3 ,like a weaned child on its mother1 like a weaned child is my soul within me4 ,what does that mean8 ,torn by an insatiable longing to know the meaning of ,god's mysterious ways1 he had struggled fiercely to wring an answer from the ,almighty4 ,his heart was long the abode of unrest1 and storm1 and tempest4 ,at length peace falls on the fray2 there is no more clangour of contention3 all is quietness and rest4 ,how is this8 ,has he succeeded in solving the enigmas that pained him8 ,have his cravings for an answer from ,god been gratified8 ,if not1 how has he attained this perfect repose8 ,his peace is the peace of a weaned child4 ,not1 therefore1 by obtaining that which he craved has he found rest2 for the rest of a weaned child is not that of gratification1 but of resignation4 ,it is the repose1 not of satisfied desire1 but of abnegation and submission4 ,after a period of prolonged and painful struggle to have its longings answered1 the little one gives over striving any more1 and is at peace4 ,that process was a picture to our poet of what passed in his own heart4 ,like a weaned child1 its tears over1 its cries hushed1 reposing on the very bosom that a little ago excited its most tumultuous desires1 his soul1 that once passionately strove to wring from ,god an answer to its eager questionings1 now wearied1 resigned1 and submissive1 just lays itself to rest in simple faith on that goodness of ,god whose purposes it cannot comprehend1 and whose ways often seem to it harsh1 and ravelled1 and obscure4 ,it is a picture of infinite repose and of touching beauty--the little one nestling close in the mother's arms1 its head reclining trustfully on her shoulder1 the tears dried from its now quiet face1 and the restful eyes1 with just a lingering shadow of bygone sorrow in them still1 peering out with a look of utter peace1 contentment1 and security4 ,it is the peace of accepted pain1 the victory of self-surrender4 ,the transition from doubt to belief1 from strife to serenity1 is remarkable4 ,we want to know what produced this startling change of mood1 what influences fostered it1 what motives urged it1 what reasons justified it4 ,perhaps a glimpse1 a suggestion of the process is hinted in the simile chosen from child life4 ,the infant takes its rest on the breast of its mother--of its mother1 whose refusal of its longings caused it all the pain and conflict1 whose denial of its instinctive desires seemed so unnatural and so cruel4 ,how is it1 then1 that instead of being alienated1 the child turns to her for solace in the sorrow she caused1 and reposes on the very breast that so resolutely declined to supply its wants8 ,it is because over against this single act of seeming unkindness stand unnumbered deeds of goodness and acts of fondness1 and so this one cause of doubt and of aversion is swallowed up in a whole atmosphere of unceasing tenderness and love4 ,besides1 rating the apparent unmotherliness at the very highest1 still there is no other to whom the child can turn that will better help it and care for it than its mother4 ,so1 since it cannot get all it would like1 the little one is content to take what it may have--the warmth1 and shelter1 and security of its mother's breast4 ,this process of conflict between doubt and trust1 rebellion and resignation1 which half-unconsciously takes place in the child1 is a miniature of the strife that had surged to and fro in the poet's soul4 ,pained and perplexed by the mystery of ,god's ways1 foiled in his efforts to fathom them1 denied all explanation by the ,almighty1 he was beset by the temptation to abandon faith and cast off his allegiance to his heavenly ,friend4 ,but he saw that that would not solve any enigma or lighten the darkness4 ,rather it would confront him with still greater difficulties1 and leave the world only more empty1 dark1 and dreary4 ,then1 benumbed and tired out1 he gave over thinking and arguing1 and was content for a little just to live in the circle of light and sunshine that ever is within the great darkness4 ,gradually it dawned upon him that in the world of men's experience there was much1 very much1 of goodness that could only be the doing of the ,god that moves in the mystery and in the darkness4 ,the warmth of the thought crept into his heart1 softer feelings woke1 love and lowliness asserted themselves1 and at length he became content to just trust ,god1 spite of all perplexities1 partly because there was so much undeniable proof of ,his tenderness1 and partly because there was more of rest and comfort in this course than in any other4 ,v4 ,read ,gen4 xxxii41 and ,rev4 vii4 ,,the ,,recompense ,,of ,,faith4 ,let ,israel hope in the ,lord from henceforth and for ever4 ,who has not wondered why there is so much mystery in the universe1 such perplexity in our life1 and in revelation itself why so many doubts are permitted to assail our souls and make it hard for us to be ,christians8 ,is this wisely or kindly ordered8 ,perchance it is necessary1 but is it not evil8 ,can warfare ever be aught but loss and not gain8 ,the question is natural1 but the answer is not uncertain4 ,the fight of faith is a good fight4 ,success means no bare victory1 but one crowned with splendid spoil4 ,we shall be the better for having had to fight4 ,the gain of the conflict shall out-weigh all the loss1 and in the final triumph the victors shall manifestly appear more than conquerors4 ,this is no paradox1 but the common law of life4 ,the same principle rules in the homely image of the child4 ,weaning is not needless pain1 is not wasted suffering4 ,it is a blessing in disguise4 ,the distressing process is in truth promotion4 ,it is the vestibule of pain that leads to a maturer and larger life4 ,in like fashion the struggles of doubt are inevitable1 if faith is not to remain feeble and infantile4 ,only in the furnace of affliction does it acquire its finest qualities4 ,were there no clouds and darkness around ,god's throne1 how should men learn humility and practise reverence8 ,human nature is too coarse a thing to be entrusted with perfect knowledge4 ,a religion of knowledge only were a hard and soulless thing1 devoid of grace1 and life1 and love2 for sight and reason leave nothing for the imagination1 and rob affection of its sweet prerogative to dream and to adore4 ,without the discipline of toil and the developing strain of antagonism1 how should faith grow strong1 and broad1 and deep8 ,most of us start in the life religious with an inherited1 fostered1 unreasoning belief1 which therefore is weak1 puny1 and unstable4 ,it is the storms of doubt and difficulty that rouse it to self-consciousness1 stir it to activity1 urge it by exertion to growth and expansion1 and compel it to strike deep roots in the soil of reality4 ,for in such conflict the soul is driven in upon ,god4 ,it is forced to make actual proof of its possessions1 to realise and employ properties that hitherto were known to it only through the title-deeds or as mere assets available in case of necessity4 ,with wonder faith discovers the rare value of its inheritance1 and enters for the first time into actual enjoyment of its spiritual treasures4 ,it is no longer faith about ,god1 but is now faith in ,god4 ,in its agony and helplessness the soul is compelled to press close up to ,god1 to take tighter hold of ,his hand1 to fling itself on ,him for help and comfort1 just as a sick child clings to its mother4 ,and ever after such a struggle there are a fresh beauty and sacredness in its relation to ,god4 ,there is that pathetic tenderness of affection friends have who by some misunderstanding were well-nigh sundered1 but having overcome it1 are nearer and dearer to each other than ever before4 ,there are a quiet community of knowledge1 and a restful confidentiality of affection1 that were not there before1 that come of having had to fight that you might not be severed from each other4 ,the recoil of joy from the dread of loss1 and the memory of the agony that thought was to you1 make ,god dearer to you now than ever4 ,out of the very strife and doubt there is born a new assurance of your love1 in the consciousness you have acquired of the pain it would be to you to be deprived of your ,divine ,friend4 ,the experience is of general application4 ,it is the secret of serenity amid the world's mystery and life's pain and perplexity4 ,therefore1 when at any time the clouds gather around you1 and their blackness seems to darken on the very face of ,god1 do not turn away in terror or anger1 but cling the faster to ,him1 even if it be by the extreme hem of ,his garment4 ,what wonder if your feeble eye fails to read clear and true each majestic feature of that ,divine face which is so infinitely high above you8 ,what matter if sometimes its radiance is obscured by the chill fogs and creeping vapours of earth's mingled atmosphere8 ,the darkness is not on ,god's face1 but beneath it4 ,one day you shall rise higher1 and you shall see ,him as ,he is4 ,meantime1 in your gloomiest hour1 when overwhelming doubts1 like hissing waves1 wind and coil around your heart1 and seek to pluck it from its hold1 then do but let all other things go1 and with your last energy cling to this central1 sovereign certainty1 that whatever else is true1 this at least is sure1 that ,god is good1 and that ,he whose doings you cannot comprehend is your ,father4 ,and so1 weary of dashing yourself vainly against the bulwarks of darkness that girdle ,his throne1 be content to lay yourself down humbly as a tired child on the breast of your heavenly ,father4 ,thus1 with your questionings unanswered1 with the darkness not rolled away1 with a thousand problems all unsolved1 be quieted1 be hushed1 be at peace4 ,lay down your head1 your weary1 aching head1 on the great heart of ,god1 and be at rest4 ,doing this1 you shall reach not merely passive resignation1 but joy1 and peace1 and trust4 ,for of humble submission hope is born4 ,let ,israel hope in the ,lord from henceforth and for ever4 ,perchance all you can do now is just1 in weariness1 more out of helpless despair than active expectancy1 to fall back on a faint1 broken-hearted trust in ,god's goodness4 ,it is an act of faith1 poor enough1 in truth1 but it holds in it the promise and potency of a better confidence4 ,for it is into the arms of ,god that it carries you4 ,resting there in the lap of ,his infinite love1 you shall feel the warmth of ,his great heart penetrating softly into yours4 ,the weary1 throbbing pain will slowly pass away4 ,deep rest and quiet peace will steal into your spirit4 ,and at length1 out of a helpless1 compelled1 and well-nigh hopeless surrender1 there shall be born within you fearless trust and winged reliance1 and you shall hope in the ,lord from henceforth and for ever4 ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,first ,,chapter ,,of ,,genesis4 ,there is in many people's minds a painful uneasiness about the relation of the ,bible to modern science and philosophy4 ,the appearance of each new theory is deprecated by believers with pious timidity1 and hailed by sceptics with unholy hope4 ,on neither side is this a dignified or a wholesome attitude4 ,its irksome and intrusive pressure promotes neither a robust piety nor a sober-minded science4 ,it is worth while inquiring whether there is any sufficient foundation for either alarm or expectancy in the actual relations of the ,bible to scientific thought4 ,we shall work out our answer to the question on the historical battle-field of the #ast chapter of ,genesis4 ,results reached there will be found to possess a more or less general validity4 ,there are two records of creation--one is contained in the ,bible1 which claims to be ,god's ,word2 the other is stamped in the structure of the world1 which is ,god's work4 ,both being from the same ,author1 we should expect them to agree in their general tenour2 but in fact1 so far from being in harmony1 they have an appearance of mutual contradiction that demands explanation4 ,in studying the problem certain considerations must be borne in mind4 ,there is a loose way of talking about antagonism between the natural and the revealed accounts of creation4 ,that is not quite accurate4 ,conflict between these there cannot be1 for they never actually come into contact4 ,it is not they1 but our theories1 that meet and collide4 ,the discord is not in the original sources1 but in our renderings of them4 ,that is a very different matter1 and of quite incommensurate importance4 ,the ,bible story is very old4 ,it is written in an ancient and practically dead language4 ,the meaning of many of the words cannot be fixed with precision4 ,the significance of several fundamental phrases is at best little more than conjecture4 ,since it was penned men's minds have grown and changed4 ,the very moulds of human thought have altered4 ,current impressions1 conceptions1 ideas are different4 ,it is hard to determine1 with even probability1 what is said1 still harder to realise what was thought4 ,certainty is impossible4 ,no rendering should be counted infallible1 not even our own4 ,every interpretation ought to be advanced with modest diffidence1 held tentatively1 revised with alacrity1 and adjusted to new facts without timidity and without shame4 ,this has not been the characteristic attitude of commentators4 ,the exegesis of the #ast chapter of ,genesis presents a long array of theories1 propounded with authority1 defended dogmatically1 and ignominiously discredited and deserted4 ,had a more lowly spirit presided over their inception1 maintenance1 and abandonment1 the list would perhaps not have been shorter1 but the retrospect would have been less humiliating4 ,as it is1 we can hardly complain of the sting of satire that lurks in ,kepler's recital of ,theology's successive retreats3 ,in theology we balance authorities2 in philosophy we weigh reasons4 ,a holy man was ,lactantius1 who denied that the earth was round4 ,a holy man was ,augustine1 who granted the rotundity1 but denied the antipodes4 ,a holy thing to me is the ,inquisition1 which allows the smallness of the earth1 but denies its motion4 ,but more holy to me is truth4 ,and hence ,i prove by philosophy that the earth is round1 inhabited on every side1 of small size1 and in motion among the stars4 ,and this ,i do with no disrespect to the doctors4 ,the physical record is also very old4 ,its story is carved in a script that is often hardly legible1 and set forth in symbols that are not easy to decipher4 ,the testimony of the rocks embodies results of creation1 but does not present the actual operations4 ,effects suggest processes1 but do not disclose their precise measure1 manner1 and origination4 ,you may dissect a great painting into its ultimate lines and elements1 and from the canvas peel off the successive layers of colour1 and duly record their number and order2 but when you have done you have not even touched the essential secret of its creation4 ,in determining the first origin of things the limitation of science is absolute1 and even in tracing the subsequent development there is room for error1 ignorance1 and diversity of explanation4 ,of certainties in scientific theory there are few4 ,for the most part1 all that can be attained is probability1 especially in speculative matters1 such as estimates of time1 explanations of formation1 and theories of causation4 ,as in exegesis1 so in geology1 all hypotheses ought to be counted merely tentative1 maintained with modesty1 and held open at every point to revision and reconstruction4 ,the necessity of caution and reserve needs no enforcing for any one who knows the variety and inconsistency of the phases through which speculative geology has passed in our own generation4 ,in this destiny of transitoriness it does but share the lot of all scientific theory4 ,professor ,huxley was once cruel enough to call attention to the fact that extinguished theologians lie about the cradle of every science1 as the strangled snakes beside that of ,hercules4 ,the statement is a graphic1 if somewhat ferocious1 reminder of a melancholy fact1 and the fate of these trespassing divines should warn their successors--as the ,professor means it should--not to stray out of their proper pastures4 ,but has it fared very differently with the mighty men of science who have essayed to solve the high problems of existence and to make all mysteries plain8 ,take up a history of philosophy1 turn over its pages1 study its dreary epitomes of defunct theories1 and as you survey the long array of skeletons tell me1 are you not reminded of the prophet who found himself set down in the midst of the valley which was full of dry bones3 and1 behold1 there were very many in the open valley2 and1 lo1 they were very dry8 ,if it is human to err1 theology and geology have alike made full proof of their humanity4 ,that in itself is not their fault1 but their misfortune4 ,the pity of it is that to the actual fact of fallibility they have so often added the folly of pretended infallibility4 ,the resultant duty is an attitude of mutual modesty1 of reserve in suspecting contradiction1 of patience in demanding an adjustment1 of perseverance in separate and honest research1 of serenity of mind in view of difficulties1 coupled with a quiet expectation of final fitting4 ,the two accounts are alike trustworthy4 ,they are not necessarily identical in detail4 ,it is enough that they should correspond in their essential purport4 ,it may be that the one is the complement of the other1 as soul is to body--unlike1 yet vitally allied4 ,perchance their harmony is not that of duplicates1 but of counterparts4 ,they were made not to overlap like concentric circles1 but to interlock like toothed wheels4 ,in the end1 when partial knowledge has given way to perfect1 they will be seen to correspond1 and nothing will be broken but the premature structures of adjustment with which men have thought to make them run smoother than they were meant to do4 ,to attempt anew a task that has proved so disastrous1 and is manifestly so difficult1 must be admitted to be bold1 if not even foolhardy4 ,but its very desperateness is its justification4 ,to fall in a forlorn hope is not ignoble4 ,to miss one's way in threading the labyrinth of the #ast chapter of ,genesis is pardonable1 a thing almost to be expected4 ,if in seeking to escape ,scylla the traveller should fall into ,charybdis1 no one will be surprised--not even himself4 ,it is in the most undogmatic spirit that we wish to put forward our reading of the chapter4 ,it is presented simply as a possible rendering4 ,what can be said for it will be said as forcibly as may be4 ,it is open to objection from opposite sides4 ,that may be not altogether against it1 since truth is rarely extreme4 ,difficulties undoubtedly attach to it1 and defects as well4 ,at best it can but contribute to the ultimate solution4 ,perchance its share in the task may be no more than to show by trial that another way of explanation is impossible4 ,well1 that too is a service4 ,every fresh by-way proved impracticable1 and closed to passage1 brings us a step nearer the pathway of achievement4 ,for the loyal lover of truth it is enough even so to have been made tributary to the truth4 ,the business of a theologian is1 in the first instance at least1 with the ,scriptural narrative4 ,to estimate its worth1 and determine its relation to science1 we must ascertain its design4 ,criticism of a church-organ1 under the impression that it was meant to do the work of a steam-engine1 would certainly fail to do justice to the instrument1 and the disquisition would not have much value in itself4 ,before we exact geology of ,genesis we must inquire whether there is any in it4 ,if there be none1 and if there was never meant to be any1 the demand is as absurd as it would be to require thorns of a vine and thistles of the fig-tree4 ,should it turn out1 for instance1 that the order of the narrative is intentionally not chronological1 then every attempt to reconcile it with the geological order is of necessity a ,procrustean cruelty1 and the venerable form of ,genesis is fitted to the geological couch at the cost of its head or its feet4 ,either the natural sense of the chapter is sacrificed or the pruned narrative goes on crutches4 ,if we would deal fairly and rationally with the ,bible account of creation1 our first duty is to determine with exactness what it purposes to tell1 and what it does not profess to relate4 ,we must settle with precision1 at the outset of our investigation1 what is its subject1 method1 and intention4 ,the answer is to be found1 not in priori theories of what the contents ought to be1 but in an accurate and honest analysis of the chapter4 ,the narrative of creation is marked by an exquisite symmetry of thought and style4 ,it is partly produced by the regular use of certain rubrical phrases1 which recur with the rhythmical effect of a refrain4 ,there is the terminal of the days--and there was evening1 and there was morning1 day one1 etc42 the embodiment of the ,divine creative will in the eightfold ,god said2 the expression of instant fulfilment in the swift responsive and it was so2 and the declaration of perfection in the ,god saw that it was good4 ,but the symmetry of the chapter lies deeper than the wording4 ,it pervades the entire construction of the narrative4 ,as the story proceeds there is expansion1 variety1 progression4 ,yet each successive paragraph is built up on one and the same type and model4 ,this uniformity is rooted in the essential structure of the thought1 and is due to the determination with which one grand truth is carried like a key-note through all the sequences of the theme1 and rings out clear and dominant in every step and stage of the development4 ,our first duty is to follow1 and find out with certainty1 this ruling purpose1 and then to interpret the subordinate elements by its light and guidance4 ,the narrative distributes the operation of creation over six days1 and divides it into eight distinct acts or deeds4 ,this double divergent arrangement of the material is made to harmonise by the assignment of a couple of acts to the third day1 and another couple to the sixth--in each case with a fine and designed effect4 ,we shall take a bird's-eye view of the contents of these divisions4 ,the chapter opens with a picture of primeval chaos1 out of which ,god commands the universe of beauty1 life1 and order4 ,nothing is said of its origin4 ,the story starts with it existent4 ,it is painted as an abyss1 dreary and boundless1 wrapped in impenetrable darkness1 an inextricable confusion of fluid matter1 destitute of character1 structure1 or value1 without form and void4 ,it is the raw material of the universe1 passive and powerless in itself1 but holding in it the promise and potency of all existence4 ,for over it nestles1 like a brood fowl1 the informing1 warming1 life-giving ,spirit of ,god1 sending through its coldness and emptiness the heat and parental yearnings of the ,divine heart1 that craves for creatures on which to pour out its love and goodness4 ,this action of the ,spirit is1 however1 no more than preparative1 and waits its completion in the accession of a personal fiat of ,god's will1 in which the ,divine ,word gives effect and reality to the ,divine ,wish4 ,this is a feature of supreme importance1 for in it consists the uniqueness of the ,bible narrative4 ,in the ,pagan accounts of creation we find the same general imagery of dull1 dead matter1 stirred and warmed into life and development by the action of an immaterial effluence of thought1 love1 or longing4 ,but in them the operation is cosmic1 impersonal1 often hardly conscious2 in the ,bible it is ethical and intensely personal4 ,in them the language is metaphysical1 materialistic1 or pantheistic2 here it is moral1 human1 personal1 to the point of anthropomorphism4 ,they show us creative forces and processes2 the ,bible presents to us1 in all ,his infinite1 manifold1 and glorious personality1 the thinking1 living1 loving ,god the ,father ,almighty1 ,maker of heaven and earth4 ,the result of the first day and the first ,divine decree is the production of light4 ,the old difficulty about the existence of light before the sun was made1 as it was invented by science1 has been by science dispelled4 ,the theory of light as a mode of motion1 which for the present holds the field1 knows no obstacle to the presence of light in the absence of the sun4 ,but this harmony is not due to any prescience of modern science in the writer of ,genesis4 ,his idea of light is not undulatory1 and not scientific1 but just the simple popular notion found everywhere in the ,bible4 ,light is a fine substance1 distinct from all others1 and it appears first in the list of creation1 as being the first and noblest of the elements that go to make up our habitable world4 ,the emergence of the light is presented as instantaneously following the ,divine decree4 ,that is manifestly the literary effect designed in the curtness of the sequence1 ,let there be light1 and there was light4 ,the light is pronounced good1 is permanently established in possession of its special properties and powers1 and is set in its service of the world and man by having assigned to it its place in the alternate mercy of day and night4 ,there is a very fine touch in the position of the declaration of goodness4 ,it stands here earlier than in the succeeding sections4 ,darkness is in the ,bible the standing emblem of evil4 ,it would have been discordant with that imagery to make ,god pronounce it good1 though as the foil of light it serves beneficent ends4 ,the jarring note is tacitly and simply avoided by introducing the assertion of the goodness of light before the mention of its background and negation1 darkness4 ,the picture of the first day of creation is subscribed with the formula of completeness--,there was evening1 and there was morning1 one day1 or day first--and has for its net result the production of the element or sphere of light4 ,the second day and the second ,divine decree are devoted to the formation of the firmament4 ,all through the ,old ,testament the sky is pictured as a solid dome or vaulted roof1 above which roll the primeval waters of chaos4 ,the notion is of course popular1 a figment of the primitive imagination1 and quite at variance with the modern conception of space filled by an interastral ether2 though it is well to remember that this same ether is no more ascertained fact than was the old-world firmament1 and is in its turn simply an invention of the scientific imagination4 ,it is of more moment to note that the real motive and outcome of the day's work is not the firmament4 ,that is not an end1 but a means1 precisely as a sea-wall is not an object in itself1 but merely the instrument of the reclamation of valuable land4 ,what the erection of the firmament does towards the making of our world is the production of the intervening arial space and the lower expanse of terrestrial waters4 ,since this last portion of the work is not complete prior to the separation of the dry land1 the declaration of goodness or perfection is1 with exquisite fineness of suggestion1 tacitly omitted4 ,the net result of the day is1 therefore1 the formation of the realms of air and water as elements or spheres of existence4 ,the third day includes two works--the production of the solid ground1 and of vegetation4 ,the dead1 inert soil1 and its manifold outgrowth of plant life1 are strikingly distinct1 and yet most intimately related4 ,together they make up the habitable earth4 ,they are therefore presented as separate works1 but conjoined in the framework of one day4 ,two sections of the vegetable kingdom are singled out for special mention--the cereals and the fruit-trees4 ,it is not a complete or a botanical classification1 and manifestly science is not contemplated4 ,those divisions of the plant-world that sustain animal and human life1 and minister to its enjoyment1 are drawn out into pictorial relief and prominence4 ,the intention is practical1 popular1 and religious4 ,the net result of the day is the production of the habitable dry land4 ,the fourth day and the fifth decree call into being the celestial bodies--the sun1 moon1 and stars4 ,they are called luminaries2 that is to say1 not masses or accumulations of light1 but managers and distributers of light1 and the value of this function of theirs1 for the religious and secular calendar1 for agriculture1 navigation1 and the daily life of men1 is formally and elaborately detailed4 ,were this account of the heavenly bodies intended as a scientific or exhaustive statement of their ,divine destination and place in the universe1 it would be miserably inadequate and erroneous4 ,but if the whole aim of the narrative be not science1 but religion1 then it is absolutely appropriate1 exact1 and powerful4 ,in the teeth of an all but universal worship of sun1 moon1 and stars1 it declares them the manufacture of ,god1 and the ministers and servants of man4 ,for this practical religious purpose the geocentric description of them is not an accident1 but essential4 ,it is not a blunder1 but a merit4 ,it is true piety1 not cosmical astronomy1 that is being established4 ,in the words of ,calvin1 ,moses1 speaking to us by the ,holy ,spirit1 did not treat of the heavenly luminaries as an astronomer1 but as it became a theologian1 having regard to us rather than to the stars4 ,the net result of the fourth day is the production of the heavenly orbs of light4 ,the fifth day and the sixth work issue in the production of birds and fishes1 or1 more accurately1 all creatures that fly or swim4 ,it is evidently a classification by the eye--the ordinary popular division--and it makes no attempt at scientific pretension or profundity4 ,as having conscious life1 these new creatures of ,god's love are blessed by ,him1 and have their place and purpose in the order of being defined and established4 ,the net result of the day is the formation of fowls and fishes4 ,the sixth day1 like the third1 includes two works--the land animals and man4 ,the representation admirably expresses their intimate relationship1 and yet essential distinction4 ,the animals are graphically divided into the domestic quadrupeds1 the small creatures that creep and crawl1 and the wild beasts of the field4 ,the classification is as little scientific in intention or substance as is the general arrangement into birds1 fishes1 and beasts1 which of course traverses radically alike the historical order of palontology and the physiological grouping of zoology4 ,the narrative simply adopts the natural grouping of observation and popular speech1 because that suffices1 and best suits its purpose4 ,with a wonderful simplicity1 yet with consummate effect1 man is portrayed as the climax and crown of creation4 ,made in the image and likeness of ,god1 he is clothed with sovereign might and dominion over all the elements and contents of ,nature4 ,the personal1 conscious counterpart and child of ,god1 he stands at the other end of the chain of creation1 and with answering intelligence and love looks back adoringly to his great ,father in the heavens4 ,mention is made of lesser matters1 such as sex and food2 but manifestly the supreme interest of the delineation is ethical and religious4 ,science is no more contemplated as an ingredient in the conception than prose is in poetry4 ,with the making of man the circle of creation is complete1 and the finished perfection of the whole1 as well as the parts1 is expressed in the superlative declaration that ,god saw everything that ,he had made1 and1 behold1 it was very good4 ,the net result of the sixth day is the formation of the land animals and man4 ,the six days of creative activity are followed by a seventh of ,divine repose4 ,on the seventh day ,god rested2 or1 as it is more fully worded in ,exodus 7xxxi4 #ag71 ,god rested and was refreshed4 ,it is a daring anthropomorphism1 and at the same time a master-stroke of inspired genius4 ,what a philosophical dissertation hardly could accomplish it achieves by one simple image4 ,for our thought of ,god the idea performs the same service as the institution of the ,sabbath does for our souls and bodies4 ,the weekly day of rest is the salvation of our personality from enslavement in material toil4 ,during six days the toiler is tied1 bent and bowed1 to his post in the vast machinery of the world's work4 ,on the seventh all is stopped1 and he is free to lift himself erect to the full stature of his manhood1 to expand the loftier elements of his being1 to reassert his freedom1 and realise his superiority over what is mechanical1 secular1 and earthly4 ,what in the progressive portraiture of creation is the effect of this sudden declaration that the ,creator rested8 ,why1 an intensely powerful reminder of the free1 conscious1 and personal nature of ,his action4 ,and this impression of such unique value is secured precisely by the anthropomorphism1 as no philosophical disquisition could have done it4 ,the blot and blemish of all metaphysical delineation is that personalities get obliterated and swallowed up in general principles and impersonal abstractions4 ,in all other cosmogonies of any intellectual pretension the process of creation is presented as passive1 or ,necessitarian1 or ,pantheistic1 and invariably the free personality of the ,creator becomes entangled in ,his work1 or entirely vanishes4 ,by this stroke of inspired imagination the ,bible story rescues from all such risks and degradations our thought of the ,creator1 and at its close leaves us face to face with our ,divine ,maker as free1 personal1 living1 loving1 and conscious as we are ourselves4 ,we have now got what is1 ,i trust1 a fairly accurate and complete summary of the contents of the narrative4 ,it is not necessary for our purpose to discuss its relations to the ,pagan cosmogonies4 ,from the sameness everywhere of the human eye1 mind1 and fancy1 certain conceptions are common property4 ,there is probably a special kinship between the ,biblical and the ,babylonian and ,phnician accounts4 ,but with all respect for enthusiastic decipherers1 we make bold to believe1 with more sober-minded critics1 that the #ast chapter of ,genesis owes very little to ,babylonian mythology1 and very much indeed to ,hebrew thought and the revealing ,spirit of ,god4 ,the chapter strikingly lacks the characteristic marks of myth1 and is on the face of it a masterpiece of exquisite artistic workmanship and profound religious inspiration4 ,proof of this has appeared in plenty during our brief study of its structure and contents4 ,let us proceed to use the results of our analysis to determine some more general characteristics of its structure and design4 ,the process of creation is portrayed in six great steps or stages4 ,is this order put forward as corresponding with the physical course of events8 and1 further1 does it tally with the order stamped in the record of the rocks8 ,replying to the second question first1 it must be admitted that1 prim facie1 the ,bible sequence does not appear to be in unison with the geological4 ,of attempted reconciliations there is an almost endless variety1 but1 unfortunately1 among the harmonies themselves there is no harmony4 ,at the present moment there is none that has gained general acceptance3 a few possess each the allegiance of a handful of partisans2 the greater number command the confidence only of their respective authors1 and some not even that4 ,it is needless to discuss these reconciliations1 because if geology is trustworthy in its main results1 and if our interpretation of the meaning of ,genesis is at all correct1 correspondence in order and detail is impossible4 ,if the order of ,genesis was meant as science1 then geology and ,genesis are at issue2 but1 on the other hand1 if the sequence in ,genesis was never meant to be physical the wrong lies with ourselves1 who have searched for geology where we should have looked for religion1 and have1 with the best intentions1 persisted in trying to turn the ,bible bread of life into the arid stone of science4 ,now1 we venture to suggest that in drafting this chapter the ruling formative thought was not chronology4 ,it must be remembered that the narrative was under no obligation to follow the order of actual occurrence1 unless that best suited its purpose4 ,zoology does not group the animals in the order of their emergence into existence1 but classifies and discusses them in a very different sequence1 adopted to exhibit their structural and functional affinities4 ,if the design of ,genesis was not to inform us about historical geology1 but to reveal and enforce religious truth1 it might well be that a literary or a logical1 and not a chronological1 arrangement might best serve its end4 ,as a matter of fact1 the order chosen is not primarily historical4 ,another quite different and very beautiful idea has fashioned1 and is enshrined in1 the arrangement4 ,looking at our analysis of their contents1 we perceive that the six days fall into two parallel sets of three1 whose members finely correspond4 ,the first set presents us with three vast empty tenements or habitations1 and the second set furnishes these with occupants4 ,the first day gives us the sphere of light2 the fourth day tenants it with sun1 moon1 and stars4 ,the second day presents the realm of air and water2 the fifth day supplies the inhabitants--birds and fishes4 ,the third day produces the habitable dry land2 and the sixth day stocks it with the animals and man4 ,the idea of this arrangement is1 on the face of it1 literary and logical4 ,it is chosen for its comprehensive1 all-inclusive completeness4 ,to declare of every part and atom of ,nature that it is the making of ,god1 the author passes in procession the great elements or spheres which the human mind everywhere conceives as making up our world1 and pronounces them one by one ,god's creation4 ,then he makes an inventory of their entire furniture and contents1 and asserts that all these likewise are the work of ,god4 ,for his purpose--which is to declare the universal ,creatorship of ,god and the uniform creaturehood of all ,nature--the order and classification are unsurpassed and unsurpassable4 ,with a masterly survey1 that marks everything and omits nothing1 he sweeps the whole category of created existence1 collects the scattered leaves into six congruous groups1 encloses each in a compact and uniform binding1 and then on the back of the numbered and ordered volumes stamps the great title and declaration that they are one and all1 in every jot1 and tittle1 and shred1 and fragment1 the works of their ,almighty ,author1 and of none beside4 ,with the figment of a supposed physical order vanishes also the difficulty of the days4 ,their use is not literal1 but ideal and pictorial4 ,that the author was not thinking of actual days of twenty-four hours1 with a matter-of-fact dawning of morning and darkening of evening1 is evident from the fact that he does not bring the sun 7the lord of the day7 into action till three have already elapsed1 and later on he exhibits the sun as itself the product of one of them4 ,neither is it possible that the days stand for geological epochs1 for by no wrenching and racking can they be made to correspond4 ,moreover1 it is quite certain that the author would have revolted against the expansion of his timeless acts of creative omnipotence into long ages of slow evolution1 since the key-note of the literary significance and sublimity of his delineation is its exhibition of the created result following in instantaneous sequence on the creative fiat4 ,the actual meaning underlying the use of the days is suggested in the rubrical character of the refrain1 as it appears rounding off and ending each fresh stage of the narration--,and there was evening1 and there was morning--day one1 day two1 day three1 and so on4 ,the great sections of ,nature are to be made pass in a panorama of pictures1 and to be presented1 each for itself1 as the distinct act of ,god4 ,it is desirable to enclose each of these pictures in a frame1 clear-cut and complete4 ,the natural unit and division of human toil is a day4 ,in the words of the poet-- ,each morning sees some task begin2 ,each evening sees it close4 ,in ,old ,testament parlance1 any great achievement or outstanding event is spoken of as a day4 ,a decisive battle is known as the day of ,midian4 ,god's intervention in human history is the day of the ,lord4 ,when the author of ,genesis i4 would present the several elements of ,nature as one and all the outcome of ,god's creative energy1 the successive links of the chain are depicted as days4 ,where we should say ,end of ,part ,i41 he says1 ,and there was evening1 and there was morning--day one4 ,moreover1 it is needless to point out how finely1 from this presentation of the timeless fiats of creation in a framework of days1 emerges the majestic truth that not in the dead order of nature1 nor in the mere movement of the stars1 but in the nature and will of ,god1 ,who made man in ,his image1 must be sought the ultimate origin1 sanction1 and archetype of that salutary law which divides man's life on earth into fixed periods of toil1 rounded and crowned by a ,sabbath of repose4 ,if this understanding of the structural arrangement of the chapter be correct1 we have reached an important and significant conclusion regarding the author's method and design4 ,he does not suppose himself to be giving the matter-of-fact sequence of creation's stages4 ,his interest does not lie in that direction4 ,his sole concern is to declare that ,nature1 in bulk and in detail1 is the manufacture of ,god4 ,his plan does not include1 but ipso facto excludes1 conformity with the material order and process4 ,he writes as a theologian1 and not as a scientist or historian4 ,starting from this fixed point1 let us note the outstanding features and engrossing interests of his delineation4 ,we shall find them in the phrases that1 like a refrain1 run through the narrative and form its key-notes1 and finally in the resultant impression left by its general tenour and purport4 ,the recurrent key-notes of the narrative are three--,god's naming ,his works1 ,his declaration of their goodness1 and the swift formula of achievement--and it was so4 ,the naming is not a childish triviality1 nor a mere graphic touch or poetical ornament4 ,it does not mean that ,god attached to ,his works the vocables by which in ,hebrew they are known4 ,its significance appears in the definition of function into which in the later episodes it is expanded4 ,name in ,hebrew speech is equivalent to ,nature4 ,when the story pictures ,god as naming ,his works1 it vividly brings into relief the fixed law and order that pervade the universe4 ,and by the picturesque--if you will1 anthropomorphic--fashion of the statement1 it attains an effect beyond science or metaphysics1 inasmuch as it irresistibly portrays this order of ,nature as originating in the personal act of ,god1 and directly inspired by and informed with ,his own effluent love of what is good1 and true1 and orderly4 ,thus the great truth of the fixity of ,nature is presented1 not as a fact of science or a quality of matter1 but as rooted in and reflecting a majestic attribute of the character of ,god4 ,the interest is not scientific1 but religious4 ,in like fashion1 the unfailing declaration of goodness1 though it might seem a small detail1 is replete with practical and religious significance4 ,the ,pagan doctrines of creation are all more or less contaminated by dualistic or ,manichean conceptions4 ,the good ,creator is baffled1 thwarted1 and impeded by a brutish or malignant tendency in matter1 which on the one hand mars the perfection of creation1 and on the other hand inserts in the physical order of things elements of hostility and malevolence to man4 ,it is a thought that at once degrades the ,creator1 and denudes ,nature1 as man's abode1 of its beauty1 comfort1 and kindliness4 ,how different is it in the ,bible picture of creation6 ,this ,god has outside ,himself no rival1 experiences no resistance nor contradiction1 knows no failure nor imperfection in ,his handiwork2 but what ,he wishes ,he wills1 and what ,he commands is done1 and the result answers absolutely to the intention of ,his wisdom1 love1 and power4 ,in its relation to its ,maker the work is free from any flaw4 ,in its relation to man it contains nothing malevolent or maleficent4 ,it is good4 ,and once again1 mark with what skill in the delineation the light is thrown1 not on the work1 but on the ,worker1 and the goodness of creation becomes but a mirror to drink in and flash forth the infinite wisdom1 might1 and goodness of its ,divine ,maker4 ,here also the interest is not metaphysical1 but practical and religious4 ,a third commanding aim of the narrative appears in the significant and striking use of the formula and it was so4 ,with absolute uniformity the ,divine fiat is immediately followed by the physical fulfilment4 ,there is no painting of the process1 no delineation of slow and gradual operations of material forces4 ,not once is there any mention of secondary causes1 nor the faintest suggestion of intermediate agencies4 ,the ,creator wills2 the thing is4 ,in this exclusion from the scene of all subordinate studies there is artistic design--profound design4 ,the picture becomes one1 not of scenery1 but of action4 ,it is not a landscape1 but a portrait4 ,the canvas contains but two solitary objects1 the ,creator and ,his work4 ,the effect is to throw out of sight methods1 materials1 processes1 and to throw into intense relief the act and the ,actor4 ,and the supreme and ultimate result on the beholder's mind is to produce a quite overpowering and majestic impression of the glorious personality of the ,creator4 ,here we have reached the sovereign theme of the narrative1 and have detected the false note that is struck at the outset of every attempt to interpret it as in any degree or fashion a physical record of creation4 ,in very deed and truth the concern of the chapter is not creation1 but the character1 being1 and glory of the ,almighty ,maker4 ,if we excerpt ,god's speeches and the rubrical formulas1 the chapter consists of one continuous chain of verbs1 instinct with life and motion1 linked on in swift succession1 and with hardly an exception1 the subject of every one of them is ,god4 ,it is one long adoring delineation of ,god loving1 yearning1 willing1 working in creation4 ,its interest is not in the work1 but the ,worker4 ,its subject is not creation1 but the ,creator4 ,what it gives is not a world1 but a ,god4 ,it is not geology2 it is theology4 ,why do we so assert1 accentuate1 and reiterate this to be the central theme of the chapter8 ,because through the scientific trend and bias of modern inquiry the essential design of the chapter has got warped1 cramped1 and twisted till its majestic features have been pushed almost clean out of view1 and all attention is concentrated on one trivial1 mean1 and unreal point in its physiognomy4 ,its claim to be accounted an integral part of a real revelation is made to hinge on its magical anticipation of1 and detailed correspondence with1 the changeful theories of modern geology4 ,the idea is1 in our humble but decided opinion1 dangerous1 baseless1 and indefensible4 ,the chapter may not forestall one single scientific discovery4 ,it may not tally with one axiom or dogma of geology4 ,nevertheless1 it remains a unique1 undeniable1 and glorious monument of revelation1 second only in worth and splendour to the record of ,god's incarnation of ,his whole heart and being in the person of ,jesus ,christ1 our ,lord and ,redeemer4 ,consider what this chapter has actually accomplished in the world1 and set that against all theories of what it ought to be doing4 ,for our knowledge of the true ,god and the realisation of mankind's higher life it has done a work beside which any question of correspondence or non-correspondence with science sinks into unmentionable insignificance4 ,place side by side with it the chiefest and best of the ,pagan cosmogonies1 and appreciate its sweetness1 purity1 and elevation over against their grotesqueness1 their shallowness1 and their degradation alike of the human and the ,divine4 ,realise the world whose darkness they re-echo1 the world into which emerged this radiant picture of ,god's glory and man's dignity1 and think what it has done for that poor world4 ,it found heaven filled with a horde of gods1 monstrous1 impure1 and horrible1 gigantic embodiments of brute force and lust1 or at best cold abstractions of cosmical principles1 whom men could fear1 but not love1 honour1 or revere4 ,it found man in a world dark and unhomelike1 bowing down in abject worship to beasts and birds1 and stocks and stones1 trembling with craven cowardice before the elements and forces of ,nature1 enslaved in a degrading bondage of physical superstition1 fetishism1 and polytheism4 ,with one sweep of inspired might the truth enshrined in this chapter has changed all that1 wherever it has come4 ,it has cleansed the heaven of those foul gods and monstrous worships1 and leaves men on bended knees in the presence of the one true ,god1 their ,father in heaven1 who made the world for their use1 and them for ,himself1 and whose tender mercies are over all ,his works4 ,from moral and mental slavery it has emancipated man1 for it has taken the physical objects of his fear and worship1 and dashing them down from their usurped pre-eminence1 has put them all under his feet1 to be his ministers and servants in working out on earth his eternal destiny4 ,these conceptions of ,god1 ,man1 and ,nature have been the regeneration of humanity2 the springs of progress in science1 invention1 and civilisation2 the charter of the dignity of human life1 and the foundation of liberty1 virtue1 and religion4 ,the man who1 in view of such a record1 can ask with anxious concern whether a revelation carrying in its bosom such a wealth of heavenly truth does not also have concealed in its shoe a bird's-eye view of geology must surely be a man blind to all literary likelihood1 destitute of any sense of congruity and the general fitness of things1 and cannot but seem to us as one that mocks4 ,the chapter's title to be reckoned a revelation rests on no such magical and recondite quality1 but is stamped four-square on the face of its essential character and contents4 ,whence could this absolutely unique conception of ,god1 in ,his relation to the world and man1 have been derived1 except from ,god ,himself8 ,whence into a world so dark1 and void1 and formless did it emerge fair and radiant8 ,there is no answer but one4 ,god said1 ,let there be light2 and there was light4 ,the specific revelation of the #ast chapter of ,genesis must be sought in its moral and spiritual contents4 ,but may there not be1 in addition1 worked into its material framework1 some anticipation of scientific truths that have since come to light8 ,what were the good of it1 when the ,divine message could be wholly and better expressed by the sole use of popular language1 intelligible in every age and by all classes8 ,is it dignified to depict the ,spirit of ,inspiration standing on tiptoe1 and straining to speak1 across the long millenniums and over the head of the world's childhood1 to the wise and learned scientists of the nineteenth century8 ,it is never the manner of ,scripture to anticipate natural research or to forestall human industry4 ,god means men to discover physical truth from the great book of ,nature4 ,what truth of science1 what mechanical invention1 what beneficent discovery in medicine1 agriculture1 navigation1 or any other art or industry1 has ever been gleaned from study of the ,bible8 ,not one4 ,these things lie outside the scope of revelation1 and ,god is the ,god of order4 ,moreover1 in ,scripture itself the framework of the chapter is not counted dogmatic nor uniformly adhered to4 ,in the #bnd chapter of ,genesis1 in ,job1 in the ,psalms1 and in ,proverbs there are manifold deviations and variations4 ,the material setting is handled with the freedom applicable to the pictorial dress of a parable1 wherein things transcendental are depicted in earthly symbols4 ,in truth1 this is essentially the character of the composition4 ,we have seen that the delineation1 classification1 and arrangement are not scientific and not philosophical1 but popular1 practical1 and religious4 ,it is everywhere manifest that the interest is not in the process of creation1 but in the fact of its origination in ,god4 ,while science lingers on the physical operation1 ,genesis designedly overleaps it1 for the same reason that the ,gospels do not deign to suggest the material substratum of ,christ's miracles4 ,creation is a composite process4 ,it begins in the spiritual world1 and terminates in the material4 ,it is in its first stage supernatural1 in its second natural4 ,it originates in ,god desiring1 decreeing1 issuing formative force2 it proceeds in matter moving1 cohering1 moulding1 and shaping4 ,revelation and science regard it from opposite ends4 ,the one looks at it from its beginning1 the other from its termination4 ,the ,bible shows us ,god creating2 geology shows us the world being created4 ,scripture deals solely with the first stage1 science solely with the second4 ,where ,scripture stops1 there science first begins4 ,contradiction1 conflict1 collision are impossible4 ,in the words of the ,duke of ,argyll1 ,the #ast chapter of ,genesis stands alone among the traditions of mankind in the wonderful simplicity and grandeur of its words4 ,specially remarkable--miraculous1 it really seems to me--is that character of reserve which leaves open to reason all that reason may be able to attain4 ,the meaning of these words seems always to be a meaning ahead of science1 not because it anticipates the results of science1 but because it is independent of them1 and runs1 as it were1 round the outer margin of all possible discovery4 ,may we not safely extend this finding to the entire ,bible1 and on these lines define its relation to modern thought8 ,its supernatural revelation is purely and absolutely ethical and spiritual4 ,in questions physical and metaphysical it has no concern and utters no voice4 ,with the achievements of science it never competes1 nor can it be contradicted by them4 ,it encourages its researches1 ennobles its aspirations1 crowns and completes its discoveries4 ,into the dead body of physical truth it puts the living soul of faith in the ,divine ,author4 ,like the blue heaven surrounding and spanning over the green earth1 revelation over-arches and encircles science4 ,within that infinite embrace1 beneath that spacious dome1 drawing from its azure depths light1 and life1 and fructifying warmth1 science1 unhampered and unhindered1 works out its majestic mission of blessing to men and glory to ,god4 ,collision there can be none till the earth strike the sky4 ,the message of the ,bible is a message from ,god's heart to ours4 ,it cannot be proved by reason1 nor can it be disproved4 ,it appeals1 not to sight1 but to faith1 and belongs to the realm of spirit1 and not to that of sense4 ,science may have much to alter in our notions of its earthly embodiment1 but its essential contents it cannot touch4 ,that is not theory1 but reality4 ,it is not philosophy1 but life2 not flesh1 but spirit4 ,it is the living1 breathing1 feeling love of ,god become articulate4 ,it needs no evidence of sense4 ,in the immutable instincts of the human heart it has its attestation1 and in a life of responsive love it finds an unfailing verification4 ,it rests on a basis no sane criticism can undermine nor solid science shake4 ,happy the man whose faith has found this fixed foundation1 and whose heart possesses this adamantine certainty3 he shall be likened unto a wise man1 which built his house upon a rock3 and the rain descended1 and the floods came1 and the winds blew1 and beat upon that house2 and it fell not3 for it was founded upon a rock4 ,printed by ,hazell1 ,watson1 ,viney1 ,ld41 ,london and ,aylesbury4 ,in #hvo1 with ,etched ,portrait by ,manesse4 ,price #abs4 ,,james ,,macdonell1 ,,journalist4 ,by ,w4 ,,robertson ,,nicoll1 ,m4,a41 ,,ll4,d4 ,daily ,telegraph4 ,sincere1 sympathetic1 loyal1 and artistic4444 ,this masterly monograph4 ,graphic4 ,james ,macdonell was one of the most accomplished and brilliant journalists of the day4444 ,we have a full record of ,macdonell's life1 and it forms one of the most interesting of recent books of biography4 ,academy4 ,an admirable portrait1 444 so carefully and so judiciously written that the example it sets is likely to be followed4 ,scotsman4 ,an admirably written life4 ,star4 ,the story is told by ,mr4 ,nicoll with admirable perfection and a real sense of the value of such a record4 ,church ,times4 ,the biographer has performed his task with eminent success4 ,pall ,mall ,gazette4 ,in many ways an attractive biography4 ,spectator4 ,interesting and valuable4 ,guardian4 ,we are likely to have1 for some time to come1 no more light thrown upon the mysteries of the 'leading journal' than there is given in this account of ,james ,macdonell4444 ,the life of him which ,mr4 ,nicoll has given to the world is full of interest1 and we lay it down with sincere regret for the brilliant career which was cut short midway4 ,,london3 ,,hodder ,,stoughton1 #bg1 ,,paternoster ,,row4