,transcribed from the #ahdi ,john ,w4 ,parker edition by ,david ,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org ,,twenty-,,five ,,village ,,sermons4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,by ,,charles ,,kingsley1 ,,jun41 ,,rector ,,of ,,eversley1 ,,hants1 ,,and ,,canon ,,of ,,middleham1 ,,yorkshire4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london3 ,,john ,w4 ,,parker1 ,,west ,,strand4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,mdcccxlix4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,london3 ,printed by ,g4 ,,barclay1 ,castle ,st ,leicester ,sq4 ,,contents4 ,page ,,sermon ,i4 ,,god',s ,,world4 ,,psalm civ4 #bd4 ,o ,lord1 how manifold are ,thy works6 in wisdom hast ,thou #a made them all3 the earth is full of ,thy riches ,,sermon ,,ii4 ,,religion ,,not ,,godliness4 ,,psalm civ4 #ac-ae4 ,he watereth the hills from his chambers3 the earth is #ac satisfied with the fruit of thy works4 ,he causeth the grass to grow for the cattle1 and herb for the service of man3 that he may bring forth food out of the earth2 and wine that maketh glad the heart of man1 and oil to make his face to shine1 and bread which strengtheneth man's heart ,,sermon ,,iii4 ,,life ,,and ,,death4 ,,psalm civ4 #bd1 #bh-cj4 ,o ,lord1 how manifold are ,thy works6 in wisdom hast ,thou #be made them all3 the earth is full of ,thy riches4 ,that ,thou givest them they gather3 ,thou openest ,thine hand1 they are filled with good4 ,thou hidest ,thy face1 they are troubled3 ,thou takest away their breath1 they die1 and return to their dust4 ,thou sendest forth ,thy spirit1 they are created3 and ,thou renewest the face of the earth ,,sermon ,,iv4 ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,god',s ,,spirit4 ,,james1 i4 #af1 #ag4 ,do not err1 my beloved brethren2 every good gift and every #ce perfect gift is from above1 and cometh down from the ,father of lights ,,sermon ,v4 ,,faith4 ,,habakkuk1 ii4 #d4 ,the just shall live by faith #dg ,,sermon ,,vi4 ,,the ,,spirit ,,and ,,the ,,flesh4 ,,galatians1 v4 #af4 ,i say then1 ,walk in the ,spirit1 and ye shall not fulfil the #fj lusts of the flesh4 ,for the flesh lusteth against the ,spirit1 and the ,spirit against the flesh1 and these are contrary the one to the other ,,sermon ,,vii4 ,,retribution4 ,,numbers1 xxxii4 #bc4 ,be sure your sin will find you out #gb ,,sermon ,,viii4 ,,self-,,destruction4 #a ,,kings1 xxii4 #bc4 ,the ,lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these #hb thy prophets ,,sermon ,,ix4 ,,hell ,,on ,,earth4 ,,matthew1 viii4 #bi4 ,and behold the evil spirits cried out1 saying1 ,what have we #ia to do with ,thee1 ,jesus1 ,thou ,son of ,god8 ,art ,thou come hither to torment us before the time8 ,,sermon ,x4 ,,noah',s ,,justice4 ,,genesis1 vi4 #i4 ,noah was a just man and perfect in his generations1 and #ajd ,noah walked with ,god ,,sermon ,,xi4 ,,the ,,noachic ,,covenant4 ,,gen4 ix4 #h1 #i4 ,and ,god spake unto ,noah1 and his sons with him1 saying1 ,and #aaf ,i1 behold1 ,i establish my covenant with you1 and with your seed after you ,,sermon ,,xii4 ,,abraham',s ,,faith4 ,,hebrews1 xi4 #i1 #aj4 ,by faith ,abraham sojourned in the land of promise as in a #abe strange country1 dwelling in tabernacles with ,isaac and ,jacob1 the heirs with him of the same promise4 ,for he looked for a city1 which hath foundations1 whose builder and maker is ,god ,,sermon ,,xiii4 ,,abraham',s ,,obedience4 ,,hebrews1 xi4 #ag-ai4 ,by faith ,abraham1 when he was tried1 offered up ,isaac2 and #ada he that had received the promises offered up his only-begotten son1 of whom it was said1 ,that in ,isaac shall thy seed be called3 accounting that ,god was able to raise him up1 even from the dead2 from whence also he received him in a figure ,,sermon ,,xiv4 ,,our ,,father ,,in ,,heaven4 #a ,,john1 ii4 #ac4 ,i write unto you1 little children1 because ye have known #adi the ,father ,,sermon ,,xv4 ,,the ,,transfiguration4 ,,mark1 ix4 #b4 ,jesus taketh ,peter1 and ,james1 and ,john1 and leadeth them #afj up into a high mountain apart1 and was transfigured before them ,,sermon ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,crucifixion4 ,,isaiah1 liii4 #g4 ,he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter #agc ,,sermon ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,resurrection4 ,,luke1 xxiv4 #f4 ,he is not here--,he is risen #agi ,,sermon ,,xviii4 ,,improvement4 ,,psalm xcii4 #ab4 ,the righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree3 he shall #aia grow like the cedar in ,lebanon4 ,those that be planted in the house of the ,lord shall flourish in the courts of our ,god4 ,they shall still bring forth fruit in old age2 they shall be fat and flourishing ,,sermon ,,xix4 ,,man',s ,,working ,,day4 ,,john1 xi4 #i1 #aj4 ,jesus answered1 ,are there not twelve hours in the day8 ,if #bjj any man walk in the day1 he stumbleth not1 because he seeth the light of this world4 ,but if a man walk in the night he stumbleth1 because there is no light in him ,,sermon ,,xx4 ,,association4 ,,galatians1 vi4 #b4 ,bear ye one another's burdens1 and so fulfil the law of #baj ,christ ,,sermon ,,xxi4 ,,heaven ,,on ,,earth4 #a ,,cor4 x4 #ca4 ,whether ye eat1 or drink1 or whatsoever ye do1 do all to #bai the glory of ,god ,,sermon ,,xxii4 ,,national ,,privileges4 ,,luke1 x4 #bc4 ,blessed are the eyes which see the things which ye see3 for #bbh ,i tell you1 that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see1 and have not seen them2 and to hear those things which ye hear1 and have not heard them ,,sermon ,,xxiii4 ,,lenten ,,thoughts4 ,,haggai1 i4 #e4 ,now1 therefore1 thus saith the ,lord of ,hosts1 consider your #bci ways ,,sermon ,,xxiv4 ,,on ,,books4 ,,john1 i4 #a4 ,in the beginning was the ,word1 and the ,word was with ,god1 #bdh and the ,word was ,god ,,sermon ,,xxv4 ,,the ,,courage ,,of ,,the ,,saviour4 ,,john1 xi4 #g1 #h4 ,then after that saith ,he to ,his disciples1 ,let us go into #bei ,judea again4 ,his disciples say to ,him1 ,master1 the ,jews of late sought to stone thee1 and goest thou thither again8 ,,sermon ,i4 ,,god',s ,,world4 ,,psalm civ4 #bd4 8,o ,lord1 how manifold are ,thy works6 in wisdom hast ,thou made them all3 the earth is full of ,thy riches40 ,,when we read such psalms as the one from which this verse is taken1 we cannot help1 if we consider1 feeling at once a great difference between them and any hymns or religious poetry which is commonly written or read in these days4 ,the hymns which are most liked now1 and the psalms which people most willingly choose out of the ,bible1 are those which speak1 or seem to speak1 about ,god's dealings with people's own souls1 while such psalms as this are overlooked4 ,people do not care really about psalms of this kind when they find them in the ,bible1 and they do not expect or wish nowadays any one to write poetry like them4 ,for these psalms of which ,i speak praise and honour ,god1 not for what ,he has done to our souls1 but for what ,he has done and is doing in the world around us4 ,this very #ajdth psalm1 for instance1 speaks entirely about things which we hardly care or even think proper to mention in church now4 ,it speaks of this earth entirely1 and the things on it4 ,of the light1 the clouds1 and wind--of hills and valleys1 and the springs on the hill-sides--of wild beasts and birds--of grass and corn1 and wine and oil--of the sun and moon1 night and day--the great sea1 the ships1 and the fishes1 and all the wonderful and nameless creatures which people the waters--the very birds' nests in the high trees1 and the rabbits burrowing among the rocks1--nothing on the earth but this psalm thinks it worth mentioning4 ,and all this1 which one would expect to find only in a book of natural history1 is in the ,bible1 in one of the psalms1 written to be sung in the temple at ,jerusalem1 before the throne of the living ,god and ,his glory which used to be seen in that temple1--inspired1 as we all believe1 by ,god's ,spirit1--,god's own word1 in short3 that is worth thinking of4 ,surely the man who wrote this must have thought very differently about this world1 with its fields and woods1 and beasts and birds1 from what we think4 ,suppose1 now1 that we had been old ,jews in the temple1 standing before the holy house1 and that we believed1 as the ,jews believed1 that there was only one thin wall and one curtain of linen between us and the glory of the living ,god1 that unspeakable brightness and majesty which no one could look at for fear of instant death1 except the high-priest in fear and trembling once a-year--that inside that small holy house1 ,he1 ,god ,almighty1 appeared visibly--,god who made heaven and earth4 ,suppose we had been there in the temple1 and known all this1 should we have liked to be singing about beasts and birds1 with ,god ,himself close to us8 ,we should not have liked it--we should have been terrified1 thinking perhaps about our own sinfulness1 perhaps about that wonderful majesty which dwelt inside4 ,we should have wished to say or sing something spiritual1 as we call it2 at all events1 something very different from the #ajdth psalm about woods1 and rivers1 and dumb beasts4 ,we do not like the thought of such a thing3 it seems almost irreverent1 almost impertinent to ,god to be talking of such things in ,his presence4 ,now does this shew us that we think about this earth1 and the things in it1 in a very different way from those old ,jews8 ,they thought it a fit and proper thing to talk about corn and wine and oil1 and cattle and fishes1 in the presence of ,almighty ,god1 and we do not think it fit and proper4 ,we read this psalm when it comes in the ,church-service as a matter of course1 mainly because we do not believe that ,god is here among us4 ,we should not be so ready to read it if we thought that ,almighty ,god was so near us4 ,that is a great difference between us and the old ,jews4 ,whether it shews that we are better or not than they were in the main1 ,i cannot tell2 perhaps some of them had such thoughts too1 and said1 #8,it is not respectful to ,god to talk about such commonplace earthly things in ,his presence2' perhaps some of them thought themselves spiritual and pure-minded for looking down on this psalm1 and on ,david for writing it4 ,very likely1 for men have had such thoughts in all ages1 and will have them4 ,but the man who wrote this psalm had no such thoughts4 ,he said himself1 in this same psalm1 that his words would please ,god4 ,nay1 he is not speaking and preaching about ,god in this psalm1 as ,i am now in my sermon1 but he is doing more2 he is speaking to ,god--a much more solemn thing if you will think of it4 ,he says1 8,o ,lord my ,god1 ,thou art become exceeding glorious4 ,thou deckest ,thyself with light as with a garment4 ,all the beasts wait on ,thee2 when ,thou givest them meat they gather it4 ,thou renewest the face of the earth40 ,when he turns and speaks of ,god as 8,he10 saying1 8,he appointed the moon10 and so on1 he cannot help going back to ,god1 and pouring out his wonder1 and delight1 and awe1 to ,god ,himself1 as we would sooner speak to any one we love and honour than merely speak about them4 ,he cannot take his mind off ,god4 ,and just at the last1 when he does turn and speak to himself1 it is to say1 8,praise thou the ,lord1 ,o my soul1 praise the ,lord10 as if rebuking and stirring up himself for being too cold-hearted and slow1 for not admiring and honouring enough the infinite wisdom1 and power1 and love1 and glorious majesty of ,god1 which to him shines out in every hedge-side bird and every blade of grass4 ,truly ,i said that man had a very different way of looking at ,god's earth from what we have6 ,now1 in what did that difference lie8 ,what was it8 ,we need not look far to see4 ,it was this1--,david looked on the earth as ,god's earth2 we look on it as man's earth1 or nobody's earth4 ,we know that we are here1 with trees and grass1 and beasts and birds1 round us4 ,and we know that we did not put them here2 and that1 after we are dead and gone1 they will go on just as they went on before we were born1--each tree1 and flower1 and animal1 after its kind1 but we know nothing more4 ,the earth is here1 and we on it2 but who put it there1 and why it is there1 and why we are on it1 instead of being anywhere else1 few ever think4 ,but to ,david the earth looked very different2 it had quite another meaning2 it spoke to him of ,god who made it4 ,by seeing what this earth is like1 he saw what ,god who made it is like3 and we see no such thing4 ,the earth8--we can eat the corn and cattle on it1 we can earn money by farming it1 and ploughing and digging it2 and that is all most men know about it4 ,but ,david knew something more--something which made him feel himself very weak1 and yet very safe2 very ignorant and stupid1 and yet honoured with glorious knowledge from ,god1--something which made him feel that he belonged to this world1 and must not forget it or neglect it1 that this earth was his lesson-book--this earth was his work-field2 and yet those same thoughts which shewed him how he was made for the land round him1 and the land round him was made for him1 shewed him also that he belonged to another world--a spirit-world2 shewed him that when this world passed away1 he should live for ever2 shewed him that while he had a mortal body1 he had an immortal soul too2 shewed him that though his home and business were here on earth1 yet that1 for that very reason1 his home and business were in heaven1 with ,god who made the earth1 with that blessed ,one of whom he said1 8,thou1 ,lord1 in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth1 and the heavens are the work of thy hands4 ,they shall perish1 but ,thou shalt endure2 they all shall fade as a garment1 and like a vesture shalt ,thou change them1 and they shall be changed2 but ,thou art the same1 and ,thy years shall not fail4 ,the children of ,thy servants shall continue1 and their seed shall stand fast in ,thy sight40 8,as a garment shalt ,thou change them10--ay1 there was ,david's secret6 ,he saw that this earth and skies are ,god's garment--the garment by which we see ,god2 and that is what our forefathers saw too1 and just what we have forgotten2 but ,david had not forgotten it4 ,look at this very #ajdth psalm again1 how he refers every thing to ,god4 ,we say1 #8,the light shines3' ,david says something more2 he says1 8,thou1 ,o ,god1 adornest ,thyself with light as with a curtain40 ,light is a picture of ,god4 8,god10 says ,st4 ,john1 8is light1 and in ,him is no darkness at all40 ,we say1 #8,the clouds fly and the wind blows1' as if they went of themselves2 ,david says1 8,god makes the clouds ,his chariot1 and walks upon the wings of the wind40 ,we talk of the rich airs of spring1 of the flashing lightning of summer1 as dead things2 and men who call themselves wise say1 that lightning is only matter1--#8,we can grind the like of it out of glass and silk1 and make lightning for ourselves in a small way2' and so they can in a small way1 and in a very small one3 ,david does not deny that1 but he puts us in mind of something in that lightning and those breezes which we cannot make4 ,he says1 ,god makes the winds ,his angels1 and flaming fire his ministers2 and ,st4 ,paul takes the same text1 and turns it round to suit his purpose1 when he is talking of the blessed angels1 saying1 #8,that text in the #ajdth ,psalm means something more2 it means that ,god makes ,his angels spirits1 7that is winds7 and ,his ministers a flaming fire4' ,so shewing us that in those breezes there are living spirits1 that ,god's angels guide those thunder-clouds2 that the roaring thunderclap is a shock in the air truly1 but that it is something more--that it is the voice of ,god1 which shakes the cedar-trees of ,lebanon1 and tears down the thick bushes1 and makes the wild deer slip their young4 ,so we read in the psalms in church2 that is ,david's account of the thunder4 ,i take it for a true account2 you may or not as you like4 ,see again4 ,those springs in the hill-sides1 how do they come there8 #8,rain-water soaking and flowing out1' we say4 ,true1 but ,david says something more2 he says1 ,god sends the springs1 and ,he sends them into the rivers too4 ,you may say1 #8,why1 water must run down-hill1 what need of ,god8' ,but suppose ,god had chosen that water should run up-hill and not down1 how would it have been then8--,very different1 ,i think4 ,no2 ,he sends them2 ,he sends all things4 ,wherever there is any thing useful1 ,his ,spirit has settled it4 ,the help that is done on earth ,he doeth it all ,himself4--,loving and merciful1--caring for the poor dumb beasts6--,he sends the springs1 and ,david says1 8,all the beasts of the field drink thereof40 ,the wild animals in the night1 ,he cares for them too1--,he1 the ,almighty ,god4 ,we hear the foxes bark by night1 and we think the fox is hungry1 and there it ends with us2 but not with ,david3 he says1 8,the lions roaring after their prey do seek their meat from ,god10--,god1 who feedeth the young ravens who call upon ,him4 ,he is a ,god6 8,he did not make the world10 says a wise man1 8and then let it spin round ,his finger10 as we wind up a watch1 and then leave it to go of itself4 ,no2 8,his mercy is over all ,his works40 ,loving and merciful1 the ,god of nature is the ,god of grace4 ,the same love which chose us and our forefathers for ,his people while we were yet dead in trespasses and sins2 the same only-begotten ,son1 who came down on earth to die for us poor wretches on the cross1--that same love1 that same power1 that same ,word of ,god1 who made heaven and earth1 looks after the poor gnats in the winter time1 that they may have a chance of coming out of the ground when the day stirs the little life in them1 and dance in the sunbeam for a short hour of gay life1 before they return to the dust whence they were made1 to feed creatures nobler and more precious than themselves4 ,that is all ,god's doing1 all the doing of ,christ1 the ,king of the earth4 8,they wait on ,him10 says ,david4 ,the beasts1 and birds1 and insects1 the strange fish1 and shells1 and the nameless corals too1 in the deep1 deep sea1 who build and build below the water for years and thousands of years1 every little1 tiny creature bringing his atom of lime to add to the great heap1 till their heap stands out of the water and becomes dry land2 and seeds float thither over the wide waste sea1 and trees grow up1 and birds are driven thither by storms2 and men come by accident in stray ships1 and build1 and sow1 and multiply1 and raise churches1 and worship the ,god of heaven1 and ,christ1 the blessed ,one1--on that new land which the little coral worms have built up from the deep4 ,consider that4 ,who sent them there8 ,who contrived that those particular men should light on that new island at that especial time8 ,who guided thither those seeds--those birds8 ,who gave those insects that strange longing and power to build and build on continually8--,christ1 by whom all things are made1 to whom all power is given in heaven and earth2 ,he and ,his ,spirit1 and none else4 ,it is when ,he opens ,his hand1 they are filled with good4 ,it is when ,he takes away their breath1 they die1 and turn again to their dust4 ,he lets ,his breath1 ,his spirit1 go forth1 and out of that dead dust grow plants and herbs afresh for man and beast1 and ,he renews the face of the earth4 ,for1 says the wise man1 8all things are ,god's garment0--outward and visible signs of ,his unseen and unapproachable glory2 and when they are worn out1 ,he changes them1 says the ,psalmist1 as a garment1 and they shall be changed4 ,the old order changes1 giving place to the new1 ,and ,god fulfils ,himself in many ways4 ,but ,he is the same4 ,he is there all the time4 ,all things are ,his work4 ,in all things we may see ,him1 if our souls have eyes4 ,all things1 be they what they may1 which live and grow on this earth1 or happen on land or in the sky1 will tell us a tale of ,god1--shew forth some one feature1 at least1 of our blessed ,saviour's countenance and character1--either ,his foresight1 or ,his wisdom1 or ,his order1 or ,his power1 or ,his love1 or ,his condescension1 or ,his long-suffering1 or ,his slow1 sure vengeance on those who break ,his laws4 ,it is all written there outside in the great green book1 which ,god has given to labouring men1 and which neither taxes nor tyrants can take from them4 ,the man who is no scholar in letters may read of ,god as he follows the plough1 for the earth he ploughs is his ,father's3 there is ,god's mark and seal on it1--,his name1 which though it is written on the dust1 yet neither man nor fiend can wipe it out6 ,the poor1 solitary1 untaught boy1 who keeps the sheep1 or minds the birds1 long lonely days1 far from his mother and his playmates1 may keep alive in him all purifying thoughts1 if he will but open his eyes and look at the green earth around him4 ,think now1 my boys1 when you are at your work1 how all things may put you in mind of ,god1 if you do but choose4 ,the trees which shelter you from the wind1 ,god planted them there for your sakes1 in ,his love4--,there is a lesson about ,god4 ,the birds which you drive off the corn1 who gave them the sense to keep together and profit by each other's wit and keen eyesight8 ,who but ,god1 who feeds the young birds when they call on ,him8--,there is another lesson about ,god4 ,the sheep whom you follow1 who ordered the warm wool to grow on them1 from which your clothes are made8 ,who but the ,spirit of ,god above1 who clothes the grass of the field1 the silly sheep1 and who clothes you1 too1 and thinks of you when you don't think of yourselves8--,there is another lesson about ,god4 ,the feeble lambs in spring1 they ought to remind you surely of your blessed ,saviour1 the ,lamb of ,god1 who died for you upon the cruel cross1 who was led as a lamb to the slaughter2 and like a sheep that lies dumb and patient under the shearer's hand1 so he opened not his mouth4 ,are not these lambs1 then1 a lesson from ,god8 ,and these are but one or two examples out of thousands and thousands4 ,oh1 that ,i could make you1 young and old1 all feel these things6 ,oh1 that ,i could make you see ,god in every thing1 and every thing in ,god6 ,oh1 that ,i could make you look on this earth1 not as a mere dull1 dreary prison1 and workhouse for your mortal bodies1 but as a living book1 to speak to you at every time of the living ,god1 ,father1 ,son1 and ,holy ,ghost6 ,sure ,i am that that would be a heavenly life for you1--sure ,i am that it would keep you from many a sin1 and stir you up to many a holy thought and deed1 if you could learn to find in every thing around you1 however small or mean1 the work of ,god's hand1 the likeness of ,god's countenance1 the shadow of ,god's glory4 ,,sermon ,,ii4 ,,religion ,,not ,,godliness4 ,,psalm civ4 #ac-ae4 8,he watereth the hills from his chambers3 the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy works4 ,he causeth the grass to grow for the cattle1 and herb for the service of man3 that he may bring forth food out of the earth2 and wine that maketh glad the heart of man1 and oil to make his face to shine1 and bread which strengtheneth man's heart40 ,,did you ever remark1 my friends1 that the ,bible says hardly any thing about religion--that it never praises religious people8 ,this is very curious4 ,would to ,god we would all remember it6 ,the ,bible speaks of a religious man only once1 and of religion only twice1 except where it speaks of the ,jews' religion to condemn it1 and shews what an empty1 blind1 useless thing it was4 ,what does this ,bible talk of1 then8 ,it talks of ,god2 not of religion1 but of ,god4 ,it tells us not to be religious1 but to be godly4 ,you may think there is no difference1 or that it is but a difference of words4 ,i tell you that a difference in words is a very awful1 important difference4 ,a difference in words is a difference in things4 ,words are very awful and wonderful things1 for they come from the most awful and wonderful of all beings1 ,jesus ,christ1 the ,word4 ,he puts words into men's minds--,he made all things1 and ,he makes all words to express those things with4 ,and woe to those who use the wrong words about things6--,for if a man calls any thing by its wrong name1 it is a sure sign that he understands that thing wrongly1 or feels about it wrongly2 and therefore a man's words are oftener honester than he thinks2 for as a man's words are1 so is a man's heart2 out of the abundance of our hearts our mouths speak2 and1 therefore1 by right words1 by the right names which we call things1 we shall be justified1 and by our words1 by the wrong names we call things1 we shall be condemned4 ,therefore a difference in words is a difference in the things which those words mean1 and there is a difference between religion and godliness2 and we shew it by our words4 ,now these are religious times1 but they are very ungodly times2 and we shew that also by our words4 ,because we think that people ought to be religious1 we talk a great deal about religion2 because we hardly think at all that a man ought to be godly1 we talk very little about ,god1 and that good old ,bible word 8godliness0 does not pass our lips once a-month4 ,for a man may be very religious1 my friends1 and yet very ungodly4 ,the heathens were very religious at the very time that1 as ,st4 ,paul tells us1 they would not keep ,god in their knowledge4 ,the ,jews were the most religious people on the earth1 they hardly talked or thought about anything but religion1 at the very time that they knew so little of ,god that they crucified ,him when ,he came down among them4 ,st4 ,paul says that he was living after the strictest sect of the ,jews' religion1 at the very time that he was fighting against ,god1 persecuting ,god's people and ,god's ,son1 and dead in trespasses and sins4 ,these are ugly facts1 my friends1 but they are true1 and well worth our laying to heart in these religious1 ungodly days4 ,i am afraid if ,jesus ,christ came down into ,england this day as a carpenter's son1 ,he would get--a better hearing1 perhaps1 than the ,jews gave him1 but still a very bad hearing--one dare hardly think of it4 ,and yet ,i believe we ought to think of it1 and1 by ,god's help1 ,i will one day preach you a sermon1 asking you all round this fair question3--,if ,jesus ,christ came to you in the shape of a poor man1 whom nobody knew1 should you know him8 should you admire him1 fall at his feet and give yourself up to him body and soul8 ,i am afraid that ,i1 for one1 should not--,i am afraid that too many of us here would not4 ,that comes of thinking more of religion than we do of godliness--in plain words1 more of our own souls than we do of ,jesus ,christ4 ,but you will want to know what is1 after all1 the difference between religion and godliness8 ,just the difference1 my friends1 that there is between always thinking of self and always forgetting self--between the terror of a slave and the affection of a child--between the fear of hell and the love of ,god4 ,for1 tell me1 what you mean by being religious8 ,do you not mean thinking a great deal about your own souls1 and praying and reading about your own souls1 and trying by all possible means to get your own souls saved8 ,is not that the meaning of religion8 ,and yet ,i have never mentioned ,god's name in describing it6 ,this sort of religion must have very little to do with ,god4 ,you may be surprised at my words1 and say in your hearts almost angrily1 #8,why who saves our souls but ,god8 therefore religion must have to do with ,god4' ,but1 my friends1 for your souls' sake1 and for ,god's sake1 ask yourselves this question on your knees this day3--,if you could get your souls saved without ,god's help1 would it make much difference to you8 ,suppose an angel from heaven1 as they say1 was to come down and prove to you clearly that there was no ,god1 no blessed ,jesus in heaven1 that the world made itself1 and went on of itself1 and that the ,bible was all a mistake1 but that you need not mind1 for your gardens and crops would grow just as well1 and your souls be saved just as well when you died4 ,to how many of you would it make any difference8 ,to some of you1 thank ,god1 ,i believe it would make a difference4 ,here are some here1 ,i believe1 who would feel that news the worst news they ever heard1--worse than if they were told that their souls were lost for ever2 there are some here1 ,i do believe1 who1 at that news1 would cry aloud in agony1 like little children who had lost their father1 and say1 #8,no ,father in heaven to love8 ,no blessed ,jesus in heaven to work for1 and die for1 and glory and delight in8 ,no ,god to rule and manage this poor1 miserable1 quarrelsome world1 bringing good out of evil1 blessing and guiding all things and people on earth8 ,what do ,i care what becomes of my soul if there is no ,god for my soul to glory in8 ,what is heaven worth without ,god8 ,god is ,heaven6' ,yes1 indeed1 what would heaven be worth without ,god8 ,but how many people feel that the curse of this day is1 that most people have forgotten that8 ,they are selfishly anxious enough about their own souls1 but they have forgotten ,god4 ,they are religious1 for fear of hell2 but they are not godly1 for they do not love ,god1 or see ,god's hand in every thing4 ,they forget that they have a ,father in heaven2 that ,he sends rain1 and sunshine1 and fruitful seasons2 that ,he gives them all things richly to enjoy in spite of all their sins4 ,his mercies are far above1 out of their sight1 and therefore ,his judgments are far away out of their sight too2 and so they talk of the 8,visitation of ,god10 as if it was something that was very extraordinary1 and happened very seldom2 and when it came1 only brought evil1 harm1 and sorrow4 ,if a man lives on in health1 they say he lives by the strength of his own constitution2 if he drops down dead1 they say he died by 8the visitation of ,god40 ,if the corn-crops go on all right and safe1 they think that quite natural--the effect of the soil1 and the weather1 and their own skill in farming and gardening4 ,but if there comes a hailstorm or a blight1 and spoils it all1 and brings on a famine1 they call it at once 8a visitation of ,god40 ,my friends6 do you think ,god 8visits0 the earth or you only to harm you8 ,i tell you that every blade of grass grows by 8the visitation of ,god40 ,i tell you that every healthy breath you ever drew1 every cheerful hour you ever spent1 every good crop you ever housed safely1 came to you by 8the visitation of ,god40 ,i tell you that every sensible thought or plan that ever came into your heads1--every loving1 honest1 manly1 womanly feeling that ever rose in your hearts1 ,god 8visited0 you to put it there4 ,if ,god's ,spirit had not given it you1 you would never have got it of yourselves4 ,but people forget this1 and therefore they have so little real love to ,god--so little real1 loyal1 childlike trust in ,god4 ,they do not think much about ,god1 because they find no pleasure in thinking about ,him2 they look on ,god as a task-master1 gathering where ,he has not strewed1 reaping where ,he has not sown1--a task-master who has put them1 very miserable1 sinful creatures1 to struggle on in a very miserable1 sinful world1 and1 though ,he tells them in ,his ,bible that they cannot keep ,his commandments1 expects them to keep them just the same1 and will at the last send them all into everlasting fire1 unless they take a great deal of care1 and give up a great many natural and pleasant things1 and beseech and entreat ,him very hard to excuse them1 after all4 ,this is the thought which most people have of ,god1 even religious people2 they look on ,god as a stern tyrant1 who1 when man sinned and fell1 could not satisfy ,his own justice--,his own vengeance in plain words1 without killing some one1 and who would have certainly killed all mankind1 if ,jesus ,christ had not interfered1 and said1 8,if ,thou must slay some one1 slay me1 though ,i am innocent60 ,oh1 my friends1 does not this all sound horrible and irreverent8 ,and yet if you will but look into your own hearts1 will you not find some such thoughts there8 ,i am sure you will4 ,i believe every man finds such thoughts in his heart now and then4 ,i find them in my own heart3 ,i know that they must be in the hearts of others1 because ,i see them producing their natural fruits in people's actions--a selfish1 slavish view of religion1 with little or no real love to ,god1 or real trust in ,him2 but a great deal of uneasy dread of ,him3 for this is just the dark1 false view of ,god1 and of the good news of salvation and the kingdom of heaven1 which the devil is always trying to make men take4 ,the ,evil ,one tries to make us forget that ,god is love2 he tries to make us forget that ,god gives us all things richly to enjoy2 he tries to make us forget that ,god gives at all1 and to make us think that we take1 not that ,he gives2 to make us look at ,god as a task-master1 not as a father2 in one word1 to make us mistake the devil for ,god1 and ,god for the devil4 ,and1 therefore1 it is that we ought to bless ,god for such ,scriptures as this #ajdth ,psalm1 which ,he seems to have preserved in the ,bible just to contradict these dark1 slavish notions1--just to testify that ,god is a giver1 and knows our necessities before we ask and gives us all things1 even as ,he gave us ,his ,blessed ,son--freely1 long before we wanted them1--from the foundation of all things1 before ever the earth and the world was made--from all eternity1 perpetual love1 perpetual bounty4 ,what does this text teach us8 ,to look at ,god as ,him who gives to all freely and upbraideth not4 ,it says to us1--,do not suppose that your crops grow of themselves4 ,god waters the hills from above4 ,he causes the grass to grow for the cattle1 and the green herb for the service of man4 ,do not suppose that ,he cares nothing about seeing you comfortable and happy4 ,it is ,he1 ,he only who sends all which strengthens man's body1 and makes glad his heart1 and makes him of a cheerful countenance4 ,his will is that you should be cheerful4 ,ah1 my friends1 if we would but believe all this6--we are too apt to say to ourselves1 #8,our earthly comforts here have nothing to do with godliness or ,god1 ,god must save our souls1 but our bodies we must save ourselves4 ,god gives us spiritual blessings1 but earthly blessings1 the good things of this life1 for them we must scramble and drudge ourselves1 and get as much of them as we can without offending ,god2'--as if ,god grudged us our comforts6 as if godliness had not the promise of this life as well as the life to come6 ,if we would but believe that ,god knows our necessities before we ask--that ,he gives us daily more than we can ever get by working for it6--if we would but seek first the kingdom of ,god and ,his righteousness1 all other things would be added to us2 and we should find that he who loses his life should save it4 ,and this way of looking at ,god's earth would not make us idle2 it would not tempt us to sit with folded hands for ,god's blessings to drop into our mouths4 ,no6 ,i believe it would make men far more industrious than ever mere self-interest can make them2 they would say1 #8,god is our ,father1 ,he gave us ,his own ,son1 ,he gives us all things freely1 we owe ,him not slavish service1 but a boundless debt of cheerful gratitude4 ,therefore we must do ,his will1 and we are sure ,his will must be our happiness and comfort--therefore we must do ,his will1 and ,his will is that we should work1 and therefore we must work4 ,he has bidden us labour on this earth--,he has bidden us dress it and keep it1 conquer it and fill it for ,him4 ,we are ,his stewards here on earth1 and therefore it is a glory and an honour to be allowed to work here in ,god's own land--in our loving ,father's own garden4 ,we do not know why ,he wishes us to labour and till the ground1 for ,he could have fed us with manna from heaven if ,he liked1 as ,he fed the ,jews of old1 without our working at all4 ,but ,his will is that we should work2 and work we will1 not for our own sakes merely1 but for ,his sake1 because we know ,he likes it1 and for the sake of our brothers1 our countrymen1 for whom ,christ died4' ,oh1 my friends1 why is it that so many till the ground industriously1 and yet grow poorer and poorer for all their drudging and working8 ,it is their own fault4 ,they till the ground for their own sakes1 and not for ,god's sake and for their countrymen's sake2 and so1 as the ,prophet says1 they sow much and bring in little1 and he who earns wages earns them to put in a bag full of holes4 ,suppose you try the opposite plan4 ,suppose you say to yourself1 #8,i will work henceforward because ,god wishes me to work4 ,i will work henceforward for my country's sake1 because ,i feel that ,god has given me a noble and a holy calling when ,he set me to grow food for ,his children1 the people of ,england4 ,as for my wages and my profit1 ,god will take care of them if they are just2 and if they are unjust1 ,he will take care of them too4 ,he1 at all events1 makes the garden and the field grow1 and not ,i4 ,my land is filled1 not with the fruit of my work1 but with the fruit of ,his work4 ,he will see that ,i lose nothing by my labour4 ,if ,i till the soil for ,god and for ,god's children1 ,i may trust ,god to pay me my wages4' ,oh1 my friends1 ,he who feeds the young birds when they call upon ,him2 and far1 far more1 ,he who gave you ,his only-begotten ,son1 will ,he not with ,him freely give you all things8 ,for1 after all done1 ,he must give to you1 or you will not get4 ,you may fret and stint1 and scrape and puzzle2 one man may sow1 and another man may water2 but1 after all1 who can give the increase but ,god8 ,can you make a load of hay1 unless ,he has first grown it for you1 and then dried it for you8 ,if you would but think a little more about ,him1 if you would believe that your crops were ,his gifts1 and in your hearts offer them up to ,him as thank-offerings1 see if ,he would not help you to sell your crops as well as to house them4 ,he would put you in the way of an honest profit for your labour1 just as surely as ,he only put you in the way of labouring at all4 8,trust in the ,lord1 and be doing good2 dwell in the land1 and verily thou shalt be fed20 for 8without me10 says our ,lord1 8you can do nothing40 ,no3 these are ,his own words--nothing4 ,to ,him all power is given in heaven and earth2 ,he knows every root and every leaf1 and feeds it4 ,will ,he not much more feed you1 oh ye of little faith8 ,do you think that ,he has made ,his world so ill that a man cannot get on in it unless he is a rogue8 ,no4 ,cast all your care on ,him1 and see if you do not find out ere long that ,he cares for you1 and has cared for you from all eternity4 ,,sermon ,,iii4 ,,life ,,and ,,death4 ,,psalm civ4 #bd1 #bh-cj4 8,o ,lord1 how manifold are ,thy works6 in wisdom hast ,thou made them all3 the earth is full of ,thy riches4 ,that ,thou givest them they gather3 ,thou openest ,thine hand1 they are filled with good4 ,thou hidest ,thy face1 they are troubled3 ,thou takest away their breath1 they die1 and return to their dust4 ,thou sendest forth ,thy spirit1 they are created3 and ,thou renewest the face of the earth40 ,i ,,had intended to go through this psalm with you in regular order2 but things have happened this parish1 awful and sad1 during the last week1 which ,i was bound not to let slip without trying to bring them home to your hearts1 if by any means ,i could persuade the thoughtless ones among you to be wise and consider your latter end3--,i mean the sad deaths of various of our acquaintances4 ,the death-bell has been tolled in this parish three times1 ,i believe1 in one day--a thing which has seldom happened before1 and which ,god grant may never happen again4 ,within two miles of this church there are now five lying dead4 ,five human beings1 young as well as old1 to whom the awful words of the text have been fulfilled3 8,thou takest away their breath1 they die1 and return to their dust40 ,and the very day on which three of these deaths happened was ,ascension-day--the day on which ,jesus1 the ,lord of life1 the ,conqueror of death1 ascended upon high1 having led captivity captive1 and became the first-fruits of the grave1 to send down from the heaven of eternal life the ,spirit who is the ,giver of life4 ,that was a strange mixture1 death seemingly triumphant over ,christ's people on the very day on which life triumphed in ,jesus ,christ ,himself4 ,let us see1 though1 whether death has not something to do with ,ascension-day4 ,let us see whether a sermon about death is not a fit sermon for the ,sunday after ,ascension-day4 ,let us see whether the text has not a message about life and death too--a message which may make us feel that in the midst of life we are in death1 and that yet in the midst of death we are in life2 that however things may seem1 yet death has not conquered life1 but life has conquered and will conquer death1 and conquer it most completely at the very moment that we die1 and our bodies return to their dust4 ,do ,i speak riddles8 ,i think the text will explain my riddles1 for it tells us how life comes1 how death comes4 ,life comes from ,god3 ,he sends forth ,his spirit1 and things are made1 and ,he renews the face of the earth4 ,we read in the very two verses of the book of ,genesis how the ,spirit of ,god moved upon the face of the waters the creation1 and woke all things into life4 ,therefore the ,creed well calls the ,holy ,ghost1 the ,spirit of ,god1 that is--the ,lord and ,giver of life4 ,and the text tells us that ,he gives life1 not only to us who have immortal souls1 but to every thing on the face of the earth2 for the psalm has been talking all through1 not only of men1 but of beasts1 fishes1 trees1 and rivers1 and rocks1 sun and moon4 ,now1 all these things have a life in them4 ,not a life like ours2 but still you speak rightly and wisely when you say1 #8,that tree is alive1 and1 ,that tree is dead4 ,that running water is live water--it is sweet and fresh1 but if it is kept standing it begins to putrefy1 its life is gone from it1 and a sort of death comes over it1 and makes it foul1 and unwholesome1 and unfit to drink4' ,this is a deep matter1 this1 how there is a sort of life in every thing1 even to the stones under our feet4 ,i do not mean1 of course1 that stones can think as our life makes us do1 or feel as the beasts' life makes them do1 or even grow as the trees' life makes them do2 but ,i mean that their life keeps them as they are1 without changing or decaying4 ,you hear miners and quarrymen talk very truly of the live rock4 ,that stone1 they say1 was cut out of the live rock1 meaning the rock as it is under ground1 sound and hard--as it would be1 for aught we know1 to the end of time1 unless it was taken out of the ground1 out of the place where ,god's ,spirit meant it to be1 and brought up to the open air and the rain1 in which it is not its nature to be4 ,and then you will see that the life of the stone begins to pass from it bit by bit1 that it crumbles and peels away1 and1 in short1 decays and is turned again to its dust4 ,its organisation1 as it is called1 or life1 ends1 and then--what8 does the stone lie for ever useless8 ,no6 ,and there is the great blessed mystery of how ,god's ,spirit is always bringing life out of death4 ,when the stone is decayed and crumbled down to dust and clay1 it makes soil--this very soil here1 which you plough1 is the decayed ruins of ancient hills2 the clay which you dig up in the fields was once part of some slate or granite mountains1 which were worn away by weather and water1 that they might become fruitful earth4 ,wonderful6 but any one who has studied these things can tell you they are true4 ,any one who has ever lived in mountainous countries ought to have seen the thing happen1 ought to know that the land in the mountain valleys is made at first1 and kept rich year by year1 by the washings from the hills above2 and this is the reason why land left dry by rivers and by the sea is generally so rich4 ,then what becomes of the soil8 ,it begins a new life4 ,the roots of the plants take it up2 the salts which they find in it--the staple1 as we call them--go to make leaves and seed2 the very sand has its use1 it feeds the stalks of corn and grass1 and makes them stiff4 ,the corn-stalks would never stand upright if they could not get sand from the soil4 ,so what a thousand years ago made part of a mountain1 now makes part of a wheat-plant2 and in a year more the wheat grain will have been eaten1 and the wheat straw perhaps eaten too1 and they will have died--decayed in the bodies of the animals who have eaten them1 and then they will begin a third new life--they will be turned into parts of the animal's body--of a man's body4 ,so that what is now your bone and flesh1 may have been once a rock on some hillside a hundred miles away4 ,strange1 but true6 all learned men know that it is true4 ,you1 if you think over my words1 may see that they are at least reasonable4 ,but still most wonderful6 ,this world works right well1 surely4 ,it obeys ,god's ,spirit4 ,oh1 my friends1 if we fulfilled our life and our duty as well as the clay which we tread on does1--if we obeyed ,god's ,spirit as surely as the flint does1 we should have many a heartache spared us1 and many a headache too6 ,to be what ,god wants us6--to be men1 to be women1 and therefore to live as children of ,god1 members of ,christ1 fulfilling our duty in that state to which ,god has called us1 that would be our bliss and glory4 ,nothing can live in a state in which ,god did not intend it to live4 ,suppose a tree could move itself about like an animal1 and chose to do so1 the tree would wither and die2 it would be trying to act contrary to the law which ,god has given it4 ,suppose the ox chose to eat meat like the lion1 it would fall sick and die2 for it would be acting contrary to the law which ,god's ,spirit had made for it--going out of the calling to which ,god's ,word has called it1 to eat grass and not flesh1 and live thereby4 ,and so with us3 if we will do wickedly1 when the will of ,god1 as the ,scripture tells us1 is our sanctification1 our holiness2 if we will speak lies1 when ,god's law for us is that we should speak truth2 if we will bear hatred and ill-will1 when ,god's law for us is1 ,love as brothers1--you all sprang from one father1 ,adam1--you were all redeemed by one brother1 ,jesus ,christ2 if we will try to live as if there was no ,god1 when ,god's law for us is1 that a man can live like a man only by faith and trust in ,god2--then we shall die1 if we break ,god's laws according to which he intended man to live4 ,thus it was with ,adam2 ,god intended him to obey ,god1 to learn every thing from ,god4 ,he chose to disobey ,god1 to try and know something of himself1 by getting the knowledge of good and evil2 and so death passed on him4 ,he became an unnatural man1 a bad man1 more or less1 and so he became a dead man2 and death came into the world1 that time at least1 by sin1 by breaking the law by which man was meant to be a man4 ,as the beasts will die if you give them unnatural food1 or in any way prevent their following the laws which ,god has made for them1 so man dies1 of necessity4 ,all the world cannot help his dying1 because he breaks the laws which ,god has made for him4 ,and how does he die8 ,the text tells us1 ,god takes away his breath1 and turns ,his face from him4 ,in ,his presence1 it is written1 is life4 ,the moment ,he withdraws his ,spirit1 the ,spirit of life1 from any thing1 body or soul1 then it dies4 ,it was by sin came death--by man's becoming unfit for the ,spirit of ,god4 ,therefore the body is dead because of sin1 says ,st4 ,paul1 doomed to die1 carrying about in it the seeds of death from the very moment it is born4 ,death has truly passed upon all men6 ,most sad2 and yet there is hope1 and more than hope1 there is certain assurance1 for us1 that though we die1 yet shall we live6 ,i have shewn you1 in the beginning of my sermon1 how nothing that dies perishes to nothing1 but begins a new and a higher life4 ,how the stone becomes a plant1--something better and more useful than it was before2 the plant passes into an animal--a step higher still4 ,and1 therefore1 we may be sure that the same rule will hold good about us men and women1 that when we die1 we shall begin a new and a nobler life1 that is1 if we have been true men2 if we have lived fulfilling the law of our kind4 ,st4 ,paul tells us so positively4 ,he says that nothing comes to life except it first die1 then ,god gives it a new body4 ,he says that even so is the resurrection of the dead1--that we gain a step by dying2 that we are sown in corruption1 and are raised in incorruption2 we are sown in dishonour1 and are raised in glory2 we are sown in weakness1 and are raised in power2 we are sown a natural body1 and are raised a spiritual body2 that as we now are of the earth earthy1 after death and the resurrection our new and nobler body will be of the heavens heavenly2 so that 8when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption1 and this mortal shall have put on immortality1 then death shall be swallowed up in victory40 ,therefore1 ,i say1 ,sorrow not for those who sleep as if you had no hope for the dead2 for 8,christ is risen from the dead1 and become the first-fruits of them that slept4 ,for as in ,adam all die1 even so in ,christ shall all be made alive40 ,and ,i say that this has to do with the text--it has to do with ,ascension-day4 ,for if we claim our share in ,christ1--if we claim our share of our heavenly ,father's promise1 8to give the ,holy ,spirit to those who ask ,him20 then we may certainly hope for our share in ,christ's resurrection1 our share in ,christ's ascension4 ,for1 says ,st4 ,paul 7,rom4 viii4 #aj1 #aa71 8if ,christ be in you1 the body is dead because of sin1 but the ,spirit is life because of righteousness4 ,but if the ,spirit of ,him who raised up ,jesus from the dead dwell in you1 ,he that raised up ,christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies1 by ,his ,spirit that dwelleth in you60 ,there is a blessed promise6 that in that1 as in every thing1 we shall be made like ,christ our ,master1 the new ,adam1 who is a life-giving ,spirit1 that as ,he was brought to life again by the ,spirit of ,god1 so we shall be4 ,and so will be fulfilled in us the glorious rule which the text lays down1 8,thou1 ,o ,god1 sendest forth ,thy ,spirit1 and they are created1 and ,thou dost renew the face of the earth40 ,fulfilled8--yes1 but far more gloriously than ever the old ,psalmist expected4 ,read the ,revelations of ,st4 ,john1 chapters xxi4 and xxii4 for the glory of the renewed earth read the first ,epistle of ,paul to the ,thessalonians1 chap4 iv4 #af-ah1 for the glorious resurrection and ascension of those who have died trusting in the blessed ,lord1 who died for them2 and then see what a glorious future lies before us--see how death is but the gate of life--see how what holds true of every thing on this earth1 down to the flint beneath our feet1 holds true ten thousand times of men that to die and to decay is only to pass into a nobler state of life4 ,but remember1 that just as we are better than the stone1 we may be also worse than the stone4 ,it cannot disobey ,god's laws1 therefore it can enjoy no reward1 any more than suffer any punishment4 ,we can disobey--we can fall from our calling--we can cast ,god's law behind us--we can refuse to do ,his will1 to work out our own salvation2 and just because our reward in the life to come will be so glorious1 if we fulfil our life and law1 the life of faith and the law of love1 therefore will our punishment be so horrible1 if we neglect the life of faith and trample under foot the law of love4 ,oh1 my friends1 choose6 ,death is before you all4 ,shall it be the gate of everlasting life and glory1 or the gate of everlasting death and misery8 ,will you claim your glorious inheritance1 and be for ever equal to the angels1 doing ,god's will on earth as they in heaven2 or will you fall lower than the stones1 who1 at all events1 must do their duty as stones1 and not do ,god's will at all1 but only suffer it in eternal woe8 ,you must do one or the other4 ,you cannot be like the stones1 without feeling--without joy or sorrow1 just because you are immortal spirits1 every one of you4 ,you must be either happy or miserable1 blessed or disgraced1 for ever4 ,i know of no middle path2--do you8 ,choose before the night comes1 in which no man can work4 ,our life is but a vapour which appears for a little time1 then vanishes away4 8,o ,lord1 how manifold are ,thy works6 in wisdom hast ,thou made them all3 the earth is full of ,thy riches4 ,that ,thou givest them they gather3 ,thou openest ,thine hand1 they are filled with good4 ,thou hidest ,thy face1 they are troubled3 ,thou takest away their breath1 they die1 and return to their dust4 ,thou sendest forth ,thy ,spirit1 they are created3 and ,thou renewest the face of the earth40 ,,sermon ,,iv4 ,,the ,,work ,,of ,,god',s ,,spirit4 ,,james1 i4 #af1 #ag4 8,do not err1 my beloved brethren2 every good gift and every perfect gift is from above1 and cometh down from the ,father of lights40 ,,this text1 ,i believe more and more every day1 is one of the most important ones in the whole ,bible2 and just at this time it is more important for us than ever1 because people have forgotten it more than ever4 ,and1 according as you firmly believe this text1 according as you firmly believe that every good gift you have in body and soul comes down from above1 from ,god the ,father of lights--according1 ,i say1 as you believe this1 and live upon that belief1 just so far will you be able to do your duty to ,god and man1 worthily of your blessed ,saviour's calling and redemption1 and of the high honour which ,he has given you of being free and christened men1 redeemed by ,his most precious blood1 and led by ,his most noble ,spirit4 ,now1 just because this text is so important1 the devil is particularly busy in trying to make people forget it4 ,for what is his plan8 ,is it not to make us forget ,god1 to put ,god out of all our thoughts1 to make us acknowledge ,god in none of our ways1 to make us look at ourselves and not at ,god1 that so we may become first earthly and sensual1 and then devilish1 like ,satan himself8 ,therefore he tries to make us disbelieve this text4 ,he puts into our hearts such thoughts as these3--#8,ay1 all good gifts may come from ,god2 but that only means all spiritual gifts4 ,all those fine1 deep doctrines and wonderful feelings that some very religious people talk of1 about conversion1 and regeneration1 and sanctification1 and assurance1 and the witness of the indwelling ,spirit1--all those gifts come from ,god1 no doubt1 but they are quite above us4 ,we are straightforward1 simple people1 who cannot feel fine fancies2 if we can be honest1 and industrious1 and good-natured1 and sober1 and strong1 and healthy1 that is enough for us1--and all that has nothing to do with religion4 ,those are not gifts which come from ,god4 ,a man is strong and healthy by birth1 and honest and good-natured by nature4 ,those are very good things2 but they are not gifts--they are not graces--they are not spiritual blessings--they have nothing to do with the state of a man's soul4 ,ungodly people are honest1 and good-tempered1 and industrious1 and healthy1 as well as your saints and your methodists2 so what is the use of praying for spiritual gifts to ,god1 when we can have all we want by nature8' ,did such thoughts never come into your head1 my friends8 ,are they not often in your heads1 more or less8 ,perhaps not in these very words1 but something like them4 ,i do not say it to blame you1 for ,i believe that every man1 each according to his station1 is tempted to such thoughts2 ,i believe that such thoughts are not yours or any man's2 ,i believe they are the devil's1 who tempts all men1 who tempted even the ,son of ,god ,himself with thoughts like these at their root4 ,such thoughts are not yours or mine1 though they may come into our heads4 ,they are part of the evil which besets us--which is not us--which has no right or share in us--which we pray ,god to drive away from us when we say1 8,deliver us from evil40 ,have you not all had such thoughts8 ,but have you not all had very different thoughts8 have you not1 every one of you1 at times1 felt in the bottom of your hearts1 after all1 #8,this strength and industry1 this courage1 and honesty1 and good-nature of mine1 must come from ,god2 ,i did not get them myself8 ,if ,i was born honest1 and strong1 and gentle1 and brave1 some one must have made me so when ,i was born1 or before8 ,the devil certainly did not make me so1 therefore ,god must8 ,these1 too1 are ,his gifts8' ,did you ever think such thoughts as these8 ,if you did not1 not much matter1 for you have all acted1 more or less1 in your better moments as if you had them4 ,there are more things in a man's heart1 thank ,god1 than ever come into his head4 ,many a man does a noble thing by instinct1 as we say1 without ever thinking whether it is a noble thing or not--without thinking about it at all4 ,many a man1 thank ,god1 is led at times1 by ,god's ,spirit1 without ever knowing whose ,spirit it is that leads him4 ,but he ought to know it1 for it is willing1 reasonable service which ,god wants of us4 ,he does not care to use us like tools and puppets4 ,and why8 ,he is not merely our ,maker1 ,he is our ,father1 and ,he wishes us to know and feel that we are ,his children--to know and feel that we all have come from ,him2 to acknowledge ,him in all our ways1 to thank ,him for all1 to look up lovingly and confidently to ,him for more1 as ,his reasonable children1 day by day1 and hour by hour4 ,every good gift we have comes from ,him2 but ,he will have us know where they all come from4 ,let us go through now a few of these good gifts1 which we call natural1 and see what the ,bible says of them1 and from whom they come4 ,first1 now1 that common gift of strength and courage4 ,who gives you that8--who gave it ,david8 ,for ,he that gives it to one is most likely to be ,he that gives it to another4 ,david says to ,god1 8,thou teachest my hands to war1 and my fingers to fight2 by the help of ,god ,i can leap over a wall3 ,he makes me strong1 that my arms can break even a bow of steel30--that is plain-spoken enough1 ,i think4 ,who gave ,samson his strength1 again8 ,what says the ,bible8 ,how ,samson met a young lion which roared against him1 and he had nothing in his hand1 and the ,spirit of the ,lord came mightily upon him1 and he tore the lion as he would have torn a kid4 ,and1 again1 how when traitors had bound him with two new cords1 the ,spirit of the ,lord came mightily upon him1 and the cords which were on his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire1 and fell from off his hands4 ,and1 for ,god's sake1 do not give in to that miserable fancy that because these stories are what you call miraculous1 therefore they have nothing to do with you--that ,samson's strength came to him miraculously by ,god's ,spirit1 and yet yours comes to you a different way4 ,the ,bible is written to tell you how all that happens really happens--what all things really are2 ,god is working among us always1 but we do not see ,him2 and the ,bible just lifts up1 once and for all1 the veil which hides ,him from us1 and lets us see1 in one instance1 who it is that does all the wonderful things which go on round us to this day1 that when we see any thing like it happen we may know whom to thank for it4 ,the ,great ,physician healed the blind and the lame in ,judea2 and why8--to shew us who heals the blind and the lame now--to shew us that the good gift of medicine and surgery1 and the physician's art1 comes down from ,him who cured the paralytic and cleansed the lepers in ,judea--to whom all power is given in heaven and earth4 ,so1 again1 with skill in farming and agriculture4 ,from whom does that come8 ,the very heathens can tell us that1 for it is curious1 that among the heathen1 in all ages and countries1 those men who have found out great improvements in tilling the ground have been honoured and often worshipped as divine men--as gods1 thereby shewing that the heathen1 among all their idolatries1 had a true and just notion about man's practical skill and knowledge--that it could only come from ,heaven1 that it was by the inspiration and guidance of ,god above that skill in agriculture arose4 ,what says ,isaiah of that to the very same purpose8 8,doth the ploughman plow all day to sow8 doth he open and break the clods of his ground8 ,when he hath made plain the face thereof1 doth he not cast abroad the vetches1 and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rye in their place8 ,for his ,god doth instruct him to discretion1 and doth teach him4 ,this also10 says ,isaiah1 8cometh from the ,lord of ,hosts1 who is wonderful in counsel1 and excellent in working40 ,would to ,god you would all believe it6 ,again2 wisdom and prudence1 and a clear1 powerful mind1--are not they parts of ,god's likeness8 ,how is ,god's ,spirit described in ,scripture8 ,it is called the ,spirit of wisdom and understanding1 the ,spirit of prudence and might4 ,therefore1 surely1 all wisdom and understanding1 all prudence and strength of mind1 are1 like that ,spirit1 part of ,god's image2 and where did we get ,god's image8 ,can we make ourselves like ,god8 ,if we are like him1 ,he must have formed that likeness2 and ,he alone4 ,the ,spirit of ,god1 says the ,scripture1 giveth us understanding4 ,or1 again2 good-nature and affection1 love1 generosity1 pity1--whose likeness are they8 ,what is ,god's name but love8 ,god is love4 ,has not ,he revealed ,himself as the ,god of mercy1 full of long-suffering1 compassion1 and free forgiveness2 and must not1 then1 all love and affection1 all compassion and generosity1 be ,his gift8 ,yes4 ,as the rays come from the sun1 and yet are not the sun1 even so our love and pity1 though they are not ,god1 but merely a poor1 weak image and reflection of ,him1 yet from ,him alone they come4 ,if there is mercy in our hearts1 it comes from the fountain of mercy4 ,if there is the light of love in us1 it is a ray from the full sun of ,his love4 ,or honesty1 again1 and justice1--whose image are they but ,god's8 ,is ,he not ,,the ,just ,one--the righteous ,god8 ,is not what is just for man just for ,god8 ,are not the laws of justice and honesty1 by which man deals fairly with man1 ,his laws--the laws by which ,god deals with us8 ,does not every book--,i had almost said every page--in the ,bible shew us that all our justice is but the pattern and copy of ,god's justice1--the working out of those six latter commandments of ,his1 which are summed up in that one command1 8,thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself80 ,now here1 again1 ,i ask3 ,if justice and honesty be ,god's likeness1 who made us like ,god in this--who put into us this sense of justice which all have1 though so few obey it8 ,can man make himself like ,god8 ,can a worm ape his ,maker8 ,no4 ,from ,god's ,spirit1 the ,spirit of ,right1 came this inborn feeling of justice1 this knowledge of right and wrong1 to us--part of the image of ,god in which ,he created man--part of the breath or spirit of life which ,he breathed into ,adam4 ,do not mistake me4 ,i do not say that the sense1 and honesty1 and love in us1 are ,god's ,spirit--they are the spirit of man1 but that they are like ,god's ,spirit1 and therefore they must be given us by ,god's ,spirit to be used as ,god's ,spirit ,himself uses them4 ,how a man shall have his share of ,god's ,spirit1 and live in and by ,god's ,spirit1 is another question1 and a higher and more blessed one2 but we must master this question first--we must believe that our spirits come from ,god1 then1 perhaps1 we shall begin to see that our spirits never can work well unless they are joined to the ,spirit of ,god1 from whom they came4 ,from whom else1 ,i ask again1 can they come8 ,can they come from our bodies8 ,our bodies8 ,what are they8--,flesh and bones1 made up of air and water and earth1--out of the dead bodies of the animals1 the dead roots and fruits of plants which we eat4 ,they are earth--matter4 ,can matter be courageous8 ,did you ever hear of a good-natured plant1 or an honest stone8 ,then this good-nature1 and honesty1 and courage of ours1 must belong to our souls--our spirits4 ,who put them there8 ,did we8 ,does a child make its own character8 ,does its body make its character first8 ,can its father and mother make its character8 ,no4 ,our characters must come from some spirit above us--either from ,god or from the devil4 ,and is the devil likely to make us honest1 or brave1 or kindly8 ,i leave you to answer that4 ,god--,god alone1 my friends1 is the author of good--the help that is done on earth1 ,he doeth it all ,himself3 every good gift and every perfect gift cometh from ,him4 ,now some of you may think this a strange sort of sermon1 because ,i have said little or nothing about ,jesus ,christ and ,his redemption in it1 but ,i say--,no4 ,you must believe this much about yourselves before you can believe more4 ,you must fairly and really believe that ,god made you one thing before you can believe that you have made yourselves another thing4 ,you must really believe that you are not mere machines and animals1 but immortal souls1 before you can really believe that you have sinned2 for animals cannot sin--only reasonable souls can sin4 ,we must really believe that ,god made us at bottom in ,his likeness1 before we can begin to find out that there is another likeness in us besides ,god's--a selfish1 brutish1 too often a devilish likeness1 which must be repented of1 and fought against1 and cast out1 that ,god's likeness in us may get the upper hand1 and we may be what ,god expects us to be4 ,we must know our dignity before we can feel our shame4 ,we must see how high we have a right to stand1 that we may see how low1 alas6 we have fallen4 ,now you--,i know many such here1 thank ,god--to whom ,god has given clear1 powerful heads for business1 and honest1 kindly hearts1 ,i do beseech you--consider my words1 ,who has given you these but ,god8 ,they are talents which ,he has committed to your charge2 and will ,he not require an account of them8 ,he only1 and ,his free mercy1 has made you to differ from others2 if you are better than the fools and profligates round you1 ,he1 and not yourselves1 has made you better4 ,what have you that you have not received8 ,by the grace of ,god alone you are what you are4 ,if good comes easier to you than to others1 ,he alone has made it easier to you2 and if you have done wrong1--if you have fallen short of your duty1 as all fall short1 is not your sin greater than others8 for unto whom much is given of them shall much be required4 ,consider that1 for ,god's sake1 and see if you1 too1 have not something to be ashamed of1 between yourselves and ,god4 ,see if you1 too1 have not need of ,jesus ,christ and ,his precious blood1 and ,god's free forgiveness1 who have had so much light and power given you1 and still have fallen short of what you might have been1 and what1 by ,god's grace1 you still may be1 and1 as ,i hope and earnestly pray1 still will be4 ,and you1 young men and women--consider2--if ,god has given you manly courage and high spirits1 and strength and beauty--think--,god1 your ,father1 has given them to you1 and of them ,he will surely require an account2 therefore1 8,rejoice1 young people10 says ,solomon1 8in your youth1 and let your hearts cheer you in the days of your youth1 and walk in the ways of your heart and in the sight of your eyes4 ,but remember10 continues the wisest of men1--8remember1 that for all these things ,god shall bring you into judgment40 ,now do not misunderstand that4 ,it does not mean that there is a sin in being happy4 ,it does not mean1 that if ,god has given to a young man a bold spirit and powerful limbs1 or to a young woman a handsome face and a merry1 loving heart1 that ,he will punish them for these--,god forbid6 what ,he gives ,he means to be used3 but this it means1 that according as you use those blessings so will you be judged at the last day2 that for them1 too1 you will be brought to judgment1 and tried at the bar of ,god4 ,as you have used them for industry1 and innocent happiness1 and holy married love1 or for riot and quarrelling1 and idleness1 and vanity1 and filthy lusts1 so shall you be judged4 ,and if any of you have sinned in any of these ways1--,god forbid that you should have sinned in all these ways2 but surely1 surely1 some of you have been idle--some of you have been riotous--some of you have been vain--some of you have been quarrelsome--some of you1 alas6 have been that which ,i shall not name here4--,think1 if you have sinned in any one of these ways1 how can you answer it to ,god8 ,have you no need of forgiveness8 ,have you no need of the blessed ,saviour's blood to wash you clean8 ,young people6 ,god has given you much4 ,as a young man1 ,i speak to you4 ,youth is an inestimable blessing or an inestimable curse1 according as you use it2 and if you have abused your spring-time of youth1 as all1 ,i am afraid1 have--as ,i have--as almost all do1 alas6 in this fallen world1 where can you get forgiveness but from ,him that died on the cross to take away the sins of the world8 ,,sermon ,v4 ,,faith4 ,,habakkuk1 ii4 #d4 8,the just shall live by faith40 ,,this is those texts of which there are so many in the ,bible1 which1 though they were spoken originally to one particular man1 yet are meant for every man4 ,these words were spoken to ,habakkuk1 a ,jewish prophet1 to check him for his impatience under ,god's hand2 but they are just as true for every man that ever was and ever will be as they were for him4 ,they are world-wide and world-old2 they are the law by which all goodness1 and strength1 and safety1 stand either in men or angels1 for it always was true1 and always must be true1 that if reasonable beings are to live at all1 it is by faith4 ,and why8 ,because every thing that is1 heaven and earth1 men and angels1 are all the work of ,god--of one ,god1 infinite1 almighty1 all-wise1 all-loving1 unutterably glorious4 ,my friends1 we do not think enough of this1--not that all the thinking in the world can ever make us comprehend the majesty of our ,heavenly ,father2 but we do not remember enough what we do know of ,god4 ,we think of ,god1 watching the world and all things in it1 and keeping them in order as a shepherd does his sheep1 and so far so good2 but we forget that ,god does more than this1--we forget that this earth1 sun1 and moon1 and all the thousand thousand stars which cover the midnight sky1--many of them suns larger than the sun we see1 and worlds larger than the world on which we stand1 that all these1 stretching away millions of millions of miles into boundless space1--all are lying1 like one little grain of dust1 in the hollow of ,god's hand1 and that if ,he were to shut ,his hand upon them1 ,he could crush them into nothing1 and ,god would be alone in the universe again1 as ,he was before heaven and earth were made4 ,think of that6--that if ,god was but to will it1 we1 and this earth on which we stand1 and the heaven above us1 and the sun that shines on us1 should vanish away1 and be no-where and no-thing4 ,think of the infinite power of ,god1 and then think how is it possible to live1 except by faith in ,him1 by trusting to ,him utterly4 ,if you accustom yourselves to think in the same way of the infinite wisdom of ,god1 and the infinite love of ,god1 they will both teach you the same lesson2 they will shew you that if you were the greatest1 the wisest1 the holiest man that ever lived1 you would still be such a speck by the side of the ,almighty and ,everlasting ,god that it would be madness to depend upon yourselves for any thing while you lived in ,god's world4 ,for1 after all1 what can we do without ,god8 ,in ,him we live1 and move1 and have our being4 ,he made us1 ,he gave us our bodies1 gave us our life2 what we do ,he lets us do1 what we say ,he lets us say2 we all live on sufferance4 ,what is it but ,god's infinite mercy that ever brought us here or keeps us here an instant8 ,we may pretend to act without ,god's leave or help1 but it is impossible for us to do so2 the strength we put forth1 the wit we use1 are all ,his gifts4 ,we cannot draw a breath of air without ,his leave4 ,and yet men fancy they can do without ,god in the world6 ,my friends1 these are but few words1 and poor words1 about the glorious majesty of ,god and our littleness when compared with ,him2 but ,i have said quite enough1 at least1 to shew you all how absurd it is to depend upon ourselves for any thing4 ,if we are mere creatures of ,god1 if ,god alone has every blessing both of this world and the next1 and the will to give them away1 whom are we to go to but to ,him for all we want8 ,it is so in the life of our bodies1 and it is so in the life of our spirits4 ,if we wish for ,god's blessings1 from ,god we must ask them4 ,that is our duty1 even though ,god in ,his mercy and long-suffering does pour down many a blessing upon men who never trust in ,him for them4 ,to us all1 indeed1 ,god gives blessings before we are old enough to trust in ,him for them1 and to many ,he continues those blessings in after-life in spite of their blindness and want of faith4 8,he maketh ,his sun to shine on the evil and on the good1 and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust40 ,he gives--gives--it is ,his glory to give4 ,yet strange6 that men will go on year after year1 using the limbs1 and eating the food1 which ,god gives them1 without ever believing so much as that ,god has given them1 without so much as looking up to heaven once and saying1 8,god1 ,i thank ,thee60 ,but we must remember that those blessings will not last for ever4 ,unless a man has lived by faith in ,god with regard to his earthly comforts1 death will come and put an end to them at once2 and then it is only those who have trusted in ,god for all good things1 and thanked ,him accordingly in this life1 who shall have their part in the new heavens and the new earth1 which will so immeasurably surpass all that this earth can give4 ,and it is the same with the life of our spirits2 in it1 too1 we must live by faith4 ,the life of our spirits is a gift from ,god the ,father of spirits1 and ,he has chosen to declare that unless we trust to ,him for life1 and ask ,him for life1 ,he will not bestow it upon us4 ,the life of our bodies ,he in ,his mercy keeps up1 although we forget ,him2 the life of our souls ,he will not keep up3 therefore1 for the sake of our spirits1 even more than of our bodies1 we must live by faith4 ,if we wish to be loving1 pure1 wise1 manly1 noble1 we must ask those excellent gifts of ,god1 who is ,himself infinite love1 and purity1 wisdom and nobleness4 ,if we wish for everlasting life1 from whom can we obtain it but from ,god1 who is the boundless1 eternal1 life itself8 ,if we wish for forgiveness for our faults and failings1 where are we to get it but from ,god1 who is boundless love and pity1 and who has revealed to us ,his boundless love and pity in the form of a man1 ,jesus ,christ the ,saviour of the world8 ,and to go a step further2 it is by faith in ,christ we must live--in ,christ1 a man like ourselves1 yet ,god blessed for ever4 ,for it is a certain truth1 that men cannot believe in ,god or trust in ,him unless they can think of ,him as a man4 ,this was the reason why the poor heathen made themselves idols in the form of men1 that they might have something like themselves to worship2 and those among them who would not worship idols almost always ended in fancying that ,god was either a mere notion1 or else a mere part of this world1 or else that ,he sat up in heaven neither knowing nor caring what happened upon earth4 ,but we1 to whom ,god has given the glorious news of ,his ,gospel1 have the very ,person to worship whom all the heathen were searching after and could not find1--one who is 8very ,god10 infinite in love1 wisdom1 and strength1 and yet 8very man10 made in all points like ourselves1 but without sin2 so that we have not a ,high ,priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities1 but one who is able to help those who are tempted1 because ,he was tempted ,himself like us1 and overcame by the strength of ,his own perfect will1 of ,his own perfect faith4 ,by trusting in ,him1 and acknowledging ,him in every thought and action of our lives1 we shall be safe1 for it is written1 8,the just shall live by faith40 ,these things are true1 and always were true4 ,all that men ever did well1 or nobly1 or lovingly1 in this world1 was done by faith--by faith in ,god of some sort or other2 even in the man who thinks least about religion1 it is so4 ,every time a man means to do1 and really does1 a just or generous action1 he does it because he believes1 more or less clearly1 that there is a just and loving ,god above him1 and that justice and love are the right thing for a man--the law by which ,god intended him to walk3 so that this small1 dim faith still shews itself in practice2 and the more faith a man has in ,god and in ,god's laws1 the more it will shew itself in every action of his daily life2 and the more this faith works in his life and conduct1 the better man he is2--the more he is like ,god's image1 in which man was originally made2--and the more he is like ,christ1 the new pattern of ,god's image1 whom all men must copy4 ,so that the sum of the matter is this1 without ,christ we can do nothing1 by trusting in ,christ we can do every thing4 ,see1 then1 how true the verse before my text must be1 that he whose soul is lifted up in him is not upright2 for if a man fancies that his body and soul are his own1 to do what he pleases with them1 when all the time they are ,god's gift2--if a man fancies that he can take perfect care of himself1 while all the time it is ,god that is keeping him out of a thousand sins and dangers2--if a man fancies that he can do right of himself1 when all the time the little good that he does is the work of ,god's ,spirit1 which has not yet left him2--if a man fancies1 in short1 that he can do without ,god1 when all the time it is in ,god that he lives1 and moves1 and has his being1 how can such a man be called upright8 ,upright6 he is utterly wrong2--he is believing a lie1 and walking accordingly2 and1 therefore1 instead of keeping upright1 he is going where all lies lead2 into all kinds of low and crooked ways1 mistakes1 absurdities1 and at last to ruin of body and soul4 ,nothing but truth can keep a man upright and straight1 can keep a man where ,god has put him1 and where he ought to be2 and the man whose heart is puffed up by pride and self-conceit1 who is looking at himself and not at ,god1 that man has begun upon a falsehood1 and will soon get out of tune with heaven and earth4 ,for consider1 my friends3 suppose some rich and mighty prince went out and collected a number of children1 and of sick and infirm people1 and said to them1 8,you cannot work now1 but ,i will give you food1 medicine1 every thing that you require1 and then you must help me to work2 and ,i1 though you have no right to expect it of me1 will pay you for the little work you can do on the strength of my food and medicine40--,is it not plain that all those persons could only live by faith in their prince1 by trusting in him for food and medicine1 and by acknowledging that that food and medicine came from him1 and thanking him accordingly8 ,if they wished to be true men1 if they wished him to continue his bounty1 they would confess that all the health and strength they had belonged to him of right1 because his generosity had given it to them4 ,just in this position we stand with ,christ the ,lord4 ,when the whole world lay in wickedness1 ,he came and chose us1 of ,his free grace and mercy1 to be one of ,his peculiar nations1 to work for ,him and with ,him2 and from the time ,he came1 all that we and our forefathers have done well has been done by the strength and wisdom which ,christ has given us4 ,now suppose1 again1 that one of the persons of whom ,i spoke was seized with a fit of pride--suppose he said to himself1 8,my health and strength does not come from the food and medicine which the prince gave me1 it comes from the goodness of my own constitution2 the wages which ,i am paid are my just due1 ,i am a free man1 and may choose what master ,i like40 ,suppose any one of your servants treated you so1 would you not be inclined to answer1 8,you are a faithless1 ungrateful fellow2 go your ways1 then1 and see how little you can do without my bounty80 ,but the blessed ,king in heaven1 though ,he is provoked every day1 is more long-suffering than man4 ,all ,he does is to withdraw ,his bounty for a moment1 to take this world's blessings from a man1 and let him find out how impossible it is for him to keep himself out of affliction--to take away ,his ,holy ,spirit for a moment from a man1 and let him see how straight he rushes astray1 and every way but the right2 and then1 if the man is humbled by his fall or his affliction1 and comes back to his ,lord1 confessing how weak he is and promising to trust in ,christ and thank ,christ only for the future1 then our ,lord will restore ,his blessings to him1 and there will be joy among the angels of ,god over one sinner that repents4 ,this was the way in which ,god treated ,job when1 in spite of all his excellence1 his heart was lifted up4 ,and then1 when he saw his own folly1 and abhorred himself1 and repented in dust and ashes1 ,god restored to him sevenfold what ,he had taken from him--honour1 wisdom1 riches1 home1 and children4 ,this is the way1 too1 in which ,god treated ,david4 8,in my prosperity10 he tells us1 8,i said1 ,i shall never be moved2 thou1 ,lord1 of ,thy goodness hast made my hill so strong0--forgetting that he must be kept safe every moment of his life1 as well as made safe once for all4 8,thou didst turn ,thy face from me1 and ,i was troubled4 ,then cried ,i unto ,thee1 ,o ,lord1 and gat me to my ,lord right humbly4 ,and ,,then10 he adds1 8,god turned my heaviness into joy1 and girded me with gladness10 7,psalm xxx47 ,and again1 he says1 8,before ,i was troubled ,i went wrong1 but now ,i have kept ,thy word10 7,psalm cxix47 ,and this is the way in which ,christ the ,lord treated ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul1 and treats1 in ,his great mercy1 every ,christian man when ,he sees him puffed up1 to bring him to his senses1 and make him live by faith in ,god4 ,if he takes the warning1 well2 if he does not1 he remains in a lie1 and must go where all lies lead4 ,so perfectly does it hold throughout a man's whole life1 that he whose soul is lifted up within him is not upright2 but that the just must live by faith4 ,now there is one objection apt to rise in men's minds when they hear such words as these1 which is1 that they take such a 8low view of human nature20 it is so galling to our pride to be told that we can do nothing for ourselves3 but if we think of the matter more closely1 and1 above all1 if we try to put it into practice and live by faith1 we shall find that there is no real reason for thus objecting4 ,this is not a doctrine which ought to make us despise men2 any doctrine that does1 does not come of ,god4 ,men are not contemptible creatures--they are glorious creatures--they were created in the image of ,god2 ,god has put such honour upon them that ,he has given them dominion over the whole earth1 and made them partakers of ,his eternal reason2 and ,his ,spirit gives them understanding to enable them to conquer this earth1 and make the beasts1 ay1 and the very winds and seas1 and fire and steam1 their obedient servants2 and human nature1 too1 when it is what ,god made it1 and what it ought to be1 is not a contemptible thing3 it was noble enough for the ,son of ,god to take it upon ,himself--to become man1 without sinning or defiling ,himself2 and what was good enough for ,him is surely good enough for us4 ,wickedness consists in unmanliness1 in being unlike a man1 in becoming like an evil spirit or a beast4 ,holiness consists in becoming a true man1 in becoming more and more like the likeness of ,jesus ,christ4 ,and when the ,bible tells us that we can do nothing of ourselves1 but can live only by faith1 the ,bible puts the highest honour upon us which any created thing can have4 ,what are the things which cannot live by faith8 ,the trees and plants1 the beasts and birds1 which1 though they live and grow by ,god's providence1 yet do not know it1 do not thank ,him1 cannot ask ,him for more strength and life as we can1 are mere dead tools in ,god's hands1 instead of living1 reasonable beings as we are4 ,it is only reasonable beings1 like men and angels1 with immortal spirits in them1 who can live by faith2 and it is the greatest glory and honour to us1 ,i say again1 that we can do so--that the glorious1 infinite ,god1 ,maker of heaven and earth1 should condescend to ask us to be loyal to ,him1 to love ,him1 should encourage us to pray to ,him boldly1 and then should condescend to hear our prayers--we1 who in comparison of ,him are smaller than the gnats in the sunbeam in comparison of men6 ,and then1 when we remember that ,he has sent ,his only ,son into the world to take our nature upon ,him1 and join us all together into one great and everlasting family1 the body of ,christ the ,lord1 and that ,he has actually given us a share in ,his own ,almighty ,holy ,spirit that we may be able to love ,him1 and to serve ,him1 and to be joined to ,him1 the ,almighty ,father1 do we not see that all this is infinitely more honourable to us than if we were each to go on his own way here without ,god--without knowing anything of the everlasting world of spirits to which we now belong8 ,my friends1 instead of being ashamed of being able to do nothing for ourselves1 we ought to rejoice at having ,god for our ,father and our ,friend1 to enable us to 8do all things through ,him who strengthens us0--to do whatever is noble1 and loving1 and worthy of true men4 ,instead1 then1 of dreaming conceitedly that ,god will accept us for our own sakes1 let us just be content to be accepted for the sake of ,jesus ,christ our ,king4 ,instead of trying to walk through this world without ,god's help1 let us ask ,god to help and guide us in every action of our lives1 and then go manfully forward1 doing with all our might whatsoever our hands or our hearts see right to do1 trusting to ,god to put us in the right path1 and to fill our heads with right thoughts and our hearts with right feeling2 and so our faith will shew itself in our works1 and we shall be justified at the last day1 as all good men have ever been1 by trusting to our ,heavenly ,father and to the ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and the guidance of ,his ,holy ,spirit4 ,,sermon ,,vi4 ,,the ,,spirit ,,and ,,the ,,flesh4 ,,galatians1 v4 #af4 8,i say then1 ,walk in the ,spirit1 and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh4 ,for the flesh lusteth against the ,spirit1 and the ,spirit against the flesh1 and these are contrary the one to the other40 ,,the more we think seriously1 my friends1 the more we shall see what wonderful and awful things words are1 how they mean much more than we fancy1--how we do not make words1 but words are given to us by one higher than ourselves4 ,wise men say that you can tell the character of any nation by its language1 by watching the words they use1 the names they give to things1 for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks1 and by our words1 our ,lord tells us1 we shall be justified and condemned4 ,it is ,god1 and ,christ1 the ,word of ,god1 who gives words to men1 who puts it into the hearts of men to call certain things by certain names2 and1 according to a nation's godliness1 and wisdom1 and purity of heart1 will be its power of using words discreetly and reverently4 ,that miracle of the gift of tongues1 of which we read in the ,new ,testament1 would have been still most precious and full of meaning if it had had no other use than this--to teach men from whom words come4 ,when men found themselves all of a sudden inspired to talk in foreign languages which they had never learnt1 to utter words of which they themselves did not know the meaning1 do you not see how it must have made them feel that all language is ,god's making and ,god's giving8 ,do you not see how it must have made them feel what awful1 mysterious things words were1 like those cloven tongues of fire which fell on the apostles8 ,the tongues of fire signified the difficult foreign languages which they suddenly began to speak as the ,spirit gave them utterance4 ,and where did the tongues of fire come from8 ,not out of themselves1 not out of the earth beneath1 but down from the heaven above1 to signify that it is not from man1 from man's flesh or brain1 or the earthly part of him1 that words are bred1 but that they come down from ,christ the ,word of ,god1 and are breathed into the minds of men by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,why do ,i speak of all this8 ,to make you feel what awful1 wonderful things words are2 how1 when you want to understand the meaning of a word1 you must set to work with reverence and godly fear--not in self-conceit and prejudice1 taking the word to mean just what suits your own notions of things1 but trying humbly to find out what the word really does mean of itself1 what ,god meant it to mean when ,he put it into the hearts of wise men to use that word and bring it into our ,english language4 ,a man ought to read a newspaper or a story-book in that spirit2 how much more1 when he takes up the ,bible6 ,how reverently he ought to examine every word in the ,new ,testament--this very text1 for instance4 ,we ought to be sure that ,st4 ,paul1 just because he was an inspired apostle1 used the very best possible words to express what he meant on so important a matter2 and what are the best words8 ,the clearest and the simplest words are the best words2 else how is the ,bible to be the poor man's book8 ,how1 unless the wayfaring man1 though simple1 shall not err therein8 ,therefore we may be sure the words in ,scripture are certain to be used in their simplest1 most natural1 most everyday meaning1 such as the simplest man can understand4 ,and1 therefore1 we may be sure1 that these two words1 8flesh0 and 8spirit10 in my text1 are used in their very simplest1 straightforward sense2 and that ,st4 ,paul meant by them what working-men mean by them in the affairs of daily life4 ,no doubt ,st4 ,peter says that there are many things in ,st4 ,paul's writings difficult to be understood1 which those who are unlearned and unstable wrest to their own destruction2 and1 most true it is1 so they do daily4 ,but what does 8wresting0 a thing mean8 ,it means twisting it1 bending it1 turning it out of its original straightforward1 natural meaning1 into some new crooked meaning of their own4 ,this is the way we are all of us too apt1 ,i am afraid1 to come to ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles4 ,we find him difficult because we won't take him at his word1 because we tear a text out of its right place in the chapter--the place where ,st4 ,paul put it1 and make it stand by itself1 instead of letting the rest of the chapter explain its meaning4 ,and then1 again1 people use the words in the text as unfairly and unreasonably as they use the text itself1 they won't let the words have their common-sense ,english meaning--they must stick a new meaning on them of their own4 #8,oh1' they say1 #8that text must not be taken literally1 that word has a spiritual signification here4 ,flesh does not mean flesh1 it means men's corrupt nature2' little thinking all the while that perhaps they understand those words1 spiritual1 and corrupt1 and nature1 just as ill as they do the rest of the text4 ,how much better1 my friends1 to let the ,bible tell its own story2 not to be so exceeding wise above what is written1 just to believe that ,st4 ,paul knew better how to use words than we are likely to do1--just to believe that when he says flesh he means flesh4 ,everybody agrees that when he says spirit he means spirit1 why1 in the name of common sense1 when he says flesh should he not mean flesh8 ,for my own part ,i believe that when ,st4 ,paul talks of man's flesh1 he means by it man's body1 man's heart and brain1 and all his bodily appetites and powers--what we call a man's constitution2 in a word1 the animal part of man1 just what a man has in common with the beasts who perish4 ,to understand what ,i mean1 consider any animal--a dog1 for instance--how much every animal has in it what men have1--a body1 and brain1 and heart2 it hungers and thirsts as we do1 it can feel pleasure and pain1 anger and loneliness1 and fear and madness2 it likes freedom1 company1 and exercise1 praise and petting1 play and ease2 it uses a great deal of cunning1 and thought1 and courage1 to get itself food and shelter1 just as human beings do3 in short1 it has a fleshly nature1 just as we have1 and yet1 after all1 it is but an animal1 and so1 in one sense1 we are all animals1 only more delicately made than the other animals2 but we are something more1 we have a spirit as well as a flesh1 an immortal soul4 ,if any one asks1 what is a man8 the true answer is1 an animal with an immortal spirit in it2 and this spirit can feel more than pleasure and pain1 which are mere carnal1 that is1 fleshly things2 it can feel trust1 and hope1 and peace1 and love1 and purity1 and nobleness1 and independence1 and1 above all1 it can feel right and wrong4 ,there is the infinite difference between an animal and a man1 between our flesh and our spirit2 an animal has no sense of right and wrong2 a dog who has done wrong is often terrified1 but not because he feels it wrong and wicked1 but because he knows from experience that he will be punished for doing it3 just so with a man's fleshly nature2--a carnal1 fleshly man1 a man whose spirit is dead within him1 whose spiritual sense of right and wrong1 and honour and purity1 is gone1 when he has done a wrong thing is often enough afraid2 but why8 ,not for any spiritual reason1 not because he feels it a wicked and abominable thing1 a sin1 but because he is afraid of being punished for it1 because he is afraid that his body1 his flesh will be punished by the laws of the land1 or by public opinion1 or because he has some dim belief that this same body and flesh of his will be burnt in hell-fire2 and fire1 he knows by experience1 is a painful thing--and so he is afraid of it2 there is nothing spiritual in all that1--that is all fleshly1 carnal2 the heathens in all ages have been afraid of hell-fire2 but a man's spirit1 on the other hand1 if it be in hell1 is in a very different hell from mere fire1--a spiritual hell1 such as torments the evil spirits1 at this very moment1 although they are going to and fro on this very earth4 ,this earth is hell to them2 they carry about hell in them1--they are their own hell4 ,everlasting shame1 discontent1 doubt1 despair1 rage1 disgust at themselves1 feeling that they are out of favour with ,god1 out of tune with heaven and earth1 loving nothing1 believing nothing1 ever hating1 hating each other1 hating themselves most of all--there is their hell6 ,there is the hell in which the soul of every wicked man is1--ay1 is now while he is in this life1 though he will only awake to the perfect misery of it after death1 when his body and fleshly nature have mouldered away in the grave1 and can no longer pamper and stupify him and make him forget his own misery4 ,ay1 there has been many a man in this life who had every fleshly enjoyment which this world can give1 riches and pleasure1 banquets and palaces1 every sense and every appetite pampered1--his pride and his vanity flattered2 who never knew what want1 or trouble1 or contradiction1 was on the smallest point2 a man1 ,i say1 who had every carnal enjoyment which this earth can give to a man's selfish flesh1 and yet whose spirit was in hell all the while1 and who knew it2 hating and despising himself for a mean selfish villain1 while all the world round was bowing down to him and envying him as the luckiest of men4 ,i am trying to make you understand the infinite difference between a man's flesh and his spirit2 how a man's flesh can take no pleasure in spiritual things1 while man's spirit of itself can take no pleasure in fleshly things4 ,now1 the spirit and the flesh1 body and soul1 in every man1 are at war with each other1--they have quarrelled2 that is the corruption of our nature1 the fruit of ,adam's fall4 ,and as the ,article says1 and as every man who has ever tried to live godly well knows1 from experience1 8that infection of nature does remain to the last1 even in those who are regenerate40 ,so that as ,st4 ,paul says1 the spirit lusteth against the flesh1 and the flesh against the spirit2 and it continually happens that a man cannot do the things which he would2 he cannot do what he knows to be right2 thus1 as ,st4 ,paul says again1 a man may delight in the law of ,god in his inward man1 that is1 in his spirit1 and yet all the while he shall find another law in his members1 i4e4 in his body1 in his flesh1 in his brain which thinks1 and his heart which feels1 and his senses which are fond of pleasure2 and this law of the flesh1 these appetites and passions which he has1 like other animals1 fight against the law of his mind1 and when he wishes to do good1 make him do evil4 ,now how is this8 ,the flesh is not evil2 a man's body can be no more wicked than a dumb beast can be wicked4 ,st4 ,paul calls man's flesh sinful flesh2 not because our flesh can sin of itself1 but because our sinful souls make our flesh do sinful things2 for1 he says1 ,christ came in the likeness of sinful flesh1 and yet in him was no sin4 ,the pure and spotless ,saviour could not have taken man's flesh upon him if there was any sinfulness in it4 ,the body knows nothing of right and wrong2 it is not subject to the law of ,god1 neither1 indeed1 can be1 says ,st4 ,paul4 ,and why8 ,because ,god's law is spiritual2 deals with right and wrong4 ,wickedness1 like righteousness1 is a spiritual thing4 ,if a man sins1 his body is not in fault2 it is his spirit2 his weak1 perverse will1 which will sooner listen to what his flesh tells him is pleasant than to what ,god tells him is right2 for this1 my friends1 is the secret of the battle of life4 ,we stand between heaven and earth4 ,above is ,god's ,spirit striving with our spirits1 speaking to them in the depths of our soul1 shewing us what is right1 putting into our hearts good desires1 making us long to be honest and just1 pure and manful1 loving and charitable2 for who is there who has not at times longed after these things1 and felt that it would be a blessed thing for him if he were such a man as ,jesus ,christ was and is8--,above us1 ,i say1 is ,god's ,spirit speaking to our spirits1 below us is this world speaking to our flesh1 as it spoke to ,eve's1 saying to us1 8,this thing is pleasant to the eyes--this thing is good for food--that thing is to be desired to make you wise1 and to flatter your vanity and self-conceit40 ,below us1 ,i say1 is this world1 tempting us to ease1 and pleasure1 and vanity2 and in the middle1 betwixt the two1 stands up the third part of man--his soul and will1 set to choose between the voice of ,god's ,spirit and the temptations of this world--to choose between what is right and what is pleasant--to choose whether he will obey the desires of the spirit1 or obey the desires of the flesh4 ,he must choose4 ,if he lets his flesh conquer his spirit1 he falls2 if he lets his spirit conquer his flesh1 he rises2 if he lets his flesh conquer his spirit1 he becomes what he was not meant to be--a slave to fleshly lust2 and then he will find his flesh set up for itself1 and work for itself4 ,and where man's flesh gets the upper hand1 and takes possession of him1 it can do nothing but evil--not that it is evil in itself1 but that it has no rule1 no law to go by2 it does not know right from wrong2 and therefore it does simply what it likes1 as a dumb beast or an idiot might2 and therefore the works of the flesh are--adulteries1 drunkenness1 murders1 fornications1 envyings1 backbitings1 strife4 ,when a man's body1 which ,god intended to be the servant of his spirit1 has become the tyrant of his spirit1 it is like an idiot on a king's throne1 doing all manner of harm and folly without knowing that it is harm and folly4 ,that is not its fault4 ,whose fault is it1 then8 ,our fault--the fault of our wills and our souls4 ,our souls were intended to be the masters of our flesh1 to conquer all the weaknesses1 defilements of our constitution--our tempers1 our cowardice1 our laziness1 our hastiness1 our nervousness1 our vanity1 our love of pleasure--to listen to our spirits1 because our spirits learn from ,god's ,spirit what is right and noble4 ,but if we let our flesh master us1 and obey its own blind lusts1 we sin against ,god2 and we sin against ,god doubly2 for we not only sin against ,god's commandments1 but we sin against ourselves1 who are the image and glory of ,god4 ,believe this1 my friends2 believe that1 because you are all fallen human creatures1 there must go on in you this sore life-long battle between your spirit and your flesh--your spirit trying to be master and guide1 as it ought to be1 and your flesh rebelling1 and trying to conquer your spirit and make you a mere animal1 like a fox in cunning1 a peacock in vanity1 or a hog in greedy sloth4 ,but believe1 too1 that it is your sin and your shame if your spirit does not conquer your flesh--for ,god has promised to help your spirits4 ,ask ,him1 and ,his ,spirit will teach them--fill them with pure1 noble hopes1 with calm1 clear thoughts1 and with deep1 unselfish love to ,god and man4 ,he will strengthen your wills1 that they may be able to refuse the evil and choose the good4 ,ask ,him1 and ,he will join them to ,his own ,spirit--to the ,spirit of ,christ1 your ,master2 for he that is joined unto the ,lord is one spirit with ,him4 ,ask him1 and ,he will give you the mind of ,christ--teach you to see and feel all matters as ,christ sees and feels them4 ,ask ,him1 and ,he will give you wisdom to listen to ,his ,spirit when it teaches your spirit1 and then you will be able to walk after the spirit1 and not obey the lusts of the flesh2 and you will be able to crucify the flesh with its passions and lusts1 that is1 to make it1 what it ought to be1 a dead thing--a dead tool for your spirit to work with manfully and godly1 and not a live tyrant to lead you into brutishness and folly2 and then you will find that the fruit of the spirit1 of your spirit led by ,god's ,spirit1 is really1 as ,st4 ,paul says1 8love1 joy1 peace1 long-suffering1 gentleness1 honesty0--8whatsoever things are true1 whatsoever things are honourable and of good report20 and instead of being the miserable slaves of your own passions1 and of the opinions of your neighbours1 you will find that where the ,spirit of the ,lord is1 there is liberty1 true freedom1 not only from your neighbours' sins1 but1 what is far better1 freedom from your own4 ,these are large words1 my friends1 and promise mighty things4 ,but ,i dare speak them to you1 for ,god has spoken to you4 ,these promises ,god made you at your baptism2 these promises ,i1 on the warrant of your baptism1 dare make to you again4 ,at your baptism1 ,god gave you the right to call ,him your loving ,father1 to call ,his ,son your ,saviour1 ,his ,spirit your ,sanctifier4 ,and ,he is not a man1 that ,he should lie2 nor the son of man1 that ,he should repent6 ,try ,him1 and see whether ,he will not fulfil ,his word4 ,claim ,his promise1 and though you have fallen lower than the brutes1 ,he will make men and women of you4 ,he will be faithful and just to forgive you your sins1 and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness4 ,,sermon ,,vii4 ,,retribution4 ,,numbers1 xxxii4 #bc4 8,be sure your sin will find you out40 ,,the full meaning of this text is1 that every sin which a man commits is certain1 sooner or later1 to come home to him with fearful interest4 ,moses gave this warning to two tribes of the ,israelites1--to the ,reubenites and ,gadites1 who had promised to go over ,jordan1 and help their countrymen in war against the heathen1 on condition of being allowed to return and settle on the east bank of ,jordan1 where they then were2 but if they broke their promise1 and returned before the end of the war1 they were to be certain that their sin would find them out2 that ,god would avenge their falsehood on them in some way in their lifetime3 in their lifetime1 ,i say1 for there is no mention made in this chapter1 or in any part of the story1 of heaven or hell1 or any world to come4 ,and the text has been always taken as a fair warning to all generations of men1 that their sin also1 even in their lifetimes1 will be visited upon them4 ,now1 it is strange1 at first sight1 that these texts1 which warn men that their sins will be punished in this life1 are just the most unpleasant texts in the whole ,bible2 that men shrink from them more1 and shut their eyes to them more than they do to those texts which threaten them with hell-fire and everlasting death4 ,strange6--that men should be more afraid of being punished in this life for a few years than in the life to come for ever and ever2--and yet not strange if we consider2 for to worldly and sinful souls1 that life after death and the flames of hell seem quite distant and dim--things of which they know little and believe less1 while this world they do know1 they are quite certain that its good things are pleasant and its bad things unpleasant1 and they are thoroughly afraid of losing them4 ,their hearts are where their treasure is1 in this world2 and a punishment which deprives them of this world's good things hits them home3 but their treasure is not in heaven1 and1 therefore1 about losing heaven they are by no means so much concerned4 ,and thus they can face the dreadful news that 8the wicked shall be turned into hell1 and all the people that forget ,god20 while1 as for the news that the wicked shall be recompensed on the earth1 that their sins will surely find them out in this life1 they cannot face that--they shut their ears to it1--they try to persuade themselves that sin will pay them here1 at all events2 and as for hereafter1 they shall get off somehow1--they neither know nor care much how4 ,yet ,god's truth remains1 and ,god's truth must be heard2 and those who love this world so well must be told1 whether they like or not1 that every sin which they commit1 every mean1 every selfish1 every foul deed1 loses them so much enjoyment in this very present world of which they are so mighty fond4 ,that is ,god's truth2 and ,i will prove it true from common sense1 from ,holy ,scripture1 and from the witness of men's own hearts4 ,take common sense4 ,does not common sense tell us that if ,god made this world1 and governs it by righteous and ,god-like laws1 this must be a world in which evil-doing cannot thrive8 ,god made the world better than that1 surely6 ,he would be a bad law-giver who made such laws1 that it was as well to break them as to keep them4 ,you would call them bad laws1 surely6 ,no1 ,god made the world1 and not the devil2 and the world works by ,god's laws1 and not the devil's2 and it inclines towards good1 and not towards evil2 and he who sins1 even in the least1 breaks ,god's laws1 acts contrary to the rule and constitution of the world1 and will surely find that ,god's laws will go on in spite of him1 and grind him to powder1 if he by sinning gets in the way of them4 ,god has no need to go out of ,his way to punish our evil deeds4 ,let them alone1 and they will punish themselves4 ,is it not so in every thing8 ,if a tradesman trades badly1 or a farmer farms badly1 there is no need of lawyers to punish him2 he will punish himself4 ,every mistake he makes will take money out of his pocket2 every time he offends against the established rules of trade or agriculture1 which are ,god's laws1 he injures himself2 and so1 be sure1 it is in the world at large1--in the world in which men and the souls of men live1 and move1 and have their being4 ,next1 to speak of ,scripture4 ,i might quote texts innumerable to prove that what ,i say ,scripture says also4 ,consider but this one thing1--that there is a whole book in the ,bible written to prove this one thing1--that our good and bad deeds are repaid us with interest in this life--the ,proverbs of ,solomon ,i mean--in which there is little or no mention of heaven or hell1 or any world to come4 ,it is all one noble1 and awful1 and yet cheering sermon on that one text1 8,the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth1 much more the wicked and the sinner10--put in a thousand different lights2 brought home to us a thousand different roads1 comes the same everlasting doom1--8,vain man1 who thinkest that thou canst live in ,god's world and yet despise ,his will1 know that1 in every smiling1 comfortable sin1 thou art hatching an adder to sting thee in the days of old age1 to poison thy cup of sinful joy1 even when it is at thy lips2 to haunt thy restless thoughts1 and dog thee day and night2 to rise up before thee1 in the silent1 sleepless hours of night1 like an angry ghost6 ,an awful foretaste of the doom that is to come2 and yet a merciful foretaste1 if thou wilt be but taught by the disappointment1 the unsatisfied craving1 the gnawing shame of a guilty conscience1 to see the heinousness of sin1 and would turn before it be too late40 ,what1 my friends1--what will you make of such texts as this1 8,that he who soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption80 ,do you not see that comes true far too often8 ,can it help always coming true1 seeing that ,god's apostle spoke it8 ,what will you make of this1 too1 8,that the wicked is snared by the working of his own hands20--8,that evil0--the evil which we do of its own self--8shall slay the wicked80 ,what says the whole noble #cgth ,psalm of ,david1 but that same awful truth of ,god1 that sin is its own punishment8 ,why should ,i go on quoting texts8 ,look for yourselves1 you who fancy that it is only on the other side of the grave that ,god will trouble ,himself about you and your meanness1 your profligacy1 your falsehood4 ,look for yourselves in the book of ,god1 and see if there be any writer there1--lawgiver1 prophet1 psalmist1 apostle1 up to ,christ the ,lord ,himself1--who does not warn men again and again1 that here1 on earth1 their sins will find them out4 ,our ,saviour1 indeed1 when on earth1 said less about this subject than any of the prophets before ,him1 or the apostles after ,him1 and for the best of reasons4 ,the ,jews had got rooted in their minds a superstitious notion1 that all disease1 all sorrow1 was the punishment in each case of some particular sin2 and thus1 instead of looking with pity and loving awe upon the sick and the afflicted1 they were accustomed1 too often1 to turn from them as sinners1 smitten of ,god1 bearing in their distress the token of ,his anger4 ,the blessed ,one1--,he who came to heal the sick and save the lost1--reproved that error more than once4 ,when the disciples fancied a certain poor man's blindness to be a judgment from ,god1 8,neither did he sin10 said the ,lord1 8nor his parents1 but that the glory of ,god might be made manifest in him40 ,and yet1 on the other hand1 when ,he healed a certain man of an old infirmity at the pool of ,bethesda1 what were ,his words to him8 8,go thy way1 sin no more1 lest a worse thing come unto thee20--a clear and weighty warning that all his long misery of eight-and-thirty years had been the punishment of some sin of his1 and that the sin repeated would bring on him a still severer judgment4 ,what1 again1 does the apostle mean1 in the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 when he tells us how ,god scourges every son whom he receives1 and talks of ,his chastisements1 whereof all are partakers4 ,why do we need chastising if we have nothing which needs mending8 ,and though the innocent may sometimes be afflicted to make them strong as well as innocent1 and the holy chastened to make them humble as well as holy1 yet if the good cannot escape their share of affliction1 how will the bad get off8 8,if the righteous scarcely be saved1 where will the ungodly and the sinner appear80 ,but what use in arguing when you know that my words are true8 ,you know that your sins will find you out4 ,look boldly and honestly into your own hearts4 ,look through the history of your past lives1 and confess to ,god1 at least1 that the far greater number of your sorrows have been your own fault2 that there is hardly a day's misery which you ever endured in your life of which you might not say1 #8,if ,i had listened to the voice of ,god in my conscience--if ,i had earnestly considered what my duty was--if ,i had prayed to ,god to determine my judgment right1 ,i should have been spared this sorrow now8' ,am ,i not right8 ,those who know most of ,god and their own souls will agree most with me2 those who know little about ,god and their own souls will agree but hardly with me1 for they provoke ,god's chastisements1 and writhe under them for the time1 and then go and do the same wrong again1 as the wild beast will turn and bite the stone thrown at him without having the sense to see why it was thrown4 ,think1 again1 of your past lives1 and answer in ,god's sight1 how many wrong things have you ever done which have succeeded1 that is1 how many sins which you would not be right glad were undone if you could but put back the wheels of ,time8 ,they may have succeeded outwardly2 meanness will succeed so--lies--oppression--theft--adultery--d runkenness--godlessness--they are all pleasant enough while they last1 ,i suppose2 and a man may reap what he calls substantial benefits from them in money1 and suchlike1 and keep that safe enough2 but has his sin succeeded8 ,has it not found him out8--found him out never to lose him again8 ,is he the happier for it8 ,does he feel freer for it8 ,does he respect himself the more for it8--,no6 ,and even though he may prosper now1 yet does there not run though all his selfish pleasure a certain fearful looking forward to a fiery judgment to which he would gladly shut his eyes1 but cannot8 ,cunning1 fair-spoken oppressor of the poor1 has not thy sin found thee out8 ,then be sure it will4 ,in the shame of thine own heart it will find thee out2--in the curses of the poor it will find thee out2--in a friendless1 restless1 hopeless death-bed1 thy covetousness and thy cruelty will glare before thee in their true colours1 and thy sin will find thee out6 ,profligate woman1 who art now casting away thy honest name1 thy self-respect1 thy womanhood1 thy baptism-vows1 that thou mayest enjoy the foul pleasures of sin for a season1 has not thy sin found thee out8 ,then be sure it will hereafter1 when thou hast become disgusted at thyself and thine own infamy1--and youth1 and health1 and friends1 are gone1 and a shameful and despised old age creeps over thee1 and death stalks nearer and nearer1 and ,god vanishes further and further off1 then thy sin will find thee out6 ,foolish1 improvident young man1 who art wasting the noble strength of youth1 and manly spirits which ,god has given thee on sin and folly1 throwing away thine honest earnings in cards and drunkenness1 instead of laying them by against a time of need--has not thy sin found thee out8 ,then be sure it will some day1 when thou hast to bring home thy bride to a cheerless1 unfurnished house1 and there to live from hand to mouth1--without money to provide for her sickness1--without money to give her the means of keeping things neat and comfortable when she is well1--without a farthing laid by against distress1 and illness1 and old age3--then your sin will find you out3 then1 perhaps1 my text1--my words--may come across you as you sigh in vain in your comfortless home1 in your impoverished old age1 for the money which you wasted in your youth6 ,my friends1 my friends1 for your own sakes consider1 and mend ere that day come1 as else it surely will6 ,and1 lastly1 you who1 without running into any especial sins1 as those which the world calls sins1 still live careless about religion1 without loyalty to ,christ the ,lord1 without any honest attempt1 or even wish1 to serve the ,god above you1 or to rejoice in remembering that you are ,his children1 working for ,him and under ,him1--be sure your sin will find you out4 ,when affliction1 or sickness1 or disappointment come1 as come they will1 if ,god has not cast you off2--when the dark day dawns1 and your fool's paradise of worldly prosperity is cut away from under your feet1 then you will find out your folly--you will find that you have insulted the only ,friend who can bring you out of affliction--cast off the only comfort which can strengthen you to bear affliction--forgotten the only knowledge which will enable you to be the wiser for affliction4 ,then1 ,i say1 the sin of your godlessness will find you out2 if you do not intend to fall1 soured and sickened merely by ,god's chastisements1 either into stupid despair or peevish discontent1 you will have to go back1 to go back to ,god and cry1 8,father1 ,i have sinned against heaven and before ,thee1 and am no more worthy to be called ,thy son40 ,go back at once before it be too late4 ,find out your sins and mend them--before they find you out1 and break your hearts4 ,,sermon ,,viii4 ,,self-,,destruction4 #a ,,kings1 xxii4 #bc4 8,the ,lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets40 ,,the chapter from which my text is taken1 which is the first lesson for this evening's service1 is a very awful chapter1 for it gives us an insight into the meaning of that most awful and terrible word--temptation4 ,and yet it is a most comforting chapter1 for it shews us how ,god is long-suffering and merciful1 even to the most hardened sinner2 how to the last ,he puts before him good and evil1 to choose between them1 and warns him to the last of his path1 and the ruin to which it leads4 ,we read of ,ahab in the first lesson this morning as a thoroughly wicked man1--mean and weak1 cruel and ungodly1 governed by his wife ,jezebel1 a heathen woman1 in marrying whom he had broken ,god's law1--a woman so famous for cruelty and fierceness1 vanity and wickedness1 that her name is a by-word even here in ,england now--8as bad as ,jezebel10 we say to this day4 ,we heard of ,ahab in this morning's lesson letting ,jezebel murder the righteous ,naboth1 by perjury and slander1 to get possession of his vineyard2 and then1 instead of shrinking with abhorrence from his wife's iniquity1 going down and taking possession of the land which he had gained by her sin4 ,we read of ,god's curse on him1 and yet of ,god's long-suffering and pardon to him on his repentance4 ,yet1 neither ,god's curse nor ,god's mercy seem to have moved him4 ,but he had been always the same4 8,he did evil10 the ,bible tells us1 8in the sight of the ,lord above all that were before him40 ,he deserted the true ,god for his wife's idols and false gods2 and in spite of ,elijah's miracle at ,carmel--of which you heard last ,sunday--by which he proved by fire which was the true ,god1 and in spite of the wonderful victory which ,god had given him1 by means of one of ,god's prophets1 over the ,syrians1 he still remained an idolater4 ,he would not be taught1 nor understand2 neither ,god's threats nor mercies could move him2 he went on sinning against light and knowledge2 and now his cup was full--his days were numbered1 and ,god's vengeance was ready at the door4 ,he consulted all his false prophets as to whether or not he should go to attack the ,syrians at ,ramoth-,gilead4 ,they knew what to say--they knew that their business was to prophesy what would pay them--what would be pleasant to him4 ,they did not care whether what they said was true or not--they lied for the sake of gain1 for the ,lord had put a lying spirit into their mouths4 ,they were rogues and villains from the first4 ,they had turned prophets1 not to speak ,god's truth1 but to make money1 to flatter ,king ,ahab1 to get themselves a reputation4 ,we do not hear that they were all heathens4 ,many of them may have believed in the true ,god4 ,but they were cheats and liars1 and so they had given place to the devil1 the father of lies3 and now he had taken possession of them in spite of themselves1 and they lied to ,ahab1 and told him that he would prosper in the battle at ,ramoth-,gilead4 ,it was a dangerous thing for them to say2 for if he had been defeated1 and returned disappointed1 his rage would have most probably fallen on them for deceiving them4 ,and as in those ,eastern countries kings do whatever they like without laws or parliaments1 ,ahab would have most likely put them all to a miserable death on the spot4 ,but however dangerous it might be for them to lie1 they could not help lying4 ,a spirit of lies had seized them1 and they who began by lying1 because it paid them1 now could not help doing so whether it paid them or not4 ,but the good king of ,judah1 ,jehoshaphat1 had no faith in these flattering villains4 ,he asked whether there was not another prophet of the ,lord to inquire of8 ,ahab told him that there was one1 ,micaiah the son of ,imlah1 but that he hated him1 because he only prophesied evil of him4 ,what a thorough picture of a hardened sinner--a man who has become a slave to his own lusts1 till he cares nothing for a thing being true1 provided only it is pleasant6 ,thus the wilful sinner1 like ,ahab1 becomes both fool and coward1 afraid to look at things as they are2 and when ,god's judgments stare him in the face1 the wretched man shuts his eyes tight1 and swears that the evil is not there1 just because he does not choose to see it4 ,but the evil was there1 ready for ,ahab1 and it found him4 ,when he forced ,micaiah to speak1 ,micaiah told him the whole truth4 ,he told him a vision1 or dream1 which he had seen4 8,hear thou therefore the word of the ,lord3 ,i saw the ,lord sitting on ,his throne1 and all the host of heaven standing by ,him4 ,and the ,lord said1 ,who shall persuade ,ahab1 that he may go up and fall at ,ramoth-,gilead8 ,and there came forth a spirit1 and said1 ,i will go forth1 and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets4 ,and the ,lord said1 ,thou shalt persuade him1 and prevail also3 go forth1 and do so4 ,now therefore1 behold1 the ,lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets1 and the ,lord hath spoken evil concerning thee40 ,what warning could be more awful1 and yet more plain8 ,ahab was told that he was listening to a lie4 ,he had free choice to follow that lie or not1 and he did follow it4 ,after having put ,micaiah into prison for speaking the truth to him1 he went up to ,ramoth-,gilead2 and yet he felt he was not safe4 ,he had his doubts and his fears4 ,he would not go openly into the battle1 but disguised himself1 hoping that by this means he should keep himself safe from evil4 ,fool6 ,god's vengeance could not be stopped by his paltry cunning4 ,in spite of all his disguises1 a chance shot struck him down between the joints of his armour4 ,his chariot-driver carried him out of the battle1 and 8he was stayed up in his chariot against the ,syrians1 and died at even3 and the blood ran out of his wound into the midst of the chariot4 ,and one washed the chariot in the pool of ,samaria2 and the dogs licked up his blood there10 according to the word of the ,lord1 which ,he spoke by the mouth of ,his prophet ,elijah1 saying1 8,in the place where dogs licked the blood of ,naboth1 whom thou slewest1 shall dogs lick thy blood1 even thine40 ,and do not fancy1 my friends1 that because this is a miraculous story of ancient times1 it has nothing to do with us4 ,all these things were written for our example4 ,this chapter tells us not merely how ,ahab was tempted1 but it tells us how we are tempted1 every one of us1 here in ,england1 in these very days4 ,as it was with ,ahab1 so it is with us4 ,every wilful sin that we commit we give room to the devil4 ,every wrong step that we take knowingly1 we give a handle to some evil spirit to lead us seven steps further wrong4 ,and yet in every temptation ,god gives us a fair chance4 ,he is no cruel tyrant who will deliver us over to the devil1 to be led helpless and blindfold to our ruin4 ,he did not give ,ahab over to him so4 ,he sent a lying spirit to deceive ,ahab's prophets1 that ,ahab might go up and fall at ,ramoth-,gilead2 but at the very same time1 see1 he sends a holy and a true man1 a man whom ,ahab could trust1 and did trust at the bottom of his heart1 to tell him that the lie was a lie1 to warn him of his ruin1 so that he might have no excuse for listening to those false prophets--no excuse for following his own pride1 his own ambition1 to his destruction4 ,so you see1 8,let no man say1 when he is tempted1 ,i am tempted of ,god1 for ,god tempteth no man1 but every one is tempted when he is led away by his own lust and enticed40 ,ahab was led away by his own lust2 his cowardly love of hearing what was pleasant and flattering to him1 rather than what was true--rather than what he knew he deserved2 that was what enticed him to listen to ,zedekiah and the false prophets1 rather than to ,micaiah the son of ,imlah4 ,that is what entices us to sin--the lust of believing what is pleasant to us1 what suits our own self-will--what is pleasant to our bodies--pleasant to our purses--pleasant to our pride and self-conceit4 ,then1 when the lying spirit comes and whispers to us1 by bad thoughts1 by bad books1 by bad men1 that we shall prosper in our wickedness1 does ,god leave us alone to listen to those evil voices without warning8 ,no6 ,he sends ,his prophets to us1 as ,he sent ,micaiah to ,ahab1 to tell us that the wages of sin is death--to tell us that those who sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind--to set before us at every turn good or evil1 that we may choose between them1 and live or die according to our choice4 ,for do not fancy that there are no prophets in our days1 unless the gift of the ,holy ,spirit1 which is promised to all who believe1 be a dream and a lie4 ,there are prophets nowadays1--yea1 ,i say unto you1 and more than prophets4 ,is not the ,bible a prophet8 ,is not every page in it a prophecy to us1 foretelling ,god's mercies and ,god's punishments towards men4 ,is not every holy and wise book1 every holy and wise preacher and writer1 a prophet1 expounding to us ,god's laws1 foretelling to us ,god's opinions of our deeds1 both good and evil8 ,ay1 is not every man a prophet to himself8 ,that 8still small voice0 in a man's heart1 which warns him of what is evil--that feeling which makes him cheerful and free when he has done right1 sad and ashamed when he has done wrong--is not that a prophecy in a man's own heart8 ,truly it is4 ,it is the voice of ,god within us--it is the ,spirit of ,god striving with our spirits1 whether we will hear1 or whether we will forbear--setting before us what is righteous1 and noble1 and pure1 and what is manly and ,god-like--to see whether we will obey that voice1 or whether we will obey our own selfish lusts1 which tempt us to please ourselves--to pamper ourselves1 our greediness1 covetousness1 ambition1 or self-conceit4 ,and again1 ,i say1 we have our prophets4 ,every preacher of righteousness is a prophet4 ,every good tract is a prophet4 ,that ,prayer-book1 those ,psalms1 those ,creeds1 those ,collects1 which you take into your mouths every ,sunday1 what are they but written prophecies1 crying unto us with the words of holy men of old1 greater than ,micaiah1 or ,david1 or ,elijah1 8,hear thou the word of the ,lord80 ,the spirits of those who wrote that ,prayer-book--the spirits of just men made perfect1 filled with the ,spirit of the ,lord--they call to us to learn the wisdom which they knew1 to avoid the temptations which they conquered1 that we may share in the glory in which they shared round the throne of ,christ for evermore4 ,and if you ask me how to try the spirits1 how to know whether your own thoughts1 whether the sermons which you hear1 the books which you read1 are speaking to you ,god's truth1 or some lying spirit's falsehood1 ,i can only answer you1 8,to the law and to the testimony0--to the ,bible2 if they speak not according to that word1 there is no truth in them4 ,but how to understand the ,bible8 for the fleshly man understands not the things of ,god4 ,the fleshly man1 he who cares only about pleasing himself1 he who goes to the ,bible full of self-conceit and selfishness1 wanting the ,bible to tell him only just what he likes to hear1 will only find it a sealed book to him1 and will very likely wrest the ,scriptures to his own destruction4 ,take up your ,bible humbly1 praying to ,god to shew you its meaning1 whether it be pleasant to you or not1 and then you will find that ,god will shew you a blessed meaning in it2 ,he will open your eyes1 that you may understand the wondrous things of ,his law2 ,he will shew you how to try the spirit of all you are taught1 and to find out whether it comes from ,god4 ,,sermon ,,ix4 ,,hell ,,on ,,earth4 ,,matthew1 viii4 #bi4 8,and behold the evil spirits cried out1 saying1 ,what have we to do with ,thee1 ,jesus1 ,thou ,son of ,god8 ,art ,thou come hither to torment us before the time80 ,,this account of the man possessed with devils1 and of his language to our ,lord1 of our ,lord's casting the devils out of the poor sufferer1 and ,his allowing them to enter into a herd of swine1 is one that is well worth serious thought2 and ,i think a few words on it will follow fitly after my last ,sunday's sermon on ,ahab and his temptations by evil spirits4 ,in that sermon ,i shewed you what temper of mind it was which laid a man open to the cunning of evil spirits2 ,i wish now to shew you something of what those evil spirits are4 ,it is very little that we can know about them4 ,we were intended to know very little1 just as much as would enable us to guard against them1 and no more4 ,the accounts of them in the ,scriptures are for our use1 not to satisfy our curiosity4 ,but we may find out a great deal about them from this very chapter1 from this very story1 which is repeated almost word for word in three different ,gospels1 as if to make us more certain of so curious and important a matter1 by having three distinct and independent writers to witness for its truth4 ,i advise all those who have ,bibles to look for this story in the #hth chapter of ,st4 ,matthew1 and follow me as ,i explain it4 #ib ,now1 first1 we may learn from this account1 that evil spirits are real persons4 ,there is a notion got abroad that it is only a figure of speech to talk of evil spirits1 that all the ,bible means by them are certain bad habits1 or bad qualities1 or diseases4 ,there are many who will say when they read this story1 #8,this poor man was only a madman4 ,it was the fashion of the old ,jews when a man was mad to say that he was possessed by evil spirits4 ,all they meant was that the man's own spirit was in an evil diseased state1 or that his brain and mind were out of order4' ,when ,i hear such language--and it is very common--,i cannot help thinking how pleased the devil must be to hear people talk in such a way4 ,how can people help him better than by saying that there is no devil8 ,a thief would be very glad to hear you say1 #8,there are no such things as thieves2 it is all an old superstition1 so ,i may leave my house open at night without danger2' and ,i believe1 my friends1 from the very bottom of my heart1 that this new-fangled disbelief in evil spirits is put into men's hearts by the evil spirits themselves4 ,as it was once said1 #8,the devil has tried every plan to catch men's souls1 and now1 as the last and most cunning trick of all1 he is shamming dead4' ,these may seem homely words1 but the homeliest words are very often the deepest4 ,i advise you all to think seriously on them4 ,but it is impossible surely to read this story without seeing that the ,bible considers evil spirits as distinct persons1 just as much as each one of us is a person1 and that our ,lord spoke to them and treated them as persons4 8,what have we to do with ,thee1 ,jesus1 ,thou ,son of ,god8 ,art ,thou come hither to torment us before the time80 ,and again1 8,if ,thou cast us out1 suffer us to go into the herd of swine40 ,what can shew more plainly that there were some persons in that poor man1 besides himself1 his own spirit1 his own person8 and that he knew it1 and ,jesus knew it too8 and that ,he spoke to these spirits1 these persons1 who possessed that man1 and not to the man himself8 ,no doubt there was a terrible confusion in the poor madman's mind about these evil spirits1 who were tormenting him1 making him miserable1 foul1 and savage1 in mind and body--a terrible confusion6 ,we find1 when ,jesus asked him his name1 he answers 8,legion10 that is an army1 a multitude1 8for we are many10 he says4 ,again1 one gospel tells us that he says1 8,what have ,i to do with ,thee1 ,jesus1 ,thou ,son of ,god80 ,while in another ,gospel we are told that he said1 8,what have we to do with ,thee80 ,he seems not to have been able to distinguish between his own spirit1 and these spirits who possessed him4 ,they put the furious and despairing thoughts into his heart2 they spoke through his mouth2 they made a slave and a puppet of him4 ,but though he could not distinguish between his own soul and the devils who were in it1 ,christ could and ,christ did4 ,the man says to ,him1 or rather the devils make the man say to ,him1 8,if ,thou cast us out1 suffer us to go into the herd of swine1 and drive us not out into the deep40 ,what did ,christ answer him8 ,christ did not answer him as our so-called wise men in these days would1 #8,my good man1 this is all a delusion and a fancy of your own1 about your having evil spirits in you--more persons than one in you--for you are wrong in saying we of yourself4 ,you ought to say 8,i10 as every one else does2 and as for spirits going out of you1 or going into a herd of swine1 or anything else1 that is all a superstition and a fancy4 ,there is nothing to come out of you1 there is nothing in you except yourself4 ,all the evil in you is your own1 the disease of your own brain1 and the violent passions of your own heart4 ,your brain must be cured by medicine1 and your violent passions tamed down by care and kindness1 and then you will get rid of this foolish notion that you have evil spirits in you1 and calling yourself a multitude1 as if you had other persons in you besides yourself4' ,any one who spoke in this manner nowadays would be thought very reasonable and very kind4 ,why did not our ,lord speak so to this man1 for there was no outward difference between this man's conduct and that of many violent mad people whom we see continually in ,england8 ,we read1 that this man possessed with devils would wear no clothes2 that he had extraordinary strength2 that he would not keep company with other men1 but abode day and night in the tombs1 exceeding fierce1 crying and cutting himself with stones1 trying in blind rage1 which he could not explain to himself1 to hurt himself and all who came near him4 ,and1 above all1 he had this notion1 that evil spirits had got possession of him4 ,now every one of these habits and fancies you may see in many raging maniacs at this day4 ,but did our ,lord treat this man as we treat such maniacs in these days8 ,he took the man at his word1 and more2 the man could not distinguish clearly between himself and the evil spirits1 but our ,lord did4 ,when the devils besought ,him1 saying1 8,if thou cast us out1 suffer us to go into the herd of swine10 our ,lord answers 8,go20 and 8when they were cast out1 they went into the herd of swine2 and1 behold1 the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea1 and perished in the waters40 ,it was as if our ,lord had meant to say to the bystanders1--ay and to us1 and to all people in all times and in all countries1 #8,this poor possessed maniac's notion was a true one4 ,there were other persons in him besides himself1 tormenting him1 body and soul3 and1 behold1 ,i can drive these out of him and send them into something else1 and leave the man uninjured1 himself1 and only himself1 again in an instant1 without any need of long education to cure him of his bad habits4' ,it will be but reasonable1 then1 for us to take this story of the man possessed by devils1 as written for our example1 as an instance of what might1 and perhaps would1 happen to any one of us1 were it not for ,god's mercy4 ,st4 ,peter tells us to be sober and watchful1 because 8the devil goes about as a roaring lion1 seeking whom he may devour20 and when we look at the world around1 we may surely see that that stands as true now as it did in ,st4 ,peter's time4 ,why1 again1 did ,st4 ,james tells us to resist the devil if the devil be not near us to resist8 ,why did ,st4 ,paul take for granted1 as he did1 that ,christian men were1 of course1 not ignorant of ,satan's devices1 if it be quite a proof of enlightenment and superior knowledge to be ignorant of his devices1--if any dread1 any thought even1 about evil spirits1 be beneath the attention of reasonable men8 ,my friends1 ,i say fairly1 once for all1 that that common notion1 that there are no men now possessed by evil spirits1 and that all those stories of the devil's power over men are only old1 worn-out superstitions has come from this1 that men do not like to retain ,god in their knowledge1 and therefore1 as a necessary consequence1 do not like to retain the devil in their knowledge2 because they would be very glad to believe in nothing but what they can see1 and taste1 and handle2 and1 therefore1 the thought of unseen evil spirits1 or good spirits either1 is a painful thing to them4 ,first1 they do not really believe in angels--ministering spirits sent out to minister to the heirs of salvation2 then they begin not to believe in evil spirits4 ,the ,bible plainly describes their vast numbers2 but these people are wiser than the ,bible1 and only talk of one--of the devil1 as if there were not1 as the text tells us1 legions and armies of devils4 ,then they get rid of that one devil in their real desire to believe in as few spirits as possible4 ,i am afraid many of them have gone on to the next step1 and got rid of the one ,god out of their thoughts and their belief4 ,i said ,i am afraid1 ,i ought to have said ,i know1 that they have done so1 and that thousands in this day who began by saying evil spirits only mean certain diseases and bad habits in men1 have ended by saying1 8,god only means certain good habits in man4 ,god is no more a person than the evil spirits are persons40 ,i warn you of all this1 my friends1 because if you go to live in large towns1 as many of you will1 you will hear talk enough of this sort before your hairs are grey1 put cleverly and eloquently enough2 for1 as a wise man said1 8,the devil does not send fools on his errands40 ,i pray ,god1 that if you ever do hear doctrines of that kind1 some of my words may rise in your mind and help to shew to you the evil path down which they lead4 ,we may believe1 then1 from the plain words of ,scriptures1 that there are vast numbers of evil spirits continually tempting men1 each of them to some particular sin2 to worldliness1 for instance1 for we read of the spirit of the evil world2 to filthiness1 for we read of unclean spirits2 to falsehood1 for we read of lying spirits and a spirit of lies2 to pride1 for we read of a spirit of pride2--in short1 to all sins which a man can commit1 to all evil passions to which a man can give way4 ,we have a right to believe1 from the plain words of ,scripture1 that these spirits are continually wandering up and down tempting men to sin4 ,that wonderful story of ,job's temptation1 which you may all read for yourselves in the first chapter of the book of ,job1 is1 ,i think1 proof enough for any one4 ,but next1 and ,i wish you to pay special attention to this point3 ,we have no right to believe1--we have every right not to believe1 that these evil spirits can make us sin in the smallest matter against our own wills4 ,the devil cannot put a single sin into us2 he can only flatter the sinfulness which is already in us4 ,for1 see2 this pride1 lust1 covetousness1 falsehood1 and so on1 to which the ,bible tells us they tempt us1 have roots already in our nature4 ,our fallen nature of itself is inclined to pride1 to worldliness1 and so on4 ,these devils tempt us by putting in our way the occasion to sin1 by suggesting to us tempting thoughts and arguments which lead to sin2 so the serpent tempted ,eve1 not by making her ambitious and self-willed1 but by using arguments to her which stirred up the ambition and self-will in her3 8,ye shall be as gods1 knowing good and evil10 the devil said to her4 ,so ,satan1 the prince of the evil spirits1 tempted our ,lord4 ,and as the prince of the devils tempted ,christ1 so do his servants tempt us1 ,christ's servants4 ,our tempers1 our longings1 our fancies1 are not evil spirits2 they are1 as old divines well describe them1 like greedy and foolish fish1 who rise at the baits which evil spirits hold out to us4 ,if we resist those baits--if we put ourselves under ,god's protection--if we claim strength from ,him who conquered the devil and all ,his temptations1 then we shall be able to turn our wills away from those tempting baits1 and to resign our wills into our ,father's hand1 and ,he will take care of them1 and strengthen them with ,his will2 and we shall find out that if we resist the devil1 he will flee from us4 ,but if we yield to temptations whenever they come in our way1 we shall find ourselves less and less able to resist them1 for we shall learn to hate the evil spirits less and less2 ,i mean we shall shrink less from the evil thoughts they hold out to us4 ,we shall give place to the devil1 as the ,scripture tells us we shall2 for instance1 by indulging in habitual passionate tempers1 or rooted spite and malice1 letting the sun go down upon our wrath3 and so a man may become more and more the slave of his own nature1 of his own lusts and passions1 and therefore of the devils1 who are continually pampering and maddening those lusts and passions1 till a man may end in complete possession2 not in common madness1 which may be mere disease1 but as a savage and a raging maniac1 such as1 thank ,god1 are rare in ,christian countries1 though they were common among our own forefathers before they were converted to ,christianity1--men like the demoniac of whom the text speaks1 tormented by devils1 given up to blind rage and malice against himself and all around1 to lust and blasphemy1 to confusion of mind and misery of body1 ,god's image gone1 and the image of the devil1 the destroyer and the corrupter1 arisen in its place4 ,few men can arrive at this pitch of wretchedness in a civilised country4 ,it would not answer the evil spirit's purpose to let them do so4 ,it suits his spirits best in such a land as this to walk about dressed up as angels of light4 ,few men in ,england would be fools enough to indulge the gross and fierce part of their nature till they became mere savages1 like the demoniac whom ,christ cured2 so it is to respectable vices that the devil mostly tempts us1--to covetousness1 to party spirit1 to a hard heart and a narrow mind2 to cruelty1 that shall clothe itself under the name of law2 to filthiness1 which excuses itself by saying1 8,it is a man's nature1 he cannot help it20 to idleness1 which excuses itself on the score of wealth2 to meanness and unfairness in trade1 and in political and religious disputes--these are the devils which haunt us ,englishmen--sleek1 prim1 respectable fiends enough2 and1 truly1 their name is ,legion6 ,and the man who gives himself up to them1 though he may not become a raving savage1 is just as truly possessed by devils1 to his own misery and ruin1 that he may sow the wind and reap the whirlwind2 that though men may speak well of him1 and posterity praise his saying1 and speak good of the covetous whom ,god abhorreth1 yet he may go for ever unto his own1 to the evil spirits to whom his own wicked will gave him up for a prey4 ,i beseech you1 my friends1 consider my words2 they are not mine1 but the ,bible's4 ,think of them with fear2--and yet with confidence1 for we are baptised into the name of ,him who conquered all devils2 you may claim a share in that ,spirit which is opposite to all evil spirits1--whose presence makes the agony and misery of evil spirits1 and drives them out as water drives out fire4 ,if ,he is on your side1 why should you be afraid of any spirit8 ,greater is ,he that is in you than he that is against you2 and ,he1 ,christ ,himself1 is with every man1 every child1 who struggles1 however blindly and weakly1 against temptation4 ,when temptation comes1 when evil looks pleasant1 and arguments rise up in your mind1 that seem to make it look right and reasonable1 as well as pleasant1 then1 out of the very depths of your hearts1 cry after ,him who died for you4 ,say to yourselves1 #8,how can ,i do this thing1 and offend against ,him who bought me with ,his blood8' ,say to ,him1 #8,i am weak1 ,i am confused2 ,i do not see right from wrong2 ,i cannot find my way2 ,i cannot answer the devil2 ,i cannot conquer these cunning thoughts2 ,i know in the bottom of my heart that they are wrong1 mere temptations1 and yet they look so reasonable4 ,blessed ,saviour1 ,thou must shew me where they are wrong4 ,thou didst answer the devil ,thyself out of ,god's ,word1 put into my mind some answer out of ,god's ,word to these temptations2 or1 at least1 give me spirit to toss them off--strength of will to thrust the whole temptation out of my head1 and say1 ,i will parley no longer with the devil2 ,i will put the whole matter out of my head for a time4 ,i don't know whether it is right or wrong for me to do this particular thing1 but there are twenty other things which ,i do know are right4 ,i'll go and do them1 and let this wait awhile4' ,believe me1 my friends1 you can do this--you can resist these evil spirits which tempt us all2 else why did our ,lord bid us pray1 8,lead us not into temptation1 but deliver us from evil80 ,why8 ,because our ,father in heaven1 if we ask ,him1 will not lead us into temptation1 but through it safe4 ,tempted we must be1 else we should not be men2 but here is our comfort and our strength--that we have a ,king in heaven1 who has fought out and conquered all temptations1 and a ,father in heaven1 who has promised that ,he will not suffer us to be tempted above that we are able1 but will1 with the temptation1 make a way to escape1 that we may be able to bear it4 ,again1 ,i say1 draw near to ,god1 and ,he will draw near to you4 ,resist the devil1 and he will flee from you4 ,,sermon ,x4 ,,noah',s ,,justice4 ,,genesis1 vi4 #i4 8,noah was a just man and perfect in his generations1 and ,noah walked with ,god40 ,i ,,intend1 my friends1 according as ,god shall help me1 to preach to you1 between this time and ,christmas1 a few sermons on some of the saints and worthies of the ,old ,testament2 and ,i will begin this day with ,noah4 ,now you must bear in mind that the histories of these ancient men were1 as ,st4 ,paul says1 written for our example4 ,if these men in old times had been different from us1 they would not be examples to us2 but they were like us--men of like passions1 says ,st4 ,james1 as ourselves2 they had each of them in them a corrupt nature1 which was continually ready to drag them down1 and make beasts of them1 and make them slaves to their own lusts--slaves to eating and drinking1 and covetousness1 and cowardice1 and laziness1 and love for the things which they could see and handle--just such a nature1 in short1 as we have4 ,and they had also a spirit in each of them which was longing to be free1 and strong1 and holy1 and wise--such a spirit as we have4 ,and to them1 just as to us1 ,god was revealing himself2 ,god was saying to their consciences1 as ,he does to ours1 #8,this is right1 that is wrong2 do this1 and be free and clear-hearted2 do that1 and be dark and discontented1 and afraid of thy own thoughts4' ,and they too1 like us1 had to live by faith1 by continual belief that they owed a duty to the great ,god whom they could not see1 by continual belief that ,he loved them1 and was guiding and leading them through every thing which happened1 good or ill4 ,this is faith in ,god1 by which alone we1 or any man1 can live worthily1--by which these old heroes lived4 ,we read1 in the twelfth chapter of ,hebrews1 that it was by faith these elders obtained a good report2 and the whole history of the ,old-,testament saints is the history of ,god speaking to the hearts of one man after another1 teaching them each more and more about ,himself1 and the history also of these men listening to the voice of ,god in their hearts1 and believing that voice1 and acting faithfully upon it1 into whatever strange circumstances or deeds it might lead them4 8,by faith10 we read in this same chapter1--8by faith ,noah1 being warned of ,god1 prepared an ark to the saving of his house1 and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith40 ,now1 to understand this last sentence1 you must remember that ,noah was not under the law of ,moses4 ,st4 ,paul has a whole chapter 7the third chapter of ,galatians7 to shew that these old saints had nothing to do with ,moses' law any more than we have1 that it was given to the ,jews many hundred years afterwards4 ,so these histories of the ,old-,testament saints are1 in fact1 histories of men who conquered by faith--histories of the power which faith in ,god has to conquer temptation1 and doubt1 and false appearances1 and fear1 and danger1 and all which besets us and keeps us down from being free and holy1 and children of the day1 walking cheerfully forward on our heavenward road in the light of our ,father's loving smile4 ,noah1 we read1 8was a just man1 and perfect in his generations20 and why8 ,because he was a faithful man--faithful to ,god1 as it is written1 8,the just shall live by his faith20 not by trusting in what he does himself1 in his own works or deservings1 but trusting in ,god who made him1 believing that ,god is perfectly righteous1 perfectly wise1 perfectly loving2 and that1 because ,he is perfectly loving1 ,he will accept and save sinful man when ,he sees in sinful man the earnest wish to be ,his faithful1 obedient servant1 and to give himself up to the rule and guidance of ,god4 ,this1 then1 was ,noah's justice in ,god's sight1 as it was ,abraham's4 ,they believed ,god1 and so became heirs of the righteousness which is by faith2 not their own righteousness1 not growing out of their own character1 but given them by ,god1 who puts ,his righteous ,spirit into those who trust in ,him4 ,but1 moreover1 we read that ,noah 8was perfect in his generations20 that is1 he was perfect in all the relations and duties of life1--a good son1 a good husband1 a good father3 these were the fruits of his faith4 ,he believed that the unseen ,god had given him these ties1 had given him his parents1 his children1 and that to love them was to love ,god1 to do his duty to them was to do his duty to ,god4 ,this was part of his walking with ,god1 continually under his great ,taskmaster's eye1--walking about his daily business with the belief that a great loving ,father was above him1 whatever he did2 ready to strengthen1 and guide1 and bless him if he did well1 ready to avenge ,himself on him if he did ill4 ,these were the fruits of ,noah's faith4 ,but you may think this nothing very wonderful4 ,many a man in ,england does this every day1 and yet no one ever hears of him2 he attends to all his family ties1 doing justly1 loving mercy1 and walking humbly with ,god1 like one who knows he is redeemed by ,christ's blood2 he lives1 he dies1 he is buried1 and out of his own parish his name is never known2 while ,noah has earned for himself a worldwide fame2 for four thousand years his name has been spreading over the whole earth as one of the greatest men who ever lived4 ,mighty nations have worshipped ,noah as a ,god2 many heathen nations worship him under strange and confused names and traditions to this day2 and the wisest and holiest men among ,christians now reverence ,noah1 write of him1 preach on him1 thank ,god for him1 look up to him as1 next to ,abraham1 their greatest example in the ,old ,testament4 ,well1 my friends1 to understand what made ,noah so great1 we must understand in what times ,noah lived4 8,the wickedness of men was great in the earth in those days1 and every imagination of the thoughts of their heart was only evil continually1 and the earth was filled with violence through them40 ,and we must remember that the wickedness of men before the flood was not outwardly like wickedness now2 it was not petty1 mean1 contemptible wickedness of silly and stupid men1 such as could be despised and laughed down2 it was like the wickedness of fallen angels4 ,men were then strong and beautiful1 cunning and active1 to a degree of which we can form no conception4 ,their enormous length of life 7six1 seven1 and eight hundred years commonly7 must have given them an experience and daring far beyond any man in these days4 ,their bodily size and strength were in many cases enormous4 ,we read that 8there were giants in the earth in those days2 and also after that1 when the sons of ,god came in unto the daughters of men1 and they bare children to them1 the same became mighty men which were of old1 men of renown40 ,their powers of invention seem to have been proportionably great4 ,we read1 in the fourth chapter of ,genesis1 how1 within a few years after ,adam was driven out of ,paradise1 they had learned to build cities1 to tame the wild beasts1 and live upon their milk and flesh2 that they had invented all sorts of music and musical instruments2 that they had discovered the art of working in metals4 ,we read among them of ,tubal-,cain1 an instructor of every workman in brass and iron2 and the old traditions in the ,east1 where these men dwelt1 are full of strange and awful tales of their power4 ,again1 we must remember that there was no law in ,noah's days before the flood1 no ,bible to guide them1 no constitutions and acts of parliament to bind men in the beaten track by the awful majesty of law1 whether they will or no1 as we have4 ,this is the picture which the ,bible gives us of the old world before the flood--a world of men mighty in body and mind1 fierce and busy1 conquering the world round them1 in continual war and turmoil2 with all the wild passions of youth1 and yet all the cunning and experience of enormous old age2 with the strength and the courage of young men to carry out the iniquity of old ones2 every one guided only by self-will1 having cast off ,god and conscience1 and doing every man that which was right in the sight of his own eyes4 ,and amidst all this1 while men1 as wise1 as old1 as strong1 as great as himself1 whirled away round him in this raging sea of sin1 ,noah was stedfast2 he1 at least1 knew his way1--8he walked with ,god1 a just man1 and perfect in his generations40 ,to ,noah1 living in such a world as this1 among temptation1 and violence1 and insult1 no doubt1 there came this command from ,god3 8,the end of all flesh is come before me1 for the earth is filled with violence through them1 and ,i will destroy them with the earth4 ,and behold ,i1 even ,i1 do bring a flood of waters upon the earth1 to destroy all flesh wherein is the breath of life2 but with thee will ,i establish my covenant1 and thou shalt make thee an ark of wood after the fashion which ,i tell thee2 and thou shalt come into the ark1 thou and thy family1 and of every living thing1 two of every sort1 male and female1 shalt thou bring into the ark1 and keep them alive with thee2 and take thou of all food that is eaten into the ark1 for thee and for them40 ,what a message1 my friends6 ,if we wish to see a little of the greatness of ,noah's faith1 conceive such a message coming from ,god to one of us6 ,should we believe it--much less act upon it8 ,but ,noah believed ,god1 says the ,scripture2 and 8according as ,god commanded him1 so did he40 ,now1 in whatever way this command came from ,god to ,noah1 it is equally wonderful4 ,some of you1 perhaps1 will say in your hearts1 #8,no6 when ,god spoke to him1 how could he help obeying ,him8' ,but1 my friends1 ask yourselves seriously1--for1 believe me1 it is a most important question for the soul and inner life of you and me1 and every man--how did ,noah know that it was ,god who spoke to him8 ,it is easy to say ,god appeared to him2 but no man hath seen ,god at any time4 ,it is easy1 again1 to say that an angel appeared to him1 or that ,god appeared to him in the form of a man2 but still the same question is left to be answered1 how did he know that this appearance came from ,god1 and that its words were true8 ,why should not ,noah have said1 #8,this was an evil spirit which appeared to me1 trying to frighten and ruin me1 and stir up all my neighbours to mock me1 perhaps to murder me8' ,or1 again2 suppose that you or ,i saw some glorious apparition this day1 which told us on such and such a day such and such a town will be destroyed1 what should we think of it8 ,should we not say1 ,i must have been dreaming--,i must have been ill1 and so my brain and eyes must have been disordered1 and treat the whole thing as a mere fancy of ill-health2 now why did not ,noah do the same8 ,why do ,i say this8 ,to shew you1 my friends1 that it is not apparitions and visions which can make a man believe4 ,as it is written1 8,if they believe not ,moses and the prophets1 neither will they believe though one rose from the dead40 ,no2 a man must have faith in his heart already4 ,a man must first be accustomed to discern right from wrong--to listen to and to obey the voice of ,god within him2 that word of ,god of which it is said1 8the word is nigh thee1 in thy heart1 and in thy mind10 before he can hear ,god's word from without2 else he will only explain away miracles1 and call visions and apparitions sick men's dreams4 ,but there was something yet more wonderful and divine in ,noah's faith1--,i mean his patience4 ,he knew that a flood was to come--he set to work in faith to build his ark--and that ark was in building for one hundred and twenty years1--one hundred and twenty years6 ,it seems at first past all belief4 ,for all that time he built2 and all the while the world went on just as usual2 and1 before he had finished1 old men had died1 and children grown into years2 and great cities had sprung up perhaps where there was not a cottage before2 and trees which were but a yard high when that ark was begun had grown into mighty forest-timber2 and men had multiplied and spread1 and yet ,noah built and built on stedfastly1 believing that what ,god had said would surely one day or other come to pass4 ,for one hundred and twenty years he saw the world go on as usual1 and yet he never forgot that it was a doomed world4 ,he endured the laughter and mockery of all his neighbours1 and every fresh child who was born grew up to laugh at the foolish old man who had been toiling for a hundred years past on his mad scheme1 as they thought it2 and yet ,noah never lost faith1 and he never lost love either--for all those years1 we read1 he preached righteousness to the very men who mocked him1 and preached in vain--one hundred and twenty years he warned those sinners of ,god's wrath1 of righteousness and judgment to come1 and no man listened to him6 ,that1 ,i believe1 must have been1 after all1 the hardest of all his trials4 ,and1 doubtless1 ,noah had his inward temptation many a time2 no doubt he was ready now and then to believe ,god's message all a dream--to laugh at himself for his fears of a flood which seemed never coming1 but in his heart was 8the still small voice0 of ,god1 warning him that ,god was not a man that he should lie1 or repent1 or deceive those who walked faithfully with him2 and around him he saw men growing and growing in iniquity1 filling up the cup of their own damnation2 and he said to himself1 #8,verily there is a ,god who judgeth the earth--for all this a reckoning day will surely come2' and he worked stedfastly on1 and the ark was finished4 ,and then at last there came a second call from ,god1 8,come thou and all thy house into the ark1 for thee have ,i seen righteous before me in this generation4 ,yet seven days1 and ,i will cause it to rain upon the earth1 and every living substance that ,i have made will ,i destroy from off the earth40 ,and ,noah entered into the ark1 and seven days he waited2 and louder than ever laughed the scoffers round him1 at the old man and his family shut into his ark safe on dry land1 while day and night went on as quietly as ever1 and the world ran its usual round2 for seven days more their mad game lasted--they ate1 they drank1 they married1 they gave in marriage1 they planted1 they builded2 and on the seventh day it came--the rain fell day after day1 and week after week--and the windows of heaven were opened1 and the fountains of the great deep were broken up1 and the flood arose1 and swept them all away6 ,,sermon ,,xi4 ,,the ,,noachic ,,covenant4 ,,gen4 ix4 #h1 #i4 8,and ,god spake unto ,noah1 and his sons with him1 saying1 ,and ,i1 behold1 ,i establish my covenant with you1 and with your seed after you40 ,,in my last sermon on ,noah ,i spoke of the flood and of ,noah's faith before the flood2 ,i now go on to speak of the covenant which ,god made with ,noah after the flood4 ,now1 ,noah stood on that newly-dried earth as the head of mankind2 he and his family1 in all eight souls1 saved by ,god's mercy from the general ruin1 were the only human beings left alive1 and had laid on them the wonderful and glorious duty of renewing the race of man1 and replenishing the vast world around them4 ,from that little knot of human beings were to spring all the nations of the earth4 ,and because this calling and destiny of theirs was a great and all-important one--because so much of the happiness or misery of the new race of mankind depended on the teaching which they would get from their forefathers1 the sons of ,noah1 therefore ,god thought fit to make with ,noah and his sons a solemn covenant1 as soon as they came out of the ark4 ,let us solemnly consider this covenant1 for it stands good now as much as ever4 ,god made it 8with ,noah1 and his seed after him10 for perpetual generations4 ,and we are the seed of ,noah2 every man1 woman1 and child of us here were in the loins of ,noah when the great absolute ,god gave him that pledge and promise4 ,we must earnestly consider that covenant1 for in it lies the very ground and meaning of man's life and business on this earth4 8,and ,god blessed ,noah and his sons1 and said unto them1 ,be fruitful and multiply1 and replenish the earth2 and the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every living creature4 ,into your hand they are delivered4 ,every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you1 even as the green herb have ,i given you all things4 ,but flesh with the life thereof1 which is the blood thereof shall ye not eat4 ,and surely your blood of your lives will ,i require2 at the hand of every beast will ,i require it1 and at the hand of men2 at the hand of every man's brother will ,i require the life of man4 ,whoso sheddeth man's blood1 by man shall his blood be shed2 for in the image of ,god made ,he man40 ,now1 to understand this covenant1 consider what thoughts would have been likely to grow up in the mind of ,noah's children after the flood4 ,would they not have been something of this kind3 #8,god does not love men2 ,he has drowned all but us1 and we are men of like passions with the world who perished1 may we not expect the like ruin at any moment8 ,then what use to plough and sow1 and build and plant1 and work for those who shall come after us8' #8,let us eat and drink1 for to-morrow we die4' ,and again1 they would have been ready to say1 #8,this ,god1 whom our forefather ,noah said sent floods1 we cannot see ,him2 but the floods themselves we can see4 ,all these clouds and tempests1 lightning1 sun1 and stars1 are we stronger than them8 ,no6 ,they may crush us1 drown us1 strike us dead at any moment4 ,they seem1 too1 to go by certain wonderful rules and laws2 perhaps they have a will and understanding in them4 ,instead of praying to a ,god whom we never saw1 why not pray to the thunderclouds not to strike us dead1 and to the seas and rivers not to sweep us away8 ,for this great1 wonderful1 awful world in which we are1 however beautiful may be its flowers1 and its fruits1 and its sunshine1 there is no trusting it2 we are sitting upon a painted sepulchre1 a beautiful monster1 a gulf of flood and fire1 which may burst up any moment1 and sweep us away1 as it did our forefathers4' ,again1 ,noah's children would have begun to say1 #8,these beasts here round us1 they are so many of them larger than us1 stronger than us1 able to tear us to atoms1 eat us up as they would eat a lamb4 ,they are self-sufficient1 too2 they want no clothes1 nor houses1 nor fire1 like us poor1 weak1 naked1 soft human creatures4 ,they can run faster than we1 see farther than we2 their scent1 too1 what a wonderful1 mysterious power that is1 like a miracle to us6 ,and1 besides all their cunning ways of getting food and building nests1 they never do wrong2 they never do horrible things contrary to their nature2 they all abide as ,god has made them1 obeying the law of their kind4 ,are not these beasts1 then1 much wiser and better than we8 ,we will honour them1 and pray to them not to devour us--to make us cunning and powerful as they are themselves4 ,and if they are no better than us1 surely they are no worse than us4 ,after all1 what difference is there between a man and a beast8 ,the flood which drowned the beasts drowned the men too4 ,a beast is flesh and blood1 what more is a man8 ,if you kill him1 he dies1 just as a beast dies2 and why should not a man's carcase be just as good to eat as a beast's1 and better8' ,and so there would have been a free opening at once into all the horrors of cannibalism6 ,again1 ,noah's descendants would have said1 #8,our forefathers offered sacrifices to the unseen ,god1 as a sign that all they had belonged to ,him1 and that they had forfeited their own souls by sin1 and were therefore ready to give up the most precious things they had--their cattle1 as a sign that they owed all to that very ,god whom they had offended4 ,but are not human creatures much more precious than cattle8 ,will it not be a much greater sign of repentance and willingness to give up all to ,god if we offer ,him the best things which we have--human creatures8 ,if we kill and sacrifice to ,him our most beautiful and innocent things--little children--noble young men--beautiful young girls8' ,my friends1 these are very strange and shocking thoughts1 but they have been in the hearts and minds of all nations4 ,the heathens do such things now4 ,our own forefathers used to do such things once2 they were tempted to worship the sun and the moon1 and the rivers1 and the thunder1 and to look with superstitious terror at the bears1 and the wolves1 and the snakes1 round them1 and to kill their young children and maidens1 and offer them up as sacrifices to the dark powers of this world1 which they thought were ready to swallow them up4 ,and ,god is my witness1 my friends1 when one goes through some parts of ,england now1 and sees the mine-children and factory-children1 and all the sin and misery1 and the people wearying themselves in the fire for very vanity1 we seem not to be so very far from the same dark superstition now1 though we may call it by a different name4 ,england has been sacrificing her sons and her daughters to the devil of covetousness of late years1 just as much as our forefathers offered theirs to the devil of selfish and cowardly superstition4 ,but see1 now1 how this covenant which ,god made with ,noah was intended just to remedy every one of those temptations which ,i just mentioned1 into which ,noah's children's children would have been certain to fall1 and into which so many of them did fall4 ,they might have become reckless1 ,i said1 from fear of a flood at any moment4 ,god promises them--and confirms it with the sign of the rainbow--never again to destroy the earth by water4 ,they would have been likely to take to praying to the rain and the thunder1 the sun and the stars2 ,god declares in this covenant that it is ,he alone who sends the rain and thunder1 that ,he brings the clouds over the earth1 that ,he rules the great1 awful world2 that men are to look up and believe in ,god as a loving and thinking person1 who has a will of ,his own1 and that a faithful1 and true1 and loving1 and merciful will2 that their lives and safety depend not on blind chance1 or the stern necessity of certain laws of nature1 but on the covenant of an almighty and all-loving person4 ,again1 ,i said1 that ,noah's sons would have been ready to fear1 and1 at last1 to worship the dumb beasts2 ,god's covenant says1 8,no2 these beasts are not your equals--they are your slaves--you may freely kill them for your food2 the fear of you shall be upon them4 ,the huge elephant and the swift horse shall become your obedient servants2 the lion and the tiger shall tremble and flee before you4 ,only claim your rights as men2 believe that the invisible ,god who made the earth is your strength and your protector1 and that ,he to whom the earth belongs has made you lords of the earth and all that therein is4 ,but10 said ,god's covenant to ,noah's sons1 8you did not make these beasts--you did not give them life1 therefore ,i forbid you to eat their blood wherein their life lies2 that you may never forget that all the power you have over these beasts was given you by ,god1 who made and preserves that wonderful1 mysterious1 holy thing called life1 which you can never imitate40 ,again1 ,i said1 that ,noah's children1 having been accustomed to the violence and bloodshed on the earth before the flood1 might hold man's life cheap2 that1 having seen in the flood men perish just like the beasts around them1 they might have begun to think that man's life was not more precious than the beasts'4 ,they might have all gone on at last1 as some of them did1 to those horrors of cannibalism and human sacrifice of which ,i just now spoke4 ,now1 here1 again comes in ,god's covenant1 8,surely the blood of your lives will ,i require4 ,at the hand of every beast will ,i require it1 and at the hand of every man's brother will ,i require it4 ,whoso sheddeth man's blood by man shall his blood be shed1 for in the image of ,god made ,he man40 ,this1 then1 is the covenant which ,god made with ,noah for perpetual generations1 and therefore with us1 the children of ,noah4 ,in this covenant you see certain truths come out into light2 some1 of which you read nothing before in the ,bible1 and other truths which1 though they were given to ,adam1 yet had been utterly lost sight of before the flood4 ,this has been ,god's method1 we find from the ,bible1 ever since the creation1--to lead man step by step up into more and more light1 up to this very day1 and to make each sin and each madness of men an occasion for revealing to ,him more and more of truth and of the living ,god4 ,and so each and every chapter in the ,bible is built upon all that has gone before it2 and he that neglects to understand what has gone before will never come to the understanding of what follows after4 ,why do ,i say this8 ,because men are continually picking out those scraps of the ,bible which suit their own fancy1 and pinning their whole faith on them1 and trying to make them serve to explain every thing in heaven and earth2 whereas no man can understand the ,epistles unless he first understand the ,gospels4 ,no man will understand the ,new ,testament unless he first understands the pith and marrow of the ,old4 ,no man will understand the ,psalms and the ,prophets unless he first understands the first ten chapters of ,genesis2 and1 lastly1 no one will ever understand any thing about the ,bible at all1 who1 instead of taking it simply as it is written1 is always trying to twist it into proofs of his own favourite doctrines1 and make ,abraham a high ,calvinist1 or ,noah a member of the ,church of ,england4 ,why do ,i say this8 ,to make you all think seriously that this covenant on which ,i have been preaching is your covenant2 that as sure as the rainbow stands in heaven1 as sure as you and ,i are sprung out of the loins of ,noah1 so surely this covenant which binds us is part of our ,christian covenant1 and woe to us if we break it6 ,this covenant tells us that we are made in ,god's likeness1 and1 therefore1 that all sin is unworthy of us and unnatural to us4 ,it tells us that ,god means us bravely and industriously to subdue the earth and the living things upon it2 that we are to be the masters of the pleasant things about us1 and not their slaves1 as sots and idlers are2 that we are stewards and tenants of this world for the great ,god who made it1 to whom we are to look up in confidence for help and protection4 ,it tells us that our family relationships1 the blessed duties of a husband and a father1 are sacred things2 that ,god has created them1 that the great ,god of heaven ,himself respects them1 that the covenant which ,he makes with the father ,he makes with the children2 that ,he commands marriage1 and that ,he blesses it with fruitfulness2 that it is ,he who has told us 8,be fruitful and multiply1 and replenish the earth20 that the tie of brotherhood is ,his making also2 that ,he will require the blood of the murdered man at his brother's hand2 that a man's brothers1 his nearest relations1 are bound to protect and right him if he is injured2 so that we all are to be1 in the deepest sense of the word1 what ,cain refused to be1 our brothers' keepers1 and each member of a family is more or less answerable for the welfare and safety of all his relations4 ,herein lies the ground of all religion and of all society--in the covenant which ,god made with ,noah2 and just as it is in vain for a man to pretend to be a scholar when he does not even know his letters1 so it is mockery for a man to pretend to be a converted ,christian man who knows not even so much as was commanded to ,noah and his sons4 ,he who has not learnt to love1 honour1 and succour his own family--he who has not learnt to work in honest and manful industry--he who has not learnt to look beyond this earth1 and its chance1 and its customs1 and its glittering outside1 and see and trust in a great1 wise1 loving ,god1 by whose will every tree grows and every shower falls1 what is ,christianity to him8 ,he has to learn the first principles which were delivered to ,noah1 and which not even the heathen and the savage have utterly forgotten4 ,,sermon ,,xii4 ,,abraham',s ,,faith4 ,,hebrews1 xi4 #i1 #aj4 8,by faith ,abraham sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country1 dwelling in tabernacles with ,isaac and ,jacob1 the heirs with him of the same promise4 ,for he looked for a city1 which hath foundations1 whose builder and maker is ,god40 ,,in the last sermon which ,i preached in this church1 ,i said that the ,bible is the history of ,god's ways with mankind1 how ,he has schooled and brought them up until the coming of ,christ2 that if we read the ,bible histories1 one after another1 in the same order in which ,god has put them in the ,bible1 we shall see that they are all regular steps in a line1 that each fresh story depends on the story which went before it2 and yet1 in each fresh history1 we shall find ,god telling men something new--something which they did not know before4 ,and that so the whole ,bible1 from beginning to end1 is one glorious1 methodic1 and organic tree of life1 every part growing out of the others and depending on the others1 from the root--that foundation1 other than which no man can lay1 which is ,christ1 revealing ,himself1 though not by name1 in that wonderful first chapter of ,genesis1--up to the fruit1 which is the kingdom of ,christ1 and ,gospel of ,christ1 and the salvation in which we here now stand4 ,i told you that the lesson which ,god has been teaching men in all ages is faith in ,god--that the saints of old were just the men who learnt this lesson of faith4 ,now this1 as we all know1 was the secret of ,abraham's greatness1 that he had faith in ,god to leave his own country at ,god's bidding1 and become a stranger and a pilgrim on the earth1 wandering on in full trust that ,god would give him another country instead of that which he had left--8a city which hath foundations1 whose builder and maker is ,god40 ,this was what ,abraham looked for4 ,something of what it means we shall see presently4 ,you remember the story of the tower of ,babel8 ,how certain of ,noah's family forgot the covenant which ,god had made with ,noah1 forgot that ,god had commanded them to go forth in every direction and fill the earth with human beings1 solemnly promising to protect and bless them1 and took on themselves to do the very opposite--set up a kingdom of their own fashion1 and herded together for selfish safety1 instead of going forth to all the quarters of the world in a natural way1 according to their families1 in their tribes1 after their nations1 as the eleventh chapter of ,genesis says they ought to have done4 8,let us build us a city and a tower1 and make us a name1 lest10 they said1 8we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole world40 ,here was one act of disobedience to ,god's order4 ,but besides this they had fallen into a slavish dread of the powers of nature--they were afraid of another flood4 ,they set to to build a tower1 on which they might worship the sun and stars1 and the host of heaven1 and pray to them to send no more floods and tempests4 ,they thus fell into a slavish fear of the powers of nature1 as well as into a selfish and artificial civilisation4 ,in short1 they utterly broke the covenant which ,god had made with ,noah4 ,but by miraculously confounding their language1 ,god drove them forth over the face of the whole earth1 and so forced them to do that which they ought to have done willingly at first4 ,now1 we must remember that all this happened in the very country in which ,abraham lived4 ,he must have heard of it all--for aught we know he had seen the tower of ,babel4 ,so that1 for good or for evil1 the whole ,babel event must have produced a strong effect on the mind of a thoughtful man like ,abraham1 and raised many strange questionings in his heart1 which ,god alone could answer for him1 or for us4 ,now1 what did ,god mean to teach ,abraham by calling him out of his country1 and telling him1 8,i will make of thee a great nation80 ,i think ,he meant to shew him1 for one thing1 that that ,babel plan of society was utterly absurd and accursed1 certain to come to naught1 and so to lead him on to hope for a city which had foundations1 and to see that its builder and maker must be1 not the selfishness or the ambition of men1 but the will1 and the wisdom1 and providence of ,god4 ,let us see how ,god led ,abraham on to understand this--to look for a city which had foundations2 in short1 to understand what a ,state and a nation means and ought to be4 ,first1 ,god taught him that he was not to cling coward-like to the place where he was born1 but to go out boldly to colonise and subdue the earth1 for the great ,god of heaven would protect and guide him4 8,get thee out of thy country and from thy father's house unto a land which ,i will shew thee4 ,and ,i will bless them that bless thee1 and curse them that curse thee40 ,again2 ,god taught him what a nation was3 8,i will make of thee a great nation40 ,as much as to say1 #8,never fancy1 as those fools at ,babel did1 that a nation only means a great crowd of people--never fancy that men can make themselves into a nation just by feeding altogether1 and breeding altogether1 and fighting altogether1 as the herds of wild cattle and sheep do1 while there is no real union between them4' ,for what brought those ,babel men together8 ,just what keeps a herd of cattle together--selfishness and fear4 ,each man thought he would be safer1 forsooth1 in company4 ,each man thought that if he was in company1 he could use his neighbours' wits as well as his own1 and have the benefit of his neighbours' strength as well as his own4 ,and that is all true enough2 but that does not make a nation4 ,selfishness can join nothing2 it may join a set of men for a time1 each for his own ends1 just as a joint-stock company is made up2 but it will soon split them up again4 ,each man1 in a merely selfish community1 will begin1 after a time1 to play on his own account as well as work on his own account--to oppress and overreach for his own ends as well as to be honest and benevolent for his own ends1 for he will find ill-doing far easier1 and more natural1 in one sense1 and a plan that brings in quicker profits1 than well-doing2 and so this godless1 loveless1 every-man-for-himself nation1 or sham nation rather1 this joint-stock company1 in which fools expect that universal selfishness will do the work of universal benevolence1 will quarrel and break up1 crumble to dust again1 as ,babel did4 8,but10 says ,god to ,abraham1 8,i will make of thee a great nation4 ,i make nations1 and not they themselves40 ,so it is1 my friends3 this is the lesson which ,god taught ,abraham1 the lesson which we ,english must learn nowadays over again1 or smart for it bitterly--that ,god makes nations4 ,he is ,king of kings2 8by ,him kings reign and princes decree judgment40 ,he judges all nations3 ,he nurtureth the nations4 ,this is throughout the teaching of the ,psalms4 8,it is ,he that hath made us1 and not we ourselves2 we are ,his people1 and the sheep of ,his pasture20 for this ,i take to be the true bearing of that glorious national hymn the #ajjth ,psalm1 and not merely the old truism that men did not create themselves1 when it exhorts all nations to praise ,god because it is ,he that hath made them nations1 and not they themselves4 ,the ,psalms set forth the ,son of ,god as the ,king of all nations4 ,in ,him1 my friends1--in ,him all the nations of the earth are truly blessed4 ,he the ,saviour of a few individual souls only8 ,god forbid6 ,to ,him all power is given in heaven and earth2 by ,him were all things created1 whether in heaven or earth1 visible and invisible1 whether they be thrones or dominions1 or principalities or powers2--all national life1 all forms of government1 whether hero-despotisms1 republics1 or monarchies1 aristocracies of birth1 or of wealth1 or of talent1--all were created by ,him and for ,him1 and ,he is before all things1 and by ,him all things consist and hold together4 ,every thing or institution on earth which has systematic and organic life in it--by ,him it consists--by ,him1 the ,life and the ,light who lighteneth every man that cometh into the world4 ,from ,him come law1 and order1 and spiritual energy1 and loving fellow-feeling1 and patriotism1 the spirit of wisdom1 and understanding1 and prudence--all1 in short1 by which a nation consists and holds together4 ,it is not constitutions1 and acts of parliament1 and social contracts1 and rights of the people1 and rights of kings1 and so on1 which make us a nation4 ,these are but the effects1 and not the consequences1 of the national life4 ,that is the one spirit which is shed abroad upon a country1 whose builder and maker is ,god1 and which comes down from above--comes down from ,christ the ,king of kings1 who has given each nation its peculiar work on this earth1 its peculiar circumstances and history to mould and educate it for its work1 and its peculiar spirit and national character1 wherewith to fulfil the destiny which ,christ has appointed for it4 ,believe me1 my friends1 it takes long years1 too1 and much training from ,god and from ,christ1 the ,king of kings1 to make a nation4 ,everything which is most precious and great is also most slow in growing1 and so is a nation4 ,the ,scripture compares it everywhere to a tree2 and as the tree grows1 a people must grow1 from small beginnings1 perhaps from a single family1 increasing on1 according to the fixed laws of ,god's world1 for years and hundreds of years1 till it becomes a mighty nation1 with one ,lord1 one faith1 one work1 one ,spirit4 ,but again2 ,god said to ,abraham1 when ,he had led him into this far country1 8,unto thy seed will ,i give this land40 ,this was a great and a new lesson for ,abraham1 that the earth belonged to that same great invisible ,god who had promised to guide and protect him1 and make him into a nation--that this same ,god gave the earth to whomsoever ,he would1 and allotted to each people their proper portion of it4 8,he 7said ,st4 ,paul on the ,areopagus7 hath determined the times before appointed for all nations1 and the bounds of their habitation1 that they may seek after the ,lord and find ,him40 ,ah6 this must have been a strange and a new feeling to ,abraham2 but1 stranger still1 though ,god had given him this land1 he was not to take possession of a single foot of it2 the land was already in the hands of a different nation1 the people of ,canaan2 and ,abraham was to go wandering about a sojourner1 as the text says1 in this very land of promise which ,god had given him1 without ever taking possession of his own1 simply because it belonged to others already4 ,how this must have taught ,abraham that the rights of property were sacred things--things appointed by ,god2 that it was an awful and a heinous sin to make wanton war on other people1 to drive them out and take possession of their land2 that it was not mere force or mere fancy which gave men a right to a country1 but the providence of ,almighty ,god6 ,now ,abraham needed this warning1 for the men of ,babel seem from the first to have gone on the plan of driving out and conquering the tribes round them4 ,they seem to have set up their city partly from ambition4 8,let us make us a name10 they said1 meaning1 #8,let us make ourselves famous and terrible to all the people around us1 that we may subdue them4' ,and we read of ,nimrod1 who was their first king and the founder of ,babel1 that he was a mighty hunter before the ,lord1 that is1 as most learned men explain it1 a mighty conqueror and tyrant in defiance of ,god and ,his laws1 as the poet says of him1 8,a mighty hunter1 and his game was man40 ,the ,jews1 indeed1 have an old tradition that ,nimrod cast ,abraham into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship the host of heaven with him4 ,the story is very likely untrue1 but still it is of use in shewing what sort of reputation ,nimrod left behind him in his own part of the world4 ,we may thus see that ,abraham would need warning against these habits of violence1 tyranny1 and plunder1 into which the men of ,babel and other tribes were falling4 ,and this was what ,god meant to teach him by keeping him a stranger and a pilgrim in the very land which ,god had promised to him for his own4 ,thus ,abraham learnt respect for the rights and properties of his neighbours2 thus he learnt to look up in faith to ,god1 not only as his patron and protector1 but as the lord and absolute owner of the soil on which he stood4 ,now in the #adth chapter of ,genesis there is an account of ,abraham's being called on to put in practice what he had learnt1 and1 by doing so1 learning a fresh lesson4 ,we read of four kings making war against five kings1 against ,chedorlaomer1 king of ,elam or ,persia1 who had been following the ways of ,nimrod and the men of ,babel1 and conquering these foreign kings and making them serve him4 ,we read of ,chedorlaomer and four other kings coming down and wantonly ravaging and destroying other countries1 besides the five kings who had rebelled against them1 and at last carrying off captive the people of ,sodom and ,gomorrah1 and ,lot1 ,abraham's nephew4 ,we read then how ,abraham armed his trained servants1 born in his own house1 three hundred and eighteen men1 and pursued after these tyrants and plunderers1 and with his small force completely overthrew that great army4 ,now that was a sign and a lesson to ,abraham1 as much as to say1 #8,see the fruits of having the great ,god of heaven and earth for your protector and your guide1--see the fruits of having men round you1 not hirelings1 keeping in your company just to see what they can get by it1 but born in your own house1 who love and trust you1 whom you can love and trust1--see how the favour of ,god1 and reverence for those family ties and duties which ,he has appointed1 make you and your little band of faithful men superior to these great mobs of selfish1 godless1 unjust robbers1--see how hundreds of these slaves ran away before one man1 who feels that he is a member of a family1 and has a just cause for fighting1 and that ,god and his brethren are with him4' ,here1 you see1 was another hint to ,abraham of what it was and who it was that made a great nation4 ,and now some of you may say1 #8,this is a strange sermon4 ,you have as yet said nothing of ,christ1 nothing of the ,holy ,spirit1 nothing of grace1 redemption1 sanctification4 ,what kind of sermon is this8' ,my friends1 do not be too sure that ,i have not been preaching ,christ to you1 and ,christ's ,spirit to you1 and ,christ's redemption too1 most truly in this sermon1 although ,i have mentioned none of them by name4 ,there are times for ornamenting the house1 there are times for repairing the wall1 there are times1 too1 for thoroughly examining the foundation1 because1 if that be not sound1 it is little matter what fine work is built up upon it2 and there are times when1 as ,david says1 the foundations of the earth are out of course1 when men have forgotten sadly the very first principles of society and religion4 ,and1 surely1 men are doing so in these days2 men are forgetting that other foundation can no man lay save that which is laid1 which is ,christ2 they laugh at the thought of a city1 that is1 a state and form of government1 8not made with hands1 eternal in the heavens20 they have forgotten that ,st4 ,paul tells them in the ,hebrews that we have 8a city which hath foundations1 whose builder and maker is ,god10 a kingdom which cannot be moved4 ,yes1 men who call themselves learned and worldly wise1 and good men too1 alas6 who fancy that they are preaching ,god's gospel1 go about and tell men1 #8,the men of ,babel were right after all4 ,what have nations to do with ,god and religion8 ,nations are merely earthly1 carnal things1 that were only invented by sinful men themselves1 to preserve their bodies and goods1 and make trading easy4 ,religion has only to do with a man's private opinions1 his single soul2 the government has nothing to do with the ,church3 a ,christian has nothing to do with politics4' ,and so these men most unwittingly open a door to all sorts of covetousness and meanness in the nation1 and all sorts of trickery and cowardice in the government4 ,tell a man that his business has nothing to do with ,god1 and you cannot wonder if he acts without thinking of ,god4 ,if you tell a nation that it is selfishness which makes it prosperous1 of course you must expect it to be selfish4 ,if you tell us ,englishmen that the duties of a citizen are not duties to ,god1 but only duties to the constable and the tax-gatherer1 what wonder if men believe you and become undutiful to ,god in their citizenship8 ,no1 my friends1 once for all1 as sure as ,god made ,abraham a great nation1 so if we ,english are a great nation1 ,god has made us so--as sure as ,god gave ,abraham the land of ,canaan for his possession1 so did ,he give us this land of ,england1 when ,he brought our ,saxon forefathers out of the wild barren north1 and drove out before them nations greater and mightier than they1 and gave them great and goodly cities which they builded not1 and wells digged which they digged not1 farms and gardens which they planted not1 that we too might fear the ,lord our ,god1 and serve ,him1 and swear by ,his name2--as sure as ,he commanded ,abraham to respect the property of his neighbours1 so has ,he commanded us2--as sure as ,god taught ,abraham that the nation which was to grow from him owed a duty to ,god1 and could be only strong by faith in ,god1 so it is with us3 we1 ,english people1 owe a duty to ,god1 and are to deal among ourselves1 and with foreign countries1 by faith in ,god1 and in the fear of ,god1 8seeking first the kingdom of ,god and ,his righteousness10 sure that then all other things--victory1 health1 commerce1 art1 and science--will be added to us1 as the first ,lesson says4 ,for this is your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the nations1 which shall say1 ,surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people6 ,for what nation is grown so great1 that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as these laws1 this gospel1 which ,god sets before us day by day8--us1 ,englishmen6 ,and ,i say that these are proper thoughts for this place4 ,this is not a mere preaching-house1 where you may learn every man to save his own soul2 this is a far nobler place2 this building belongs to the ,national ,church of ,england1 and we worship here1 not merely as men1 but as men of ,england1 citizens of a ,christian country1 come here to learn not merely how to save ourselves1 but how to help towards the saving of our families1 our parish1 and our nation2 and therefore we must know what a country and a nation mean1 and what is the meaning of that glorious and divine word1 8a citizen20 that by learning what it is to be a citizen of ,england1 we may go on to learn fully what it is to be a citizen of the kingdom of ,god4 ,for this is part of the whole counsel of ,god1 which ,he reveals in ,his ,holy ,bible2 and this also we must not1 and dare not1 shun declaring in these days4 ,,sermon ,,xiii4 ,,abraham',s ,,obedience4 ,,hebrews1 xi4 #ag-ai4 8,by faith ,abraham1 when he was tried1 offered up ,isaac2 and he that had received the promises offered up his only-begotten son1 of whom it was said1 ,that in ,isaac shall thy seed be called3 accounting that ,god was able to raise him up1 even from the dead2 from whence also he received him in a figure40 ,,in this chapter we come to the crowning point of ,abraham's history1 the highest step and perfection of his faith2 beyond which it seems as if man's trust in ,god could no further go4 ,you know1 most of you1 doubtless1 that ,isaac1 ,abraham's son1 was come to him out of the common course of nature--when he and his wife1 ,sarah1 were of an age which seemed to make all chance of a family utterly hopeless4 ,you remember how ,god promised ,abraham that this boy should be born to him at a certain time1 when ,he appeared to him on the plains of ,mamre1 in that most solemn and deep-meaning vision of which ,i spoke to you last ,sunday4 ,you remember1 too1 no doubt1 most of you1 how ,god had promised ,abraham again and again1 that in his seed1 his children1 all the nations of the earth should be blessed2 so that all ,abraham's hopes were wrapped up in this boy ,isaac2 he was his only son1 whom he loved2 he was the child of his old age1 his glory and his joy2 he was the child of ,god's promises4 ,every time ,abraham looked at him he felt that ,isaac was a wonderful child3 that ,god had a great work for him to do2 that from that single boy a great nation was to spring1 as many in multitude as the stars in the sky1 or the sand on the sea-shore1 for the great ,almighty ,god had said it4 ,and he knew1 too1 that from that boy1 who was growing up by him in his tent1 all the nations in the earth should be blessed3 so that ,isaac1 his son1 was to ,abraham a daily sacrament1 as ,i may say1 a sign and a pledge that ,god was with him1 and would be true to him2 that as surely as ,god had wonderfully and beyond all hope given him that son1 so wonderfully and beyond all hope ,he would fulfil all ,his other promises4 ,conceive1 then1 if you can1 what ,abraham's astonishment1 and doubt1 and terror1 and misery1 must have been at such a message as this from the very ,god who had given ,isaac to him3 8,and it came to pass after these things that ,god did tempt ,abraham1 and said unto him1 ,abraham3 and he said1 ,behold1 here ,i am4 ,and he said1 ,take now thy son1 thine only son ,isaac1 whom thou lovest1 and get thee into the land of ,moriah2 and offer him there for a burnt-offering upon one of the mountains which ,i will tell thee of40 ,what a storm of doubt it must have raised in ,abraham's mind6 ,how unable he must have been to say whether that message came from a good or bad spirit1 or commanded him to do a good action or a bad one2 that the same ,god who had said1 8,whoso sheddeth man's blood1 by man shall his blood be shed20 who had forbidden murder as the very highest of crimes1 should command him to shed the blood of his own son2 that the same ,god who had promised him that in ,isaac all the nations of the earth should be blessed1 should command him to put to death that very son upon whom all his hopes depended6 ,fearful1 indeed1 must have been the struggle in ,abraham's mind1 but the good and the right thought conquered at last4 ,his feeling was1 no doubt1 #8,this ,god who has blessed me so long1 who has guided me so long1 whom ,i have obeyed so long1 shall ,i not trust ,him a little further yet8 how can ,i believe that ,he will do wrong8 how can ,i believe that ,he will lead me wrong8 ,if it is really wrong that ,i should kill my son1 ,he will not let me do it3 if it really is ,his will that ,i should kill my son1 ,i will do it4 ,whatever ,he says must be right2 it is agony and misery to me1 but what of that8 ,do ,i not owe ,him a thousand daily and hourly blessings8 ,has ,he not led me hither1 preserved me1 guided me1 taught me the knowledge of ,himself1--chosen me to be the father of a great nation8 ,do ,i not owe ,him everything8 and shall ,i not bear this sharp sorrow for ,his sake8 ,i know1 too1 that if ,isaac dies1 all my hope1 all my joy1 will die with him2 that ,i shall have nothing left to look for1 nothing left to work for in this world4 ,nothing6 shall ,i not have ,god left to me8 ,when ,isaac is dead will the ,lord die8 will the ,lord change8 will ,he grow weak8--,never6 ,years ago did ,he declare to me that ,he was the ,almighty ,god2 ,i will believe that ,he will be always ,almighty2 ,i will believe that though ,i kill my son1 my son will be still in ,god's hands1 and ,i shall be still in ,god's hands1 and that ,god is able to raise him again1 even from the dead4 ,god can give him back to me1 and if ,he will not give him back to me1 ,he can fulfil ,his promises in a thousand other ways4 ,ay1 and ,he will fulfil ,his promises1 for in ,him is neither deceit1 nor fickleness1 nor weakness1 nor unrighteousness of any kind2 and1 come what will1 ,i will believe ,his promise and ,i will obey ,his will4' ,some such thoughts as these1 ,i suppose1 passed through ,abraham's mind4 ,he could not have had a man's heart in him indeed1 if not only those thoughts1 but ten thousand more1 sadder1 and stranger1 and more pitiful than my weak brain can imagine1 did not sweep like a storm through his soul at that last and terrible temptation1 but the ,bible tells us nothing of them3 why should the ,bible tell us anything of them8 the ,bible sets forth ,abraham as the faithful man1 and therefore it simply tells us of his faith1 without telling us of his doubts and struggles before he settled down into faith4 ,it tells us1 as it were1 not how often the wind shifted and twisted about during the tempest1 but in what quarter the wind settled when the tempest was over1 and it began to blow steadily1 and fixedly1 and gently1 and all was bright1 and mild1 and still in ,abraham's bosom again1 just as a man's mind will be bright1 and gentle1 and calm1 even at the moment he is going to certain death or fearful misery1 if he does but know that his suffering is his duty1 and that his trial is his heavenly ,father's will3 and so all we read in the ,old-,testament account is simply1 8,and ,abraham rose up early in the morning1 and saddled his ass1 and took two of his young men with him1 and ,isaac his son1 and clave the wood for the burnt-offering1 and rose up1 and went unto the place of which ,god had told him4 ,then on the third day ,abraham lifted up his eyes1 and saw the place afar off4 ,and ,abraham said unto his young men1 ,abide ye here with the ass2 and ,i and the lad will go yonder and worship1 and come again to you4 ,and ,abraham took the wood of the burnt-offering1 and laid it upon ,isaac his son3 and he took the fire in his hand1 and a knife2 and they went both of them together4 ,and ,isaac spake unto ,abraham his father1 and said1 ,my father1 and he said1 ,here am ,i1 my son4 ,and he said1 ,behold the fire and the wood1 but where is the lamb for a burnt-offering8 and ,abraham said1 ,my son1 ,god will provide ,himself a lamb for a burnt-offering4 ,so they went both of them together4 ,and they came to the place which ,god had told him of2 and ,abraham built an altar there1 and laid the wood in order1 and bound ,isaac his son1 and laid him on the altar upon the wood4 ,and ,abraham stretched forth his hand1 and took the knife to slay his son40 ,really if one is to consider the whole circumstances of ,abraham's trials1 they seem to have been infinite1 more than mortal man could bear2 more than he could have borne1 no doubt1 if the same ,god who tried had not rewarded his strength of mind by strengthening him still more1 and rewarded his faith by increasing his faith2 when we consider the struggle he must have had to keep the dreadful secret from the young man's mother1 the tremendous effort of controlling himself1 the long and frightful journey1 the necessity1 and yet the difficulty he seems to have felt of keeping the truth from his son1 and yet of telling him the truth1 which he did in those wonderful words1 8,god shall provide ,himself a lamb for a burnt-offering0 7on which ,i shall have occasion to speak presently72 and1 last and worst of all1 the perfect obedience and submission of his son2 for ,isaac was not a child then1 he was a young man of nearly thirty years of age2 strong and able enough1 no doubt1 to have resisted his aged father1 if he had chosen4 ,but the very excellence of ,isaac seems to have been1 that he did not resist1 that he shewed the same perfect trust and obedience to ,abraham that ,abraham did towards ,god2 for he was led 8as a lamb to the slaughter1 and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb1 so he opened not his mouth10 for we read1 8,abraham bound ,isaac his son and laid him on the wood40 ,surely that was the bitterest pang of all1 to see the excellence of his son shine forth just when it was too late for him to enjoy him--to find out what a perfect child he had1 in simple trust and utter obedience1 just at the very moment when he was going to lose him3 8,and ,abraham stretched forth his hand and took the knife to slay his son40 ,at that point ,abraham's trial finished4 ,he had shewn the completeness of his faith by the completeness of his works1 that is1 by the completeness of his obedience4 ,he had utterly given up all for ,god4 ,he had submitted his will completely to ,god's will4 ,he had said in heart1 as our ,blessed ,lord said1 8,father1 if it be possible1 let this woe pass from me1 nevertheless1 not as ,i will1 but as ,thou wilt20 and thus ,i say1 he was justified by his works1 by his actions2 that is1 by this faithful action he proved the faithfulness of his heart1 as the ,angel said to him1 8,now ,i know that thou fearest ,god1 seeing thou hast not withheld thy son1 thine only son from me30 for as ,st4 ,james says1 8,was not ,abraham our father justified by works when he had offered ,isaac his son upon the altar8 ,seest thou10 says he1 8how his faith wrought with his works20 how his works were the tool or instrument which his faith used2 and by his works his faith was brought to perfection1 as a tree is brought to perfection when it bears fruit4 8,and so10 ,st4 ,james continues1 8the scripture was fulfilled1 which says1 ,abraham believed ,god1 and it was imputed to him for righteousness2 and he was called the friend of ,god4 ,ye see then10 he says1 8how that by works a man is justified10 or shewn to be righteous and faithful1 8and not by faith only20 that is1 not by the mere feeling of faith1 for1 as he says1 8as the body without the spirit is dead1 so faith without works is dead also40 ,for what is the sign of a being dead8 ,it is its not being able to do anything1 not being able to work2 because there is no living and moving spirit in it4 ,and what is the sign of a man's faith being dead8 his faith not being able to work1 because there is no living spirit in it1 but it is a mere dead1 empty shell and form of words1--a mere notion and thought about believing in a man's head1 but not a living trust and loyalty to ,god in his heart4 ,therefore1 says ,st4 ,james1 8shew me thy faith without thy works10 if thou canst1 8and ,i will shew thee my faith by my works10 as ,abraham did by offering up ,isaac his son4 ,oh6 my friends1 when people are talking about faith and works1 and trying to reconcile ,st4 ,paul and ,st4 ,james1 as they call it1 because ,st4 ,paul says ,abraham was justified by faith1 and ,st4 ,james says ,abraham was justified by works1 if they would but pray for the simple1 childlike heart1 and the head of common sense1 and look at their own children1 who1 every time they go on a message for them1 settle1 without knowing it1 this mighty difference of man's making between faith and works4 ,you tell a little child daily to do many things the meaning and use of which it cannot understand2 and the child has faith in what you tell it2 and1 therefore1 it does what you tell it1 and so it shews its faith in you by obedience in working for you4 ,but to go on with the verses3 8,and the angel of the ,lord called unto ,abraham out of heaven the second time1 and said1 ,by myself have ,i sworn1 saith the ,lord1 for because thou hast done this thing1 and hast not withheld thy son1 thine only son3 that in blessing ,i will bless thee1 and in multiplying ,i will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven1 and as the sand which is upon the sea-shore2 and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies2 and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed2 because thou hast obeyed my voice40 ,now1 here remark two things2 first1 that it was ,abraham's obedience in giving up all to ,god1 which called forth from ,god this confirmation of ,god's promises to him2 and next1 that ,god here promised him nothing new2 ,god did not say to him1 #8,because thou hast obeyed me in this great matter1 ,i will give thee some great reward over and above what ,i promised thee4' ,no2 ,god merely promises him over again1 but more solemnly than ever1 what ,he had promised him many years before4 ,and so it will be with us1 my friends1 we must not expect to buy ,god's favour by obeying ,him1--we must not expect that the more we do for ,god1 the more ,god will be bound to do for us1 as the ,papists do4 ,no2 ,god has done for us all that ,he will do4 ,he has promised us all that ,he will promise4 ,he has provided us1 as ,he provided ,abraham1 a lamb for the burnt-offering1 the ,lamb without blemish and without spot1 which taketh away the sins of the world4 ,we are ,his redeemed people--we have a share in ,his promises--,he bids us believe that1 and shew that we believe it by living as redeemed men1 not our own1 but bought with a price1 and created anew in ,christ ,jesus to do good works2 not that we may buy forgiveness by them1 but that we may shew by them that we believe that ,god has forgiven us already1 and that when we have done all that is commanded us1 we are still unprofitable servants2 for though we should give up at ,god's bidding our children1 our wives1 and our own limbs and lives1 and shew as utter faith in ,god1 and complete obedience to ,god1 as ,abraham did1 we should only have done just what it was already our duty to do4 ,,sermon ,,xiv4 ,,our ,,father ,,in ,,heaven4 #a ,,john1 ii4 #ac4 8,i write unto you1 little children1 because ye have known the ,father40 ,i ,,preached some time ago a sermon on the whole of these most deep and blessed verses of ,st4 ,john4 ,i now wish to speak to those who are of age to be confirmed three separate sermons on three separate parts of these verses4 ,first to those whom ,st4 ,john calls little children2 next1 to those whom ,he calls grown men4 ,to the first ,i will speak to-day2 to the latter1 by ,god's help1 next ,sunday4 ,and may the ,blessed ,one bring home my weak words to all your hearts6 ,now for the meaning of 8little children40 ,there are those who will tell you that those words mean merely 8weak believers10 8babes in grace10 and so on4 ,they mean that1 no doubt2 but they mean much more4 ,they mean1 first of all1 be sure1 what they say4 ,st4 ,john would not have said 8little children10 if he had not meant little children4 ,surely ,god's apostle did not throw about his words at random1 so as to leave them open to mistakes1 and want some one to step in and tell us that they do not mean their plain1 common-sense meaning1 but something else4 ,holy ,scripture is too wisely written1 and too awful a matter1 to be trifled with in that way1 and cut and squared to suit our own fancies1 and explained away1 till its blessed promises are made to mean anything or nothing4 ,no6 ,by little children1 ,st4 ,john means here children in age1--of course ,christian children and young people1 for he was writing only to ,christians4 ,he speaks to those who have been christened1 and brought up1 more or less1 as christened children should be4 ,but1 no doubt1 when he says little children1 he means also all ,christian people1 whether they be young or old1 whose souls are still young1 and weak1 and unlearned4 ,all1 however old they may be1 who have not been confirmed--,i do not merely mean confirmed by the bishop1 but confirmed by ,god's grace1--all those who have not yet come to a full knowledge of their own sins1--all who have not yet been converted1 and turned to ,god with their whole hearts and wills1 who have not yet made their full choice between ,god and sin1--all who have not yet fought for themselves the battle which no man or angel can fight for them--,i mean the battle between their selfishness and their duty--the battle between their love of pleasure and their fear of sin--the battle1 in short1 between the devil and his temptations to darkness and shame1 and ,god and ,his promises of light1 and strength1 and glory1--all who have not been converted to ,god1 to them ,st4 ,john speaks as little children--people who are not yet strong enough to stand alone1 and do their duty on ,god's side against sin1 the world1 and the devil4 ,and all of you here who have not yet made up your minds1 who have not yet been confirmed in soul1--whether you were confirmed by the bishop or not1--to you ,i speak this day4 ,now1 first of all1 consider this1--that though ,st4 ,john calls you 8little children10 because you are still weak1 and your souls have not grown to manhood1 yet he does not speak to you as if you were heathens and knew nothing about ,god2 he says1 8,i have written unto you1 little children1 because ye have known the ,father40 ,consider that2 that was his reason for all that he had written to them before2 that they had known the ,father1 the ,god who made heaven and earth--the ,father of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ--the ,father of little children--my ,father and your ,father1 my friends1 little as we may behave like what we are1 sons of the ,almighty ,god4 ,that was ,st4 ,john's reason for speaking to little children1 because they had already known the ,father4 ,so he does not speak to them as if they were heathens2 and ,i dare not speak to you1 young people1 as if you were heathens1 however foolish and sinful some of you may be2 ,i dare not do it1 whatever many preachers may do nowadays2 not because ,i should be unfair and hard upon you merely1 but because ,i should lie1 and deny the great grace and mercy which ,god has shewn you1 and count the blood of the covenant1 with which you were sprinkled at baptism1 an unholy thing2 and do despite to the spirit of grace which has been struggling in your hearts1 trying to lead you out of sin into good1 out of light into darkness1 ever since you were born4 ,therefore1 as ,st4 ,john said1 ,i say1 ,i preach this day to you1 young people1 because you have known your ,father in heaven6 ,but some of you may say to me1 #8,you put a great honour on us2 but we do not see that we have any right to it4 ,you tell us that we have a very noble and awful knowledge--that we know the ,father4 ,we are afraid that we do not know ,him2 we do not even rightly understand of whom or what you preach4' ,well1 my young friends1 these are very awful words of ,st4 ,john2 such blessed and wonderful words1 that if we did not find them in the ,bible1 it would be madness and insolence to ,god of us to say such a thing1 not merely of little children1 but even of the greatest1 and wisest1 and holiest man who ever lived2 but there they are in the ,bible--the blessed ,lord ,himself has told us all1 8,when ye pray1 say1 ,our ,father in heaven20--and ,i dare not keep them back because they sound strange4 ,they may sound strange1 but they are not strange4 ,any one who has ever watched a young child's heart1 and seen how naturally and at once the little innocent takes in the thought of his ,father which is in heaven1 knows that it is not a strange thought--that it comes to a little child almost by instinct--that his ,father in heaven seems often to be just the thought which fills his heart most completely1 has most power over him1--the thought which has been lying ready in his heart all the time1 only waiting for some one to awaken it1 and put it into words for him2 that he will do right when you put him in mind of his ,father above the skies sooner than he will for a hundred punishments4 ,for truly says the poet1-- 8,heaven lies about us in our infancy1 ,not in complete forgetfulness1 ,nor yet in utter nakedness1 ,but trailing clouds of glory do we come1 ,from ,god who is our home60 ,and yet more truly said the ,blessed ,one ,himself1 8,that children's angels always behold the face of our ,father which is in heaven20 and that 8of such is the kingdom of heaven40 ,yet you say1 some of you1 perhaps1 #8,whatever knowledge of our ,father in heaven we had1 or ought to have had1 when we were young1 we have lost it now4 ,we have forgotten what we learnt at school4 ,we have been what you would call sinful2 at all events1 we have been thinking all our time about a great many things beside religion1 and they have quite put out of our head the thought that ,god is our ,father4 ,so how have we known our ,father in heaven8' ,well1 then1 to answer that1--consider the case of your earthly fathers1 the men who begot you and brought you up4 ,now there might be one of you who had never seen his father since he was born1 but all he knows of him is1 that his name is so and so1 and that he is such and such a sort of man1 as the case might be2 and that he lives in such and such a place1 far away1 and that now and then he hears talk of his father1 or receives letters or presents from him4 ,suppose ,i asked that young man1 ,do you know your father8 would he not answer--would he not have a right to answer1 #8,yes1 ,i know him4 ,i never saw him1 or was acquainted with him1 but ,i know him well enough2 ,i know who he is1 and where to find him1 and what sort of a man he is4' ,that young man might not know his father's face1 or love him1 or care for him at all4 ,he might have been disobedient to his father2 he might have forgotten for years that he had a father at all1 and might have lived on his own way1 just as if he had no father4 ,but when he was put in mind of it all1 would he not say at once1 #8,yes1 ,i know my father well enough2 his name is so and so1 and he lives at such and such a place4 ,i know my father4' ,well1 my young friends1 and if this would be true of your fathers on earth1 it is just as true of your ,father in heaven4 ,you have never seen ,him--you may have forgotten ,him--you may have disobeyed ,him--you may have lived on your own way1 as if you had no ,father in heaven2 still you know that you have a ,father in heaven4 ,you pray1 surely1 sometimes4 ,what do you say8 8,our ,father which art in heaven40 ,so you have a ,father in heaven1 else what right have you to use those words1--what right have you to say to ,god1 8,our ,father in heaven10 if you believe that you have no ,father there8 ,that would be only blasphemy and mockery4 ,i can well understand that you have often said those words without thinking of them--without thinking what a blessed1 glorious1 soul-saving meaning there was in them2 but ,i will not believe that you never once in your whole lives said1 8,our ,father which art in heaven10 without believing them to be true words4 ,what ,i want is1 for you always to believe them to be true4 ,oh young men and young women1 boys and girls--believe those words1 believe that when you say1 8,our ,father which art in heaven10 you speak ,god's truth about yourselves2 that the evil devil rages when he hears you speak those words1 because they are the words which prove that you do not belong to him and to hell1 but to ,god and the kingdom of heaven4 ,oh1 believe those words--behave as if you believed those words1 and you shall see what will come of them1 through all eternity for ever4 ,well1 but you will ask1 ,what has all this to do with confirmation8 ,it has all to do with confirmation4 ,because you are ,god's children1 and know that you are ,god's children1 you are to go and confirm before the bishop your right to be called ,god's children4 ,you are to go and claim your share in ,god's kingdom4 ,if you were heir to an estate1 you would go and claim your estate from those who held it4 ,you are heirs to an estate--you are heirs to the kingdom of heaven2 go to confirmation1 and claim that kingdom1 say1 #8,i am a citizen of ,god's kingdom4 ,before the bishop and the congregation1 here ,i proclaim the honour which ,god has put upon me4' ,if you have a father1 you will surely not be ashamed to own him6 ,how much more when the ,almighty ,god of heaven is your ,father6 ,you will not be ashamed to own ,him8 ,then go to confirmation2 for by doing so you own ,god for your ,father4 ,if you have an earthly father1 you will not be ashamed to say1 #8,i know ,i ought to honour him and obey him2' how much more when your father is the ,almighty ,god of heaven1 who sent ,his own ,son into the world to die for you1 who is daily heaping you with blessings body and soul6 ,you will not be ashamed to confess that you ought to honour and obey ,him8 ,then go to confirmation1 and say1 #8,i here take upon myself the vow and promise made for me at my baptism4 ,i am ,god's child1 and therefore ,i will honour1 love1 and obey ,him4 ,it is my duty2 and it shall be my delight henceforward to work for ,god1 to do all the good ,i can to my life's end1 because my ,father in heaven loves the good1 and has commanded me1 poor1 weak countryman though ,i be1 to work for ,him in well-doing4' ,so ,i say1 ,if ,god is your ,father1 go and own ,him at confirmation4 ,if ,god is your ,father1 go and promise to love and obey ,him at confirmation2 and see if ,he does not1 like a strong and loving ,father as ,he is1 confirm you in return1--see if ,he does not give you strength of heart1 and peace of mind1 and clear1 quiet1 pure thoughts1 such as a man or woman ought to have who considers that the great ,god1 who made the sky and stars above their heads1 is their ,father4 ,but1 perhaps1 there are some of you1 young people1 who do not wish to be confirmed4 ,and why8 ,now1 look honestly into your own hearts and see the reason4 ,is it not1 after all1 because you don't like the trouble8 ,because you are afraid that being confirmed will force you to think seriously and be religious2 and you had rather not take all that trouble yet8 ,is it not because you do not like to look your ownselves in the face1 and see how foolishly you have been living1 and how many bad habits you will have to give up1 and what a thorough conversion and change you must make1 if you are to be confirmed in earnest8 ,is not this why you do not wish to be confirmed8 ,and what does that all come to8 ,that though you know you are ,god's children1 you do not like to tell people publicly that you are ,god's children1 lest they should expect you to behave like ,god's children--that is it4 ,now1 young men and young women1 think seriously once for all--if you have any common sense--,i do not say grace1 left in you--think6 ,are you not playing a fearful game8 ,you would not dare to deny your fathers on earth--to refuse to obey them1 because you know well enough that they would punish you--that if you were too old for punishment1 your neighbours1 at least1 would despise you for mean1 ungrateful1 and rebellious children6 ,but because you cannot see ,god your ,father1 because you have not some sign or wonder hanging in the sky to frighten you into good behaviour1 therefore you are not afraid to turn your backs on him4 ,my friends1 it is ill mocking the living ,god4 ,mark my words6 ,if a man will not turn ,he will whet ,his sword1 and make us feel it4 ,you who can be confirmed1 and know in your hearts that you ought to be confirmed1 and ought to be really converted and confirmed in soul1 and make no mockery of it1--mark my words6 ,if you will not be converted and confirmed of your own good will1 ,god1 if ,he has any love left for you1 will convert and confirm you against your will4 ,he will let you go your own ways till you find out your own folly4 ,he will bring you low with affliction perhaps1 with sickness1 with ill-luck1 with shame4 ,some way or other1 ,he will chastise you1 again and again1 till you are forced to come back to ,him1 and take ,his service on you4 ,if ,he loves you1 ,he will drive you home to your ,father's house4 ,you may laugh at my words now1 see if you laugh at them when your hairs are grey4 ,oh1 young people1 if you wish in after-life to save yourselves shame and sorrow1 and perhaps1 in the world to come eternal death1 come to confirmation1 acknowledge ,god for your ,father1 promise to come and serve ,him faithfully1 make those blessed words of the ,lord's ,prayer1 8,our ,father in heaven10 your glory and your honour1 your guide and guard through life1 your title-deeds to heaven4 ,you who know that the ,great ,god is your ,father1 will you be ashamed to own yourselves ,his sons8 ,,sermon ,,xv4 ,,the ,,transfiguration4 ,,mark1 ix4 #b4 8,jesus taketh ,peter1 and ,james1 and ,john1 and leadeth them up into a high mountain apart1 and was transfigured before them40 ,,the second lesson for this morning service brings us to one of the most wonderful passages in our blessed ,saviour's whole stay on earth1 namely1 ,his transfiguration4 ,the story1 as told by the different ,evangelists1 is this1--,that our ,lord took ,peter1 and ,john1 and ,james his brother1 and led them up into a high mountain apart1 which mountain may be seen to this very day4 ,it is a high peaked hill1 standing apart from all the hills around it1 with a small smooth space of ground upon the top1 very fit1 from its height and its loneliness1 for a transaction like the transfiguration1 which our ,lord wished no one but these three to behold4 ,there the apostles fell asleep2 while our blessed ,lord1 who had deeper thoughts in ,his heart than they had1 knelt down and prayed to ,his ,father and our ,father1 which is in heaven4 ,and as ,he prayed1 the form of ,his countenance was changed1 and ,his raiment became shining1 white as the light2 and there appeared ,moses and ,elijah talking with ,him4 ,they talked of matters which the angels desire to look into1 of the greatest matters that ever happened in this earth since it was made2 of the redemption of the world1 and of the death which ,christ was to undergo at ,jerusalem4 ,and as they were talking1 the apostles awoke1 and found into what glorious company they had fallen while they slept4 ,what they felt no mortal man can tell--that moment was worth to them all the years they had lived before4 ,when they had gone up with ,jesus into the mount1 ,he was but the poor carpenter's son1 wonderful enough to them1 no doubt1 with ,his wise1 searching words1 and ,his gentle1 loving looks1 that drew to ,him all men who had hearts left in them1 and wonderful enough1 too1 from all the mighty miracles which they had seen ,him do1 but still ,he was merely a man like themselves1 poor1 and young1 and homeless1 who felt the heat1 and the cold1 and the rough roads1 as much as they did4 ,they could feel that ,he spake as never man spake--they could see that ,god's spirit and power was on ,him as it had never been on any man in their time4 ,god had even enlightened their reason by ,his ,spirit1 to know that ,he was the ,christ1 the ,son of the living ,god4 ,but still it does seem they did not fully understand who and what ,he was2 they could not understand how the ,son of ,god should come in the form of a despised and humble man2 they did not understand that ,his glory was to be a spiritual glory4 ,they expected ,his kingdom to be a kingdom of this world--they expected ,his glory to consist in palaces1 and armies1 and riches1 and jewels1 and all the magnificence with which ,solomon and the old ,jewish kings were adorned2 they thought that ,he was to conquer back again from the ,roman emperor all the inestimable treasures of which the ,romans had robbed the ,jews1 and that ,he was to make the ,jewish nation1 like the ,roman1 the conquerors and masters of all the nations of the earth4 ,so that it was a puzzling thing to their minds why ,he should be ,king of the ,jews at the very time that ,he was but a poor tradesman's son1 living on charity4 ,it was to shew them that ,his kingdom was the kingdom of heaven that ,he was transfigured before them4 ,they saw ,his glory--the glory as of the only-begotten of the ,father1 full of grace and truth4 ,the form of ,his countenance was changed2 all the majesty1 and courage1 and wisdom1 and love1 and resignation1 and pity1 that lay in ,his noble heart1 shone out through ,his face1 while ,he spoke of ,his death which ,he should accomplish at ,jerusalem--the ,holy ,ghost that was upon ,him1 the spirit of wisdom1 and love1 and beauty--the spirit which produces every thing that is lovely in heaven and earth3 in soul and body1 blazed out through ,his eyes1 and all ,his glorious countenance1 and made ,him look like what ,he was--a ,god4 ,my friends1 what a sight6 ,would it not be worth while to journey thousands of miles--to go through all difficulties1 dangers1 that man ever heard of1 for one sight of that glorious face1 that we might fall down upon our knees before it1 and1 if it were but for a moment1 give way to the delight of finding something that we could utterly love and utterly adore8 ,i say1 the delight of finding something to worship2 for if there is a noble1 if there is a holy1 if there is a spiritual feeling in man1 it is the feeling which bows him down before those who are greater1 and wiser1 and holier than himself4 ,i say1 that feeling of respect for what is noble is a heavenly feeling4 ,the man who has lost it--the man who feels no respect for those who are above him in age1 above him in knowledge1 above him in wisdom1 above him in goodness1--that man shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven4 ,it is only the man who is like a little child1 and feels the delight of having some one to look up to1 who will ever feel delight in looking up to ,jesus ,christ1 who is the ,lord of lords and ,king of kings4 ,it was the want of respect1 it was the dislike of feeling any one superior to himself1 which made the devil rebel against ,god1 and fall from heaven4 ,it will be the feeling of complete respect--the feeling of kneeling at the feet of one who is immeasurably superior to ourselves in every thing1 that will make up the greatest happiness of heaven4 ,this is a hard saying1 and no man can understand it1 save he to whom it is given by the ,spirit of ,god4 ,that the apostles had this feeling of immeasurable respect for ,christ there is no doubt1 else they would never have been apostles4 ,but they felt more than this4 ,there were other wonders in that glorious vision besides the countenance of our ,lord4 ,his raiment1 too1 was changed1 and became all brilliant1 white as the light itself4 ,was not that a lesson to them8 ,was it not as if our ,lord had said to them1 #8,i am a king1 and have put on glorious apparel1 but whence does the glory of my raiment come8 ,i have no need of fine linen1 and purple1 and embroidery1 the work of men's hands2 ,i have no need to send my subjects to mines and caves to dig gold and jewels to adorn my crown3 the earth is mine and the fulness thereof4 ,all this glorious earth1 with its trees and its flowers1 its sunbeams and its storms1 is mine4 ,i made it--,i can do what ,i will with it4 ,all the mysterious laws by which the light and the heat flow out for ever from ,god's throne1 to lighten the sun1 and the moon1 and the stars of heaven--they are mine4 ,i am the light of the world--the light of men's bodies as well of their souls2 and here is my proof of it4 ,look at ,me4 ,i am ,he that 8decketh ,himself with light as it were with a garment1 who layeth the beams of ,his chambers in the waters1 and walketh upon the wings of the wind40 ,this was the message which ,christ's glory brought the apostles--a message which they could never forget4 ,the spiritual glory of ,his countenance had shewn them that ,he was a spiritual king--that ,his strength lay in the spirit of power1 and wisdom1 and beauty1 and love1 which ,god had given ,him without measure2 and it shewed them1 too1 that there was such a thing as a spiritual body1 such a body as each of us some day shall have if we be found in ,christ at the resurrection of the just--a body which shall not hide a man's spirit1 when it becomes subject to the wear and tear of life1 and disease1 and decay2 but a spiritual body--a body which shall be filled with our spirits1 which shall be perfectly obedient to our spirits--a body through which the glory of our spirits shall shine out1 as the glory of ,christ's spirit shone out through ,his body at the transfiguration4 8,brethren1 we know not yet what we shall be1 but this we do know1 that when ,he shall appear1 we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is40 7#a ,john1 iii4 #c47 ,thus our ,lord taught them by ,his appearance that there is such a thing as a spiritual body1 while1 by the glory of ,his raiment1 in addition to ,his other miracles1 ,he taught them that ,he had power over the laws of nature1 and could1 in ,his own good time1 8change the bodies of their humiliation1 that they might be made like unto ,his glorious body1 according to the mighty working by which ,he is able to subdue all things to ,himself40 ,but there was yet another lesson which the apostles learnt from the transfiguration of our ,lord4 ,they beheld ,moses and ,elijah talking with ,him3--,moses the great lawgiver of their nation1 ,elijah the chief of all the ,jewish prophets4 ,we must consider this a little to find out the whole depth of its meaning4 ,you remember how ,christ had spoken of ,himself as having come1 not to destroy the ,law and the ,prophets1 but to fulfil them4 ,you remember1 too1 how ,he had always said that ,he was the person of whom the ,law and the ,prophets had spoken4 ,here was an actual sign and witness that ,his words were true--here was ,moses1 the giver of the ,law1 and ,elijah1 the chief of the ,prophets1 talking with ,him1 bearing witness to ,him in their own persons1 and shewing1 too1 that it was ,his death and ,his perfect sacrifice that they had been shadowing forth in the sacrifices of the law and in the dark speeches of prophecy4 ,for they talked with ,him of ,his death1 which ,he was to accomplish at ,jerusalem4 ,what more perfect testimony could the apostles have had to shew them that ,jesus of ,nazareth1 their ,master1 was ,he of whom the ,law and the ,prophets spoke--that ,he was indeed the ,christ for whom ,moses and ,elijah1 and all the saints of old1 had looked2 and that ,he was come not to destroy the ,law and the ,prophets1 but to fulfil them8 ,we can hardly understand the awe and the delight with which the disciples must have beheld those blessed ,three--,moses1 and ,elias1 and ,jesus ,christ1 their ,lord1 talking together before their very eyes4 ,for of all men in the world1 ,moses and ,elias were to them the greatest4 ,all true-hearted ,israelites1 who knew the history of their nation1 and understood the promises of ,god1 must have felt that ,moses and ,elias were the two greatest heroes and saviours of their nation1 whom ,god had ever yet raised up4 ,and the joy and the honour of thus seeing them face to face1 the very men whom they had loved and reverenced in their thoughts1 whom they had heard and read of from their childhood1 as the greatest ornaments and glories of their nation--the joy and the honour1 ,i say1 of that unexpected sight1 added to the wonderful majesty which was suddenly revealed to their transfigured ,lord1 seemed to have been too much for them--they knew not what to say4 ,such company seemed to them for the moment heaven enough2 and ,st4 ,peter first finding words exclaimed1 8,lord1 it is good for us to be here4 ,if thou wilt let us build three tabernacles1 one for ,thee1 and one for ,moses1 and one for ,elias40 ,not1 ,i fancy1 that they intended to worship ,moses and ,elias1 but that they felt that ,moses and ,elias1 as well as ,christ1 had each a divine message1 which must be listened to2 and therefore1 they wished that each of them might have his own tabernacle1 and dwell among men1 and each teach his own particular doctrine and wisdom in his own school4 ,it may seem strange that they should put ,moses and ,elias so on an equality with ,christ1 but the truth was1 that as yet they understood ,moses and ,elias better than they did ,christ4 ,they had heard and read of ,moses and ,elijah all their lives--they were acquainted with all their actions and words--they knew thoroughly what great and noble men the ,spirit of ,god had made them1 but they did not understand ,christ in like manner4 ,they did not yet feel that ,god had given ,him the ,spirit without measure--they did not understand that ,he was not only to be a lawgiver and a prophet1 but a sacrifice for sin1 the conqueror of death and hell1 who was to lead captivity captive1 and receive inestimable gifts for men4 ,much less did they think that ,moses and ,elijah were but ,his servants--that all their spirit and their power had been given by ,him4 ,but this also they were taught a moment afterwards2 for a bright cloud overshadowed them1 hiding from them the glory of ,god the ,father1 whom no man hath seen or can see1 who dwells in the light which no man can approach unto2 and out of that cloud1 a voice saying1 8,this is my beloved ,son2 hear ye ,him20 and then1 hiding their faces in fear and wonder1 they fell to the ground2 and when they looked up1 the vision and the voice had alike passed away1 and they saw no man but ,christ alone4 ,was not that enough for them8 ,must not the meaning of the vision have been plain to them8 ,they surely understood from it that ,moses and ,elijah were1 as they had ever believed them to be1 great and good1 true messengers of the living ,god2 but that their message and their work was done--that ,christ1 whom they had looked for1 was come--that all the types of the law were realised1 and all the prophecies fulfilled1 and that henceforward ,christ1 and ,christ alone1 was to be their ,prophet and their ,lawgiver4 ,was not this plainly the meaning of the ,divine voice8 ,for when they wished to build three tabernacles1 and to honour ,moses and ,elijah1 the ,law and the ,prophets1 as separate from ,christ--that moment the heavenly voice warned them3 #8,this--this is my beloved ,son--hear ye ,him1 and ,him only1 henceforward4' ,and ,moses and ,elijah1 their work being done1 forthwith vanished away1 leaving ,christ alone to fulfil the ,law and the prophets1 and all other wisdom and righteousness that ever was or shall be4 ,this is another lesson which ,christ's transfiguration was meant to teach and us1 that ,christ alone is to be henceforward our guide2 that no philosophies or doctrines of any sort which are not founded on a true faith in ,jesus ,christ1 and ,his life and death1 are worth listening to2 that ,god has manifested forth ,his beloved ,son1 and that ,him1 and ,him only1 we are to hear4 ,i do not mean to say that ,christ came into the world to put down human learning4 ,i do not mean that we are to despise human learning1 as so many are apt to do nowadays2 for ,christ came into the world not to destroy human learning1 but to fulfil it--to sanctify it--to make human learning true1 and strong1 and useful1 by giving it a sure foundation to stand upon1 which is the belief and knowledge of ,his blessed self4 ,just as ,christ came not to destroy the ,law and the ,prophets1 but to fulfil them--to give them a spirit and a depth in men's eyes which they never had before--just so1 ,he came to fulfil all true philosophies1 all the deep thoughts which men had ever thought about this wonderful world and their own souls1 by giving them a spirit and a depth which they never had before4 ,therefore let no man tempt you to despise learning1 for it is holy to the ,lord4 ,there is one more lesson which we may learn from our ,lord's transfiguration2 when ,st4 ,peter said1 8,lord6 it is good for us to be here10 he spoke a truth4 ,it was good for him to be there2 nevertheless1 ,christ did not listen to his prayer4 ,he and his two companions were not allowed to stay in that glorious company4 ,and why8 ,because they had a work to do4 ,they had glad tidings of great joy to proclaim to every creature1 and it was1 after all1 but a selfish prayer1 to wish to be allowed to stay in ease and glory on the mount while the whole world was struggling in sin and wickedness below them3 for there is no meaning in a man's calling himself a ,christian1 or saying that he loves ,god1 unless he is ready to hate what ,god hates1 and to fight against that which ,christ fought against1 that is1 sin4 ,no one has any right to call himself a servant of ,god1 who is not trying to do away with some of the evil in the world around him4 ,and1 therefore1 ,christ was merciful1 when1 instead of listening to ,st4 ,peter's prayer1 ,he led the apostles down again from the mount1 and sent them forth1 as ,he did afterwards1 to preach the ,gospel of the kingdom to all nations4 ,for ,christ put a higher honour on ,st4 ,peter by that than if ,he had let him stay on the mount all his life1 to behold ,his glory1 and worship and adore4 ,and ,he made ,st4 ,peter more like ,himself by doing so4 ,for what was ,christ's life8 ,not one of deep speculations1 quiet thoughts1 and bright visions1 such as ,st4 ,peter wished to lead2 but a life of fighting against evil2 earnest1 awful prayers and struggles within1 continual labour of body and mind without1 insult and danger1 and confusion1 and violent exertion1 and bitter sorrow4 ,this was ,christ's life--this is the life of almost every good man ,i ever heard of2--this was ,st4 ,peter1 and ,st4 ,james1 and ,st4 ,john's life afterwards4 ,this was ,christ's cup1 which they were to drink of as well as ,he2--this was the baptism of fire with which they were to be baptised of as well as ,he2--this was to be their fight of faith2--this was the tribulation through which they1 like all other great saints1 were to enter into the kingdom of heaven2 for it is certain that the harder a man fights against evil1 the harder evil will fight against him in return3 but it is certain1 too1 that the harder a man fights against evil1 the more he is like his ,saviour ,christ1 and the more glorious will be his reward in heaven4 ,it is certain1 too1 that what was good for ,st4 ,peter is good for us4 ,it is good for a man to have holy and quiet thoughts1 and at moments to see into the very deepest meaning of ,god's word and ,god's earth1 and to have1 as it were1 heaven opened before his eyes2 and it is good for a man sometimes actually to feel his heart overpowered with the glorious majesty of ,god1 and to feel it gushing out with love to his blessed ,saviour3 but it is not good for him to stop there1 any more than it was for the apostles2 they had to leave that glorious vision and come down from the mount1 and do ,christ's work2 and so have we2 for1 believe me1 one word of warning spoken to keep a little child out of sin1--one crust of bread given to a beggar-man1 because he is your brother1 for whom ,christ died1--one angry word checked1 when it is on your lips1 for the sake of ,him who was meek and lowly in heart2 in short1 any1 the smallest endeavour of this kind to lessen the quantity of evil1 which is in yourselves1 and in those around you1 is worth all the speculations1 and raptures1 and visions1 and frames1 and feelings in the world2 for those are the good fruits of faith1 whereby alone the tree shall be known whether it be good or evil4 ,,sermon ,,xvi4 ,,the ,,crucifixion4 ,,isaiah1 liii4 #g4 8,he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter40 ,,on this day1 my friends1 was offered up upon the cross the ,lamb of ,god1--slain in eternity and heaven before the foundation of the world1 but slain in time and space upon this day4 ,all the old sacrifices1 the lambs which were daily offered up to ,god in the ,jewish ,temple1 the lambs which ,abel1 and after him the patriarchs offered up1 the ,paschal ,lamb slain at the ,passover1 our ,eastertide1 all these were but figures of ,christ--tokens of the awful and yet loving law of ,god1 that without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin4 ,but the blood of dumb animals could not take away sin4 ,all mankind had sinned1 and it was1 therefore1 necessary that all mankind should suffer4 ,therefore ,he suffered1 the new ,adam1 the ,man of all men1 in whom all mankind were1 as it were1 collected into one and put on a new footing with ,god2 that henceforward to be a man might mean to be a holy being1 a forgiven being1 a being joined to ,god1 wearing the likeness of the ,son of ,god--the human soul and body in which ,he offered up all human souls and bodies on the cross4 ,for man was originally made in ,christ's likeness2 ,he was the ,word of ,god who walked in the garden of ,eden1 who spoke to ,adam with a human voice2 ,he was the ,lord who appeared to the patriarchs in a man's figure1 and ate and drank in ,abraham's tent1 and spoke to him with a human voice2 ,he was the ,god of ,israel1 whom the ,jewish elders saw with their bodily eyes upon ,mount ,sinai1 and under ,his feet a pavement as of a sapphire stone4 ,from ,him all man's powers came--man's speech1 man's understanding4 ,all that is truly noble in man was a dim pattern of ,him in whose likeness man was originally made4 ,and when man had fallen and sinned1 and ,christ's image was fading more and more out of him1 and the likeness of the brutes growing more and more in him year by year1 then came ,christ1 the head and the original pattern of all men1 to claim them for ,his own again1 to do in their name what they could never do for themselves1 to offer ,himself up a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world3 so that ,he is the real sacrifice1 the real lamb2 as ,st4 ,john said when he pointed ,him out to his disciples1 8,behold the ,lamb of ,god1 which taketh away the sin of the world60 ,oh1 think of that strong and patient ,lamb1 who on this day shewed ,himself perfect in fortitude and nobleness1 perfect in meekness and resignation4 ,think of ,him who1 in ,his utter love to us1 endured the cross1 despising the shame4 ,and what a cross6 ,truly said the prophet1 8,his visage was marred more than any man1 and ,his form more than the sons of men30 in hunger and thirst1 in tears and sighs1 bruised and bleeding1 ,his forehead crowned with thorns1 ,his sides torn with scourges1 ,his hands and feet gored with nails1 ,his limbs stretched from their sockets1 naked upon the shameful cross1 the ,son of ,god hung1 lingering slowly towards the last gasp1 in the death of the felon and the slave6 ,the most shameful sight that this earth ever saw1 and yet the most glorious sight4 ,the most shameful sight1 at which the sun in heaven veiled his face1 as if ashamed1 and the skies grew black1 as if to hide those bleeding limbs from the foul eyes of men2 and yet the noblest sight1 for in that death upon the cross shone out the utter fullness of all holiness1 the utter fullness of all fortitude1 the utter fullness of that self-sacrificing love1 which had said1 8,the ,son of ,man came to seek and to save that which was lost20 the utter fullness of obedient patience1 which could say1 8,father1 not ,my will but ,thine be done20 the utter fullness of generous forgiveness1 which could pray1 8,father1 forgive them1 for they know not what they do20 the utter fullness of noble fortitude and endurance1 which could say at the very moment when a fearful death stared ,him in the face1 8,thinkest thou that ,i cannot now pray to the ,father1 and ,he will send me at once more than twelve armies of angels8 ,but how then would the ,scriptures be fulfilled that thus it must be80 ,oh1 my friends1 look to ,him1 the author and perfecter of all faith1 all trust1 all loyal daring for the sake of duty and of ,god6 ,look at ,his patience4 ,see how ,he endured the cross1 despising the shame4 ,see how ,he endured--how patience had her perfect work in ,him--how in all things ,he was more than conqueror4 ,what gentleness1 what calmness1 what silence1 what infinite depths of ,divine love within ,him6 ,a heart which neither shame1 nor torture1 nor insult1 could stir from its ,godlike resolution4 ,when looking down from that cross ,he beheld none almost but enemies1 heard no word but mockery2 when those who passed by reviled ,him1 wagging their heads and saying1 8,he saved others1 ,himself ,he cannot save20 ,his only answer was a prayer for forgiveness for that besotted mob who were yelling beneath ,him like hounds about their game4 ,consider ,him1 and then consider ourselves1 ruffled and put out of temper by the slightest cross accident1 the slightest harsh word1 too often by the slightest pain--not to mention insults1 for we pride ourselves in not bearing them4 ,try1 my friends1 if you can1 even in the dimmest way1 fancy yourselves for one instant in ,his place this day #ahae years4 ,fancy yourselves hanging on that cross--fancy that mocking mob below--fancy--but ,i dare not go on with the picture4 ,only think--think what would have been your temper there1 and then you may get some slight notion of the boundless love and the boundless endurance of the ,saviour whom we love so little1 for whose sake most of us will not endure the trouble of giving up a single sin4 ,and then consider that it was all of ,his own free will2 that at any moment1 even while ,he was hanging upon the cross1 ,he might have called to earth and sun1 to heaven and to hell1 8,stop6 thus far1 but no further10 and they would have obeyed ,him2 and all that cross1 and agony1 and the fierce faces of those furious ,jews1 would have vanished away like a hideous dream when one awakes4 ,for they lied in their mockery4 ,any moment ,he might have been free1 triumphant1 again in ,his eternal bliss1 but ,he would not4 ,he ,himself kept ,himself on that cross till ,his ,father's will was fulfilled1 and the sacrifice was finished1 and we were saved4 ,and then at last1 when there was no more human nobleness1 no more agony left for ,him to fulfil1 no gem in the crown of holiness which ,he had not won as ,his own1 no drop in the cup of misery which ,he had not drained as ,his own2 when at last ,he was made perfect through suffering1 and ,his strength had been made perfect in weakness1 then ,he bowed that bleeding1 thorn-crowned head1 and said1 8,it is finished4 ,father1 into ,thy hands ,i commend my spirit40 ,and so ,he died4 ,how can our poor words1 our poor deeds1 thank ,him8 ,how mean and paltry our deepest gratitude1 our highest loyalty1 when compared with ,him to whom it is due--that adorable victim1 that perfect sin-offering1 who this day offered up ,himself upon the altar of the cross1 in the fire of ,his own boundless zeal for the kingdom of ,god1 ,his ,father1 and of ,his boundless love for us1 ,his sinful brothers6 8,oh1 thou blessed ,jesus6 ,saviour1 agonising for us6 ,god ,almighty1 who did make ,thyself weak for the love of us6 oh1 write that love upon our hearts so deeply that neither pleasure nor sorrow1 life nor death1 may wipe it away6 ,thou hast sacrificed ,thyself for us1 oh1 give us the hearts to sacrifice ourselves for ,thee6 ,thou art the ,vine1 we are the branches4 ,let ,thy priceless blood shed for us on this day flow like life-giving sap through all our hearts and minds1 and fill us with ,thy righteousness1 that we may be sacrifices fit for ,thee4 ,stir us up to offer to ,thee1 ,o ,lord1 our bodies1 our souls1 our spirits1 in all we love and all we learn1 in all we plan and all we do1 to offer our labours1 our pleasures1 our sorrows1 to ,thee2 to work for ,thy kingdom through them1 to live as those who are not their own1 but bought with ,thy blood1 fed with ,thy body2 and enable us now1 in ,thy most holy ,sacrament1 to offer to ,thee our repentance1 our faith1 our prayers1 our praises1 living1 reasonable1 and spiritual sacrifices1--,thine from our birth-hour1 ,thine now1 and ,thine for ever60 ,,sermon ,,xvii4 ,,the ,,resurrection4 ,,luke1 xxiv4 #f4 8,he is not here--,he is risen40 ,,we are assembled here to-day1 my friends1 to celebrate the joyful memory of our blessed ,saviour's ,resurrection4 ,all ,friday night1 ,saturday1 and ,saturday night1 ,his body lay in the grave2 ,his soul was--where we cannot tell4 ,st4 ,peter tells us that ,he went and preached to the spirits in prison--the sinners of the old world1 who are kept in the place of departed souls--most likely in the depths of the earth1 in the great fire-kingdom1 which boils and flames miles below our feet1 and breaks out here and there through the earth's solid crust in burning mountains and streams of fire4 ,there some say--and the ,bible seems to say--sinful souls are kept in chains until the judgment-day2 and thither they say ,christ went to preach--no doubt to save some of those sinful souls who had never heard of ,him4 ,however this may be1 for those two nights and day there was no sign1 no stir in the grave where ,christ was laid4 ,his body seemed dead--the stone lay still over the mouth of the tomb where ,joseph and ,nicodemus laid him2 the seal which ,pilate had put on it was unbroken2 the soldiers watched and watched1 but no one stirred2 the priests and ,pharisees were keeping their sham ,passover1 thinking1 no doubt1 that they were well rid of ,christ and of ,his rebukes for ever4 ,but early on the ,sunday morn--this day1 as it might be--in the grey dawn of morning there came a change--a wondrous change4 ,there was a great earthquake2 the solid ground and rocks were stirred--the angel of the ,lord came down from heaven1 and rolled back the stone from the door1 and sat upon it1 waiting for the ,king of glory to arise from ,his slumber1 and go forth the conqueror of ,death4 ,his countenance was like lightning1 and ,his raiment white as snow2 and for fear of ,him those fierce1 hard soldiers1 who feared neither ,god nor man1 shook1 and became as dead men4 ,and ,christ arose and went forth4 ,how he rose--how he looked when he arose1 no man can tell1 for no man saw4 ,only before the sun was risen came ,mary ,magdalene1 and the other ,mary1 and found the stone rolled away1 and saw the angels sitting1 clothed in white1 who said1 8,fear not1 for ,i know that ye seek ,jesus1 who was crucified4 ,he is not here1 for ,he is risen4 ,come1 see the place where the ,lord lay40 ,what must they have thought1 poor1 faithful souls1 who came1 lonely and broken-hearted1 to see the place where ,he1 their only hope1 was1 as they thought1 shut up and lost for ever1 to hear that ,he was risen and gone8 ,half terrified1 half delighted1 they went back with other women who had come on the same errand1 with spices to anoint the blessed body1 and told the apostles4 ,peter and ,john ran to the sepulchre1 and saw the linen clothes lie1 and the napkin that was about his blessed head1 wrapped together by itself4 ,they then believed4 ,then first broke on them the meaning of ,his old saying1 that ,he must rise from the dead2 and so1 wondering and doubting what to do1 they went back home4 ,but ,mary--faithful1 humble ,mary--stood without1 by the sepulchre1 weeping4 ,the angels called to her1 8,woman1 why weepest thou80 8,they have taken away my ,lord10 said she2 8and ,i know not where they have laid him40 ,then1 in a moment1 out of the air1 ,he appeared behind her4 ,his body had been changed2 it was now a glorified1 spiritual body1 which could appear and disappear when and how he liked4 ,she turned back1 and saw ,him standing1 but she knew ,him not4 ,a wondrous change had come over ,him since last she saw ,him hanging1 bleeding1 pale1 and dying1 on the cross of shame4 8,woman10 said ,he1 8why weepest thou80 ,she1 fancying it was the gardener1 said to ,him1 8,sir1 if thou hast borne ,him hence1 tell me where thou hast laid ,him1 and ,i will take ,him away40 ,jesus said to her1 8,mary40 ,at the sound of that beloved voice--,his own voice--calling by her name1 her recollection came back to her4 ,she knew ,him--knew ,him for her risen ,lord2 and1 falling at ,his feet1 cried out1 8,my ,master60 ,so ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son of ,god1 rose from the dead6 ,now come the questions1 ,why did ,christ rise from the dead8--and how did he rise8 ,and1 first1 ,i will say a few words about how he rose from the dead4 ,and this the ,bible will answer for us1 as it will every thing else about the spirit-world4 ,christ1 says the ,bible1 was put to death in the flesh2 but quickened1 that is1 brought to life1 by the ,spirit4 ,now what is the ,spirit but the ,lord and ,giver of ,life1--life of all sorts--life to the soul--life to the body--life to the trees and plants around us8 ,with that ,spirit ,christ is filled infinitely without measure2 it is ,his ,spirit4 ,he is the ,prince of ,life2 and the ,spirit which gives life is ,his ,spirit1 proceeding from the ,father and the ,son4 ,therefore the gates of hell could not prevail against ,him--therefore the heavy grave-stone could not hold ,him down--therefore ,his flesh could not see corruption and decay as other bodies do2 not because ,his body was different from other bodies in its substance1 but because ,he was filled1 body and soul1 with the great ,spirit of ,life4 ,for this is the great business of the ,spirit of ,god1 in all nature1 to bring life out of death--new generations out of old4 ,what says ,david8 8,when ,thou1 ,o ,god1 turnest away ,thy face1 things die and return again to the dust2 when ,thou lettest ,thy breath 7which is the same as ,thy spirit7 go forth1 they are made1 and ,thou renewest the face of the earth40 ,this is the way that seeds1 instead of rotting and perishing1 spring up and become new plants--,god breathes ,his spirit on them4 ,the seeds must have heat1 and damp1 and darkness1 and electricity1 before they can sprout2 but the heat1 and damp1 and darkness1 do not make them sprout2 they want something more to do that4 ,a philosopher can find out exactly what a seed is made of1 and he might make a seed of the proper materials1 and put it in the ground1 and electrify it--but would it grow8 ,not it4 ,to grow it must have life--life from the fountain of life--from ,god's ,spirit4 ,all the philosophers in the world have never yet been able1 among all the things which they have made1 to make a single living thing--and say they never shall2 because1 put together all they will1 still one thing is wanting--life1 which ,god alone can give4 ,why do ,i say this8 ,to shew you what ,god's ,spirit is2 to put you in mind that it is near you1 above you1 and beneath you1 about your path in your daily walk4 ,and also1 to explain to you how ,christ rose by that ,spirit1--how your bodies1 if you claim your share in ,christ's ,spirit1 may rise by it too4 ,you can see now1 how ,christ1 being filled with ,god's ,spirit1 rose of ,himself4 ,people had risen from the dead before ,christ's time1 but they had been either raised in answer to the prayers of holy men who had ,god's ,spirit1 or at some peculiar time when heaven was opened1 and ,god chose to alter ,his laws 7as we call it7 for a moment4 ,but here was a ,man who rose of ,himself4 ,he was raised by ,god1 and therefore ,he raised ,himself1 for ,he was ,god4 ,you all know what life and power a man's own spirit will often give him4 ,you may have heard of 8spirited0 men in great danger1 or 8spirited0 soldiers in battle2 when faint1 wounded1 having suffered enough1 apparently1 to kill them twice over1 still struggling or fighting on1 and doing the most desperate deeds to the last1 from the strength and courage of their spirits conquering pain and weakness1 and keeping off1 for a time1 death itself4 ,we all know how madmen1 diseased in their spirits1 will1 when the fit is on them1 have1 for a few minutes1 ten men's strength4 ,well1 just think1 if a man's own spirit1 when it is powerful1 can give his body such life and force1 what must it have been with ,christ1 who was filled full of the ,spirit--,god's ,spirit1 the ,lord and ,giver of life4 ,the ,lord could not help rising4 ,all the disease1 and poison1 and rottenness in the world1 could not have made ,his body decay2 mountains on mountains could not have kept it down4 ,his body6--the ,prince of ,life6--,he that was the life itself6 ,it was impossible that death could hold ,him4 ,and does not this shew us why ,he rose1 that we might rise with ,him8 ,what did ,he say about ,his own death8 8,except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die1 it abideth alone1 but if it die it bringeth forth much fruit40 ,he was the grain which fell into the ground and died1 and from ,his dead body sprung up another body--,his glorified body2 and we ,his ,church1 ,his people1 fed with that body--,his members1 however strange it may sound--,st4 ,paul said it1 and therefore ,i dare to say it1 little as ,i know what it means--members of ,his flesh and of ,his bones4 ,but think6 ,remember what ,st4 ,paul tells you about this very matter in that glorious chapter which is read in the burial-service1 8how when thou sowest seed1 thou sowest not that body which it will have1 but bare grain2 but ,god gives it a body as it hath pleased ,him1 and to every seed its own body40 ,for the wheat-plant is in reality the same thing as the wheat-seed1 and its life the same life1 different as the outside of it may look4 ,dig it up just at this time of year1 and you will find the seed-corn all gone1 sucked dry2 the life of the wheat-seed has formed it into a wheat-plant--yet it is the same individual thing4 ,the substance of the seed has gone into the root and the young blade2 but it is the same individual substance4 ,you know it is1 and though you cannot tell why1 yet you say 8,what a fine plant that seed has grown into10 because you feel it is so1 that the seed is the very same thing as the plant which springs up from it1 though its shape is changed1 and its size1 and its colour1 and the very stuff of which it was made is changed1 since it was a mere seed4 ,and yet it is at bottom the same individual thing as the seed was1 with a new body and shape4 ,so with ,christ's body4 ,it was changed after ,he rose4 ,it had gone through pain1 and weakness1 and death1 gone down to the lowest depth of them1 and conquered them1 and passed triumphant through them and far beyond their power4 ,his body was now a nobler1 a more beautiful1 a glorified body1 a spiritual body1 one which could do whatever ,his ,spirit chose to make it do1 one which could never die again1 one which could come through closed doors1 appear and vanish as ,he liked1 instead of being bound to walk the earth1 and stand cold and heat1 sickness and weariness4 ,yet it was the very same body1 just as the wheat-plant is the same as the wheat-seed--the very same body4 ,every one knew ,his face again after ,his resurrection4 ,there was the very print of the nails to be seen in ,his hands and feet1 the spear-wound in ,his blessed side4 ,so shall it be with us1 my friends4 ,we shall rise again1 and we shall be the same as we are now1 and yet not the same2 our bodies shall be the same bodies1 and yet nobler1 purer1 spiritual bodies1 which can know neither death1 nor pain1 nor weariness4 ,then1 never care1 my friends1 if we drop like ripe grain into the bosom of mother earth1--if we are to spring up again as seedling plants1 after death's long winter1 on the resurrection morn4 ,truly says the poet1 #ahg how 8,mother earth1 she gathers all ,into her bosom1 great and small3 ,oh could we look into her face1 ,we should not shrink from her embrace40 ,no1 indeed6 for if we look steadily with the wise1 searching eye of faith into the face of mother earth1 we shall see how death is but the gate of life1 and this narrow churchyard1 with its corpses close-packed underneath the sod1 would not seem to us a frightful charnel-house of corruption4 ,no6 it would seem like what it is--a blessed1 quiet1 seed-filled ,god's garden1 in which our forefathers1 after their long-life labour1 lay sown by ,god's friendly hand1 waiting peaceful1 one and all1 to spring up into leaf1 and flower1 and everlasting paradise-fruit1 beneath the breath of ,god's ,spirit at the last great day1 when the ,sun of ,righteousness arises in glory1 and the summer begins which shall never end4 ,one and all1 did ,i say8 ,alas6 would ,god it were so6 ,we cannot hope as for all1 but they are dead and gone1 and we are not here to judge the dead4 ,they have another ,judge1 and all shall be as ,he wills4 ,but we--we in whose limbs the breath of life still boils--we who can still work1 let us never forget all grain ripens not4 ,there is some falls out of the ear unripe1 and perishes2 some is picked out by birds2 some withers and decays in the ear1 and yet gets into the barn with it1 and is sown too with the wheat1 of which ,i never heard that any sprang up again--ploughed up again it may be--a withered1 dead husk of chaff as it died1 ploughed up to the resurrection of damnation to burn as chaff in unquenchable fire2 but the good seed alone1 ripe1 and safe with the wheat-plant till it is ripe1 that only will spring up to the resurrection of eternal life4 ,now1 consider again that parable of the wheat-plant4 ,after it has sprung up1 what does it next1 but tiller8--and every new shoot that tillers out bears its own ear1 ripens its own grain1 twenty1 thirty1 or forty stems1 and yet they are all the same plant1 living with the life of that one original seed4 ,so with ,christ's ,church--,his body the ,church4 ,as soon as he rose1 that new plant began to tiller4 ,he did not keep ,his ,spirit to ,himself1 but poured it out on the apostles1 and from them it spread and spread--,each generation of ,christians ripening1 and bearing fruit1 and dying1 a fresh generation of fruit springing up from them1 and so on1 as we are now at this day4 ,and yet all these plants1 these millions and millions of ,christian men and women1 who have lived since ,christ's blessed resurrection1 all are parts of that one original seed1 the body of ,christ1 whose members they are1 and all owe their life to that one spirit of ,christ1 which is in them all and through them all1 as the life of the original grain is in the whole crop which springs from it4 ,and what can you learn from this8 ,learn this1 that in ,christ you are safe1 out of ,christ you are lost4 ,but really in ,christ1 ,i mean--not like the dead and dying grains1 mildewed and worm-eaten1 which you find here and there on the finest wheat-plant4 ,their end is to be burned1 and so will ours be1 for all our springing out of ,christ's root1 if the angel reapers find us not good wheat1 but chaff and mildew4 ,every branch in ,christ which beareth not fruit1 ,his heavenly ,father taketh away4 ,therefore1 never pride yourself on having been baptised into ,christ1 never pride yourself on shewing some signs of ,god's ,spirit1 on being really good1 right in this and right in that1--the question is1 not so much1 ,are you in ,christ at all1 are you part of ,his tree1 a member of ,his body8 but1 ,are you ripening there8 ,if you are not ripening1 you are decaying1 and your end will be as ,god has said4 ,and do you wish to know whether you are in ,christ1 safe1 ripening8 see whether you are like ,him4 ,if the young grain does not shew like the seed grain1 you may be sure it is making no progress2 and as surely as a wheat-plant never brought forth rye1 or a grape-tree thistles1 so surely1 if you are not like ,christ in your character1 in patience1 in meekness1 in courage1 truth1 purity1 piety1 and love1 you may be of ,his planting1 but you are none of ,his ripening1 and you will not be raised with ,him at the last day1 to flower anew in the gardens of ,paradise1 world without end4 ,,sermon ,,xviii4 ,,improvement4 ,,psalm xcii4 #ab4 8,the righteous shall flourish like the palm-tree3 he shall grow like the cedar in ,lebanon4 ,those that be planted in the house of the ,lord shall flourish in the courts of our ,god4 ,they shall still bring forth fruit in old age2 they shall be fat and flourishing40 ,,the ,bible is always telling ,christian people to go forwards--to grow--to become wiser and stronger1 better and better day by day2 that they ought to become better1 and better1 because they can1 if they choose1 improve4 ,this text tells us so2 it says that we shall bring forth more fruit in our old age4 ,another text tells us that 8those who wait on the ,lord shall renew their strength20 another tells us that we 8shall go from strength to strength40 ,not one of ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles but talks of growing in grace and in the knowledge of ,god1 of being filled with ,god's ,spirit1 of having our eyes more and more open to understand ,god's truth4 ,not one of ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles but contains prayers of ,st4 ,paul that the men to whom he writes may become holier and wiser4 ,and ,st4 ,paul says that he himself needed to go forward--that he wanted fresh strength--that he had to forget what was past1 and consider all he had done and felt as nothing1 and press forward to the prize of his high calling2 that he needed to be daily conquering himself more and more1 keeping down his bad feelings1 hunting out one bad habit after another1 lest1 by any means1 when he had preached to others1 he himself should become a castaway4 ,therefore1 ,i said rightly1 that the ,bible is always bidding us go forwards4 ,you cannot read your ,bibles without seeing this4 ,what else was the use of ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles8 ,they were written to ,christian men1 redeemed men1 converted men1 most of them better ,i fear than ever we shall be2 and for what8 to tell them not be content to remain as they were1 to tell them to go forwards1 to improve1 to be sure that they were only just inside the gate of ,god's kingdom1 and that if they would go on to perfection1 they would find strength1 and holiness1 and blessing1 and honour1 and happiness1 which they as yet did not dream of4 8,be ye perfect1 even as your ,father which is in heaven is perfect10 said our blessed ,lord to all men4 8,be ye perfect10 says ,st4 ,paul to the ,corinthians1 and the ,ephesians1 and all to whom he wrote2 and so say ,i to you now in ,god's name1 for ,christ's sake1 as citizens of ,god's kingdom1 as heirs of everlasting glory1 8,be you perfect1 even as your ,father in heaven is perfect40 ,now ,i ask you1 my friends1 is not this reasonable8 ,it is reasonable1 for the ,bible always speaks of our souls as living things4 ,it compares them to limbs of a body1 to branches of a tree1 often to separate plants--as in our ,lord's parable of the tares and the wheat4 ,again1 ,st4 ,paul tells us that we have been planted in baptism in the likeness of ,christ's death2 and again1 in the first ,psalm1 which says that the good man shall be like a tree planted by the waterside2 and again1 in the text of my sermon1 which says 8that those who are planted in the house of the ,lord shall flourish in the courts of our ,god4 ,they shall still bring forth fruit in old age2 they shall be fat and flourishing40 ,now what does all this mean8 ,it means that the life of our souls is in some respects like the life of a plant2 and1 therefore1 that as plants grow1 so our souls are to grow4 ,why do you plant anything1 but in order that it may grow and become larger1 stronger1 bear flower and fruit8 ,be sure ,god has planted us in ,his garden1 ,christ's ,church1 for no other reason4 ,consider1 again--,what is life but a continual growing1 or a continual decaying8 ,if a tree does not get larger and stronger1 year by year1 is not that a sure sign that it is unhealthy1 and that decay has begun in it1 that it is unsound at heart8 ,and what happens then8 ,it begins to become weaker and smaller1 and cankered and choked with scurf and moss till it dies4 ,if a tree is not growing1 it is sure in the long run to be dying2 and so are our souls4 ,if they are not growing they are dying2 if they are not getting better they are getting worse4 ,this is why the ,bible compares our souls to trees--not out of a mere pretty fancy of poetry1 but for a great1 awful1 deep1 world-wide lesson1 that every tree in the fields may be a pattern1 a warning1 to us thoughtless men1 that as that tree is meant to grow1 so our souls are meant to grow4 ,as that tree dies unless it grows1 so our souls must die unless they grow4 ,consider that6 ,but how does a tree grow8 ,how are our souls to grow8 ,now here1 again1 we shall understand heavenly things best by taking and considering the pattern from among earthly things which the ,bible gives us--the tree1 ,i mean4 ,a tree grows in two ways4 ,its roots take up food from the ground1 its leaves take up food from the air4 ,its roots are its mouth1 we may say1 and its leaves are its lungs4 ,thus the tree draws nourishment from the earth beneath and from the heaven above2 and so must our souls1 my friends1 if they are to live and grow1 they must have food both from earth and from heaven4 ,and this is what ,i mean--,why has ,god given us senses1 eyes1 and ears1 and understanding8 ,that by them we may feed our souls with things which we see and hear1 things which are going on in the world round us4 ,we must read1 and we must listen1 and we must watch people and their sayings and doings1 and what becomes of them1 and we must try and act1 and practise what is right for ourselves2 and so we shall1 by using our eyes and ears and our bodies1 get practice1 and experience1 and knowledge1 from the world round us--such as ,solomon gives us in his ,proverbs--and so our eyes1 and ears1 and understandings1 are to be to us like roots1 by which we may feed our souls with earthly learning and experience4 ,but is this enough8 ,no1 surely4 ,consider1 again1 ,god's example which ,he has given us--a tree4 ,if you keep stripping all the leaves off a tree1 as fast as they grow1 what becomes of it8 ,it dies1 because without leaves it cannot get nourishment from the air1 and the rain1 and the sunlight4 ,again1 if you shut up a tree where it can get neither rain1 air1 nor light1 what happens8 the tree certainly dies1 though it may be planted in the very richest soil1 and have the very strongest roots2 and why8 because it can get no food from the sky above4 ,so with our souls1 my friends4 ,if we get no food from above1 our souls will die1 though we have all the wit1 and learning1 and experience1 in the world4 ,we must be fed1 and strengthened1 and satisfied1 with the grace of ,god from above--with the ,spirit of ,god4 ,consider how the ,bible speaks of ,god's ,spirit as the breath of ,god2 for the very word spirit means1 originally1 breath1 or air1 or gas1 or a breeze of wind1 shewing us that as without the airs of heaven the tree would become stunted and cankered1 so our souls will without the fresh1 purifying breath of ,god's ,spirit4 ,again1 ,god's ,spirit is often spoken of in ,scripture as dew and rain4 ,his grace or favour1 we read1 is as dew on the grass2 and again1 that ,god shall come unto us as the rain1 as the first and latter rain upon the earth2 and again1 speaking of the outpourings of ,god's ,spirit on ,his ,church1 the ,psalmist says that 8,he shall come down as the rain upon the mown grass1 as showers that water the earth20 and to shew us that as the tree puts forth buds1 and leaves1 and tender wood1 when it drinks in the dew and rains1 so our hearts will become tender1 and bud out into good thoughts and wise resolves1 when ,god's ,spirit fills them with ,his grace4 ,but again2 the ,scripture tells us again and again that our souls want light from above2 and we all know by experience that the trees and plants which grow on earth want the light of the sun to make them grow4 ,so1 doubtless1 here again the ,scripture example of a tree will hold good4 ,now what does the sunlight do for the tree8 ,it does every thing1 for without light1 the soil1 and air1 and rain1 are all useless4 ,it stirs up the sap1 it hardens the wood1 it brings out the blossom1 it colours the leaves and the flowers1 it ripens the fruit4 ,the light is the life of the tree2--and is there not one1 my friends1 of whom these words are written--that ,he is the ,life1 and that ,he is the ,light--that ,he is the ,sun of ,righteousness and the bright and morning ,star--that ,he is the light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world--that in ,him was life1 and the life was the light of men8 ,do you not know of whom ,i speak8 ,even of ,him that was born at ,bethlehem and died on the cross1 who now sits at ,god's right hand1 praying for us1 offering to us ,his body and ,his blood2--,jesus the ,son of ,god1 ,he is the ,light and the ,life4 ,from ,him alone our light must come1 from ,him alone our life must come1 now and for ever4 ,oh1 think seriously of this--and think1 too1 how a short time before ,he died on earth ,he spoke of ,himself as the ,bread of life--the living ,bread which comes down from heaven2 how ,he declared to men1 that unless they eat ,his flesh and drink ,his blood1 they have no life in them4 ,and1 lastly1 consider this1 how the same night that ,he was betrayed1 ,he took bread1 and when ,he had given thanks1 ,he brake it1 and said1 8,take1 eat2 this is my body1 which is given for you2 this do in remembrance of me40 ,and how1 likewise1 ,he took the cup1 and when ,he had blessed it1 ,he gave it to them1 saying1 8,drink ye all of this1 for this is the new covenant in my blood1 which is shed for you and for many1 for the forgiveness of sins2 this do1 as oft as ye drink it1 in remembrance of me40 ,oh1 consider these words1 my friends--to you all and every one they were spoken4 8,drink ye all of this10 said the ,blessed ,one2 and will you refuse to drink it8 ,he offers you the bread of life1 the sign and the pledge of ,his body1 which shall feed your souls with everlasting strength and life2 and will you refuse what the ,son of ,god offers you1 what ,he bought for you with ,his death8 ,god forbid1 my friends6 ,this is your blessed right and privilege--the right and the privilege of every one of you--to come freely and boldly to that holy table1 and there to remember your ,saviour4 ,at that table to confess your ,saviour before men--at that table to shew that you really believe that ,jesus ,christ died for you--at that table to claim your share in the strength of ,his body1 in the pardon of ,his blood1 which cleanses from all sin--and at that table to receive what you claim1 to receive at that table the wine1 as a sign from ,christ ,himself1 that ,his blood has washed away your sins2 and the bread1 as a sign that ,his body and ,his spirit are really feeding your spirits1 that your souls are strengthened and refreshed by the body and blood of ,christ1 as your bodies are with the bread and wine4 ,i have shewn you that your souls must be fed from heaven1--that the ,lord's ,supper is a sign to you that they are fed from heaven4 ,you pray to ,god1 ,i hope1 many of you1 that ,he would give you ,his ,holy ,spirit1 that ,he would change1 and renew1 and strengthen your souls--you pray ,god to do this1 ,i hope--,well1 then1 there is the answer to your prayers4 ,there your souls will be renewed and strengthened--there you will claim your share in ,christ1 who alone can renew and strengthen them4 ,the bread which is there broken is the communion1 the sharing1 of the body of ,christ2 the cup which is there blessed is the communion of the blood of ,christ3 to that heavenly treat1 to that spiritual food of your souls1 ,jesus ,himself invites you1 ,he who is the life of men4 ,do not let it be said at the last day of any one of you1 that when the ,son of ,god ,himself invites you1 you would not come to ,him that you might have life4 ,,sermon ,,xix4 ,,man',s ,,working ,,day4 ,,john1 xi4 #i1 #aj4 8,jesus answered1 ,are there not twelve hours in the day8 ,if any man walk in the day1 he stumbleth not1 because he seeth the light of this world4 ,but if a man walk in the night he stumbleth1 because there is no light in him40 ,,this was our blessed ,lord's answer to ,his disciples when they said to ,him1 8,master1 the ,jews of late tried to stone ,thee1 and goest ,thou among them again80 ,and 8,jesus answered1 ,are there not twelve hours in the day8 ,if any man walk in the day he stumbleth not1 because he seeth the light of this world4 ,but if a man walk in the night he stumbleth1 because there is no light in him40 ,now1 at first sight1 one does not see what this has to do with the disciples' question--it seems no answer at all to it4 ,but we must remember who it was who gave that answer4 ,the ,son of ,god1 from whom all words come1 who came to do good1 and only good1 every minute of ,his life4 ,and1 therefore1 we may be sure that ,he never threw away a single word4 ,and we must remember1 too1 to whom ,he spoke--to ,his disciples1 whom ,he was training to be apostles to the whole world1 teaching them in every thing some deep lesson1 to fit them for their glorious calling1 as preachers of the good news of ,his coming4 ,so we may be sure that ,he would never put off any question of theirs2 we may be certain1 that whatever they asked ,him1 ,he would give them the best possible answer2 not1 perhaps1 just the answer for which they wished1 but the answer which would teach them most4 ,therefore ,i say1 we must believe that there is some deep1 wonderful lesson in this text--that it is the very best and fullest answer which our ,lord could have made to ,his disciples when they asked ,him why ,he was going again to ,judea1 where ,he stood in danger of ,his life4 ,let us think a little about this text in faith1 that is1 sure that there is a deep1 blessed meaning in it1 if we can but find it out4 ,let us take it piece by piece2 we shall never get to the bottom of it1 of course1 but we may get deep enough into it to set us thinking a little between now and next ,sunday4 8,are there not twelve hours in the day80 said our ,lord4 ,we know there are1 and we know1 too1 that if any man walks in the day1 and keeps his eyes open1 he does not stumble1 because he has the light of this world to guide him4 ,twelve hours for business1 and twelve for food1 and sleep1 and rest1 is our rule for working men1 or1 indeed1 not our rule1 but ,god's4 ,he has set the sun for the light of this world1 to rule the day1 to settle for us how long we are to work4 ,in this country days vary4 ,in summer they are more than twelve hours1 and then men work early and late2 but that is made up to us by winter1 when the days are less than twelve hours1 and men work short time4 ,in the very cold countries again1 far away in the frozen north1 the sun never sets all the summer1 and never rises all the winter1 and there is six months day and six months night4 ,wonderful6 ,but even there ,god has fitted the land and men's lives to that strange climate1 and they can gather in enough meat in the summer to keep them all the winter1 that they may be able to spend the long six months' night of winter warm in their houses1 sleeping and resting1 with plenty of food4 ,so that even to them there are twelve hours in the day1 though their hours are each a fortnight long1--,i mean a certain fixed time in which to walk1 and do the business which they have to do before the long frozen night comes1 wherein no man can work1 because the sun1 the light of this world1 is hid from them below the ice for six whole months4 ,so that our ,lord's words hold true of all men1 even of those people in the icy north4 ,but in by far the most parts of the world1 and especially in the hot countries1 where our ,lord lived1 there are twelve common hours in every day1 wherein men may and ought to work4 ,now what did our ,lord mean by reminding ,his disciples of this1 which they all knew already8 ,he meant this1--that ,god ,his ,father had appointed ,him a certain work to do1 and a certain time to do it in2 that though ,his day was short1 only thirty-three years in all1 while we have1 many of us1 seventy years given us1 yet that there were twelve hours in ,his day in which ,he must work--that ,god would take care that ,he lived out ,his appointed time1 provided ,he was ready and earnest in doing ,god's work in it--and that ,he must work in that time which ,god had given ,him1 whatever came of it1 and do ,his appointed work before the night of death came in which no man can work4 ,there was a heathen king once1 named ,philip of ,macedon1 and a very wise king he was1 though he was a heathen1 and one of the wisest of his plans was this3--he had a slave1 whom he ordered to come in to him every morning of his life1 whatever he was doing1 and say to him in a loud voice1 8,philip1 remember that thou must die60 ,he was a heathen1 but a great many who call themselves ,christians are not half so wise as he1 for they take all possible care1 not to remember that they must die1 but to forget that they must die2 and yet every living man has a servant who1 like ,king ,philip's1 puts him in mind1 whether he likes it or not1 that his day will run out at last1 and his twelve hours of life be over1 and then die he must4 ,and who is that servant8 ,a man's own body4 ,lucky if his body is his servant1 though--not his master and his tyrant4 ,but still1 be that as it may1 every finger-ache that one's body has1 every cough and cold one's body catches1 ought to be to us a warning like ,king ,philip's servant1 8,remember that thou must die40 ,every little pain and illness is a warning1 a kindly hint from our ,father in heaven1 that we are doomed to death2 that we have but twelve hours in this short day of life1 and that the twelve must end2 and that we must get our work done and our accounts settled1 and be ready for our long journey1 to meet our ,father and our ,king1 before the night comes wherein no man can work1 but only takes his wages2 for them who have done good the wages of life eternal1 and for them who have done evil--,god help them6 we know what is written--8the wages of sin is death60 ,now1 observe next1 that those who walk in the day do not stumble1 because they see the light of this world1 and those who walk in the night stumble--they have no light in them4 ,if they are to see1 it must be by the help of some light outside themselves1 which is not part of themselves1 or belonging to themselves at all4 ,we only see by the light which ,god has made2 when that is gone1 our eyes are useless4 ,so it is with our souls4 ,our wits1 however clever they may be1 only understand things by the light which ,god throws on those things4 ,he must explain and enlighten all things to us4 ,without ,his light--,his ,spirit1 all the wit in the world is as useless as a pair of eyes in a dark night4 ,now this earthly world which we do see is an exact picture and pattern of the spiritual1 heavenly world which we do not see1 as ,solomon says in the ,proverbs1 8,the things which are seen are the doubles of the things which are not seen40 ,and as there is a light for us in this earth1 which is not ourselves1 namely the sun1 so there is a light for us in the spirit-world1 which is not ourselves4 ,and who is that8 ,the blessed ,lord shall answer for ,himself4 ,he says1 8,i am the light of the world20 and ,st4 ,john bears witness to ,him1 8,in ,him was life1 and the life was the light of men40 ,and does not ,st4 ,paul say the same thing1 when he blessed ,god so often for having called him and his congregations out of darkness into that marvellous light8 ,if you read his ,epistles you will find what he meant by the darkness1 what he meant by the light4 ,the darkness was heathendom1 knowing nothing of ,christ4 ,the light was ,christianity1 knowing ,christ the light2 and1 more1 being in the light1 belonging to ,christ--being joined to ,him1 as the leaves are to the tree1--living by trust in ,christ1 being taught and made true men and true women of1 by the ,noble and ,holy ,spirit of ,christ--seeing their way through this world by trust in ,christ and ,his promises1--,that was light4 ,and there is no other light4 ,if a man does not work trusting in ,christ1 whom ,god has set for the light of the world1 he works in the night1 where ,god never set or meant him to work2 and stumble he will1 and make a fool of himself1 sooner or later1 because he is walking in the night1 and sees nothing plainly or in a right view4 ,for as our ,lord says truly1 8,there is no light in him40 ,no light in him8 ,in one sense there is no light in any one1 be he the wisest or holiest man who ever lived4 ,but this is just what three people out of four will not believe4 ,they will not believe that the ,spirit of ,god gives man understanding4 ,they fancy that they have light in themselves4 ,they try1 conceitedly and godlessly1 to walk by the light of their own eyes--to make their own way plain before their face for themselves4 ,they will not believe old ,david1 a man who worked1 and fought1 and thought1 and saw1 far more than any one of us will ever do1 when he tells them again and again in his ,psalms1 that the ,lord is his light1 that the ,lord must guide a man1 and inform him with ,his eye1 and teach him in the way in which he should go4 ,and1 therefore1 they will not pray to ,god for light--therefore they will not look for light in ,god's ,word1 and in the writings of godly men2 and they are like a man in the broad sunshine1 who should choose to shut his eyes close1 and say1 #8,i have light enough in my own head to do without the sun2' and therefore they walk on still in darkness1 and all the foundations of the earth are out of course1 because men forget the first universal ground rules of common sense1 and reason1 and love1 which ,god's ,spirit teaches4 ,i tell you1 all the mistakes that you ever made--that ever were made since ,adam fell1 came from this1 that men will not ask ,god for light and wisdom2 they love darkness rather than light1 and therefore1 though ,god's light is ready for every man1 shining in the darkness to shew every man his way1 yet the darkness will not comprehend it--will not take it in1 and let ,god change its blindness into day4 ,now1 then1 to gather all together1 what better answer could our ,lord have given to ,his disciples' question than this1 8,are there not twelve hours in the day8 ,if a man walk in the day he does not stumble1 because he seeth the light of this world2 but if a man walk in the night1 he stumbleth1 because there is no light in him40 ,it was as if ,he had said1 8,however short my day of life may be1 there are twelve hours in it1 of my ,father's numbering and measuring1 not of mine4 ,my times are in ,his hand1 as long as ,he pleases ,i shall live4 ,he has given me a work to do1 and ,he will see that ,i live long enough to do it4 ,into ,his hands ,i commend my spirit1 for1 living or dying1 ,he is with me4 ,though ,i walk through the valley of the shadow of death1 ,he will be with me4 ,he will keep me secretly in ,his tabernacle from the strife of tongues1 and will turn the furiousness of my enemies to ,his glory2 and as my day my strength will be4 ,and ,i have no fear of running into danger needlessly4 ,i have prayed to ,him daily and nightly for light1 for ,his ,spirit--the spirit of wisdom and understanding1 of prudence and courage2 and ,his word is pledged to keep me in all my ways1 so that ,i dash not my foot against a stone4 ,know ye not that ,i must be about my ,father's business8 ,while ,i am about that ,i am safe4 ,it is only if ,i go about my own business--my own pleasure2 if ,i forget to ask ,him for ,his light and guidance1 that ,i shall put myself into the night1 and stumble and fall40 ,well1 my friends1 what is there in all this1 which we may not say as well as our ,lord8 ,in this1 as in all things1 ,christ set ,himself up as our pattern4 ,oh1 believe it6--believe that your time--your measure of life1 is in ,god's hand4 ,believe that ,he is your light1 that ,he will teach and guide you into all truth1 and that all your mistakes come from not asking counsel of ,him in prayer1 and thought1 and reading of ,his ,holy ,bible4 ,believe ,his blessed promise that ,he will give ,his ,holy ,spirit to those who ask ,him4 ,believe1 too1 that ,he has given you a work to do--prepared good works all ready for you to walk in4 ,be you labourer or gentleman1 maid1 wife1 or widow1 ,god has given you a work to do2 there is good to be done lying all round you1 ready for you4 ,and the blessed ,jesus who bought you1 body and soul1 with ,his own blood1 commands you to work for ,him3 8,whatsoever your hand finds to do1 do it with all your might40 8,work ye manful while ye may1 ,work for ,god in this your day2 ,night must stop you1 rich or poor1 ,godly deeds alone endure40 ,and then1 whether you live or die1 your ,father's smile will be on you1 and ,his everlasting arms beneath you1 and at your last hour you shall find that 8,blessed are the dead that die in the ,lord1 for they rest from their labour1 and their works do follow them40 ,,sermon ,,xx4 ,,association4 ,,galatians1 vi4 #b4 8,bear ye one another's burdens1 and so fulfil the law of ,christ40 ,,if ,i were to ask you1 my friends1 why you were met together here to-day1 you would tell me1 ,i suppose1 that you were come to church as members of a benefit club2 and quite right you are in coming here as such1 and ,god grant that we may meet together here on this same errand many more ,whit-mondays4 ,but this would be no answer to my question2 ,i wish to know why you come to church to-day sooner than to any other place8 what has the church to do with the benefit club8 ,now this is a question which ,i do not think all of you could answer very readily1 and therefore ,i wish to make you1 especially the younger members of the club1 think a little seriously about the meaning of your coming here to-day4 ,you will be none the less cheerful this evening for having had some deep and godly thoughts in your heads this morning4 ,now these benefit clubs are also called provident societies1 and a very good name for them4 ,you become members of them1 because you are prudent1 or provident1 that is1 because you are careful1 and look forward to a rainy day4 ,but why does not each of you lay up his savings for himself1 instead of putting them into a common purse1 and so forming a club8 ,because you have found out1 what every one else in the world1 but madmen1 ought to have found out1 that two are better than one2 that if a great many men join together in any matter1 they are a great deal stronger when working together1 than if they each worked just as hard1 but each by himself2 that the way to be safe is not to stand each of you alone1 but to help each other2 in short1 that there is no getting on without bearing one another's burdens4 ,now this plan of bearing one another's burdens is not only good in benefit clubs--it is good in families1 in parishes1 in nations1 in the church of ,god1 which is the elect of all mankind4 ,unless men hold together1 and help each other1 there is no safety for them4 ,let us consider what there is bearing on this matter of prudence1 that makes one of the greatest differences between a man and a brute beast4 ,it is not that the man is prudent1 and the beast is not4 ,many beasts have forethought enough2 the very sleepmouse hoards up acorns against the winter2 a fox will hide the game he cannot eat4 ,no1 the great difference between man and beast is1 that the beast has forethought only for himself1 but the man has forethought for others also2 beasts have not reason enough to bear each others' burdens1 as men have4 ,and what is it that makes us call the ant and the bee the wisest of animals1 except that they do1 in some degree1 behave like men1 in helping one another1 and having some sort of family feeling1 and society1 and government among them1 by which they can help bear each other's burdens8 ,so that we all confess1 by calling them wise1 how wise it is to help each other4 ,consider a family1 again4 ,in order that a family may be happy and prosperous1 all the members of it must bear each other's burdens4 ,if the father only thought of himself1 and the mother of herself1 and each of the children did nothing but take care of themselves1 would not that family come to misery and ruin8 ,but if they all helped each other--all thought of each other more than of themselves--all were ready to give up their own comfort to make each other comfortable1 that family would be peaceful and prosperous1 and would be doing a great deal towards fulfilling the law of ,christ4 ,it is just the same in a parish4 ,if the rich help and defend the poor1 and the poor respect and love the rich1 and are ready to serve them as far as they can1--in short1 if all ranks bear each other's burdens1 that parish is a happy one1 and if they do not1 it is a miserable one4 ,just the same with a nation4 ,if the king only cares about making himself strong1 and the noblemen and gentlemen about their rank and riches1 and the poor people1 again1 only care for themselves1 and are trying to pull down the rich1 and so get what they can for themselves1--if a country is in this state1 what can be more wretched8 ,neither a house1 nor a country1 divided against itself1 can ever stand4 ,but if the king and the nobles give their whole minds to making good laws1 and seeing justice done to all1 and workmen fairly paid1 and if the poor1 in their turns1 are loyal1 and ready to fight and work for their king and their nobles1 then will not that country be a happy and a great country8 ,surely it will1 because its people1 instead of caring every man for himself only1 help each other and bear one another's burdens4 ,and just in the same way with ,christ's ,church1 with the company of true ,christian men4 ,if the clergymen thought only of themselves1 and neglected the people1 and forgot to labour among them1 and pray for them1 and preach to them2 and if the people each cared for himself1 and never prayed to ,god to give them a spirit of love and charity1 and never helped their neighbours1 or did unto others as they wished to be done by2 and above all1 if ,christ1 our ,head1 left ,his ,church1 and cared no more about us1 what would become of ,christ's ,church8 ,what would happen to the whole race of sinful man1 but misery in this world1 and ruin in the next8 ,but if the people love and help each other1 and obey their ministers1 and pray for them2 and if the ministers labour earnestly after the souls and bodies of their people2 and ,christ in heaven helps both minister and people with ,his ,spirit1 and ,his providence and protection2 in short1 if all in the whole ,church bear each other's burdens1 then ,christ's ,church will stand1 and the gates of hell will not prevail against it4 ,thus you see that this text of bearing one another's burdens is no new or strange commandment1 but the very state in which every man is meant to live1 both in his family1 his parish1 his country1 and his ,church--all his life helping others1 and being helped by them in turn4 ,and because families and nations1 and the ,church of ,christ above all1 are good1 and holy1 and beautiful1 therefore any society which is formed upon the same plan--,i mean of helping each other--must be good also4 ,and1 therefore1 benefit societies are right and reasonable things1 and among all the good which they do they do this one great good1 that they teach men to remember that there is no use trying to stand alone1 but that the way to be safe and happy is to bear each other's burdens4 ,thus benefit societies are patterns of ,christ's ,church4 ,but now1 my friends1 there is another point for each of you to consider1 which is this--the benefit club is a good thing1 but are you a good member of the club8 ,do you do your duty1 each of you1 in the club as ,christian men should8 ,i do not ask whether you pay your subscriptions regularly or not--that is quite right and necessary1 but there is something more than that wanted to make a club go on rightly4 ,mere paying and receiving money will never keep men together any more than any other outward business4 ,a man may pay his club-money regularly and yet not be a really good member4 ,and how is this8 ,you remember that ,i tried to shew you that a family1 and a nation1 and a church1 all were kept together by the same principle of bearing one another's burdens1 just as a benefit club is4 ,now1 what makes a man a good member of ,christ's ,church1--a good ,christian1 in short8 ,a man may pay his tithes to the rector1 and his church-rates to repair ,god's house1 and his poor-rates to maintain ,god's poor1 all very regularly1 and yet be a very bad member of ,christ's ,church4 ,these payments are all right and good2 but they are but the outside1 the letter of what ,god requires of him4 ,what is wanted is1 to serve ,god in the spirit1 to have the spirit--the will1 of a ,christian in him2 that is1 to do all these things for ,god's sake--not of constraint1 but willingly--8not grudgingly1 for ,god loveth a cheerful giver40 ,no6 ,if a man is a really good member of ,christ's ,church1 he lives a life of faith in ,jesus ,christ1 and of thankfulness to ,him for ,his infinite love and mercy in coming down to die for us1 and thus the love of ,god and man is shed abroad in his heart by ,god's ,spirit1 which is given to him4 ,therefore1 that man thinks it an honour to pay church-rates1 and so help towards keeping ,god's house in repair and neatness4 ,he pays his tithes cheerfully1 because he loves ,god's ministers1 and feels their use and worth to him4 ,he pays his poor-rates with a willing mind1 for the sake of that ,god who has said1 8that he who gives to the poor lends to the ,lord40 ,and so he obeys not only the letter but the spirit of the law4 ,but the man does more than this4 ,besides obeying not only the letter but the spirit of the law1 he helps his brethren in a thousand other ways4 ,he shews1 in short1 by every action that he believes in ,god and loves his neighbour4 ,and why should it not be just the same in a benefit club8 ,there the good member is not the man who pays his money merely to have a claim for relief when he himself is sick1 and yet grudges every farthing that goes to help other members4 ,that man is not a good member4 ,he has come into the club merely to take care of himself1 and not to bear others' burdens4 ,he may obey the letter of the club-rules by paying in his subscriptions and by granting relief to sick members1 but he does not obey the spirit of them4 ,if he did1 he would be glad to bear his sick neighbour's burden with so little trouble to himself4 ,he would1 therefore1 grant club relief willingly and cheerfully when it was wanted1--ay1 he would thank ,god that he had an opportunity of helping his neighbours4 ,he would feel that all the members of the society were his brothers in a double sense2 first1 because they had joined with him to help and support each other in the society2 and1 next1 that they were his brothers in ,christ1 who had been baptised into the same ,church of ,god with himself4 ,and he would1 therefore1 delight in supporting them in their sickness1 and honouring them when they died1 and in helping their widows and orphans in their affliction2 in short1 in bearing his neighbour's burdens1 and so fulfilling the law of ,christ4 ,and do you not see1 that if any of you subscribe to this benefit society in such a spirit as this1 that they are the men to give an answer to the question ,i asked at first1 8,why are you all here at church to-day80 ,they come here for the same reason that you all ought to come1 to thank ,god for having kept them well1 and out of the want of relief for the past year1 and to thank ,him1 too1 for having enabled them to bear their sick neighbours' burdens4 ,and they come1 also1 to pray to ,god to keep them well and strong for the year to come1 and to raise up those members who are in sickness and distress1 that they may all worship ,god here together another year1 as a company of faithful friends1 helping each other on through this life1 and all on the way to the same heavenly home1 where there will be no more poverty1 nor sorrow1 nor sickness1 nor death1 and ,god shall wipe away tears from all widows and orphans' eyes4 ,and now1 my friends1 ,i have tried to put some new and true thoughts into your head about your club and your business in this church to-day4 ,and ,i pray1 ,god grant that you may remember them1 and think of this whole matter as a much more solemn and holy one than you ever did before4 ,,sermon ,,xxi4 ,,heaven ,,on ,,earth4 #a ,,cor4 x4 #ca4 8,whether ye eat1 or drink1 or whatsoever ye do1 do all to the glory of ,god40 ,,this is a command from ,god1 my friends1 which well worth a few minutes' consideration this day2--well worth considering1 because1 though it was spoken eighteen hundred years ago1 yet ,god has not changed since that time2--,he is just as glorious as ever2 and ,christian men's relation to ,god has not changed since that time2 they still live1 and move1 and have their being in ,god2 they are still ,his children--,his beloved2 ,christ1 who died for us1 is still our ,king2 ,god's ,spirit is still with us1 ,god's mercy still saves us3 we owe ,god as much as any people ever did4 ,if it was ever any one's duty to shew forth ,god's glory1 surely it is our duty too4 ,worth considering1 indeed1 is this command1 for though it is in the ,bible1 and has been there for eighteen hundred years1 it is seldom read1 seldomer understood1 and still more seldom put into practice4 ,men eat and drink1 and do all manner of things1 with all their might and main2 but how many of them do they do to the glory of ,god8 ,no2 this is the fault--the especial curse of our day1 that religion does not mean any longer1 as it used1 the service of ,god--the being like ,god1 and shewing forth ,god's glory4 ,no2 religion means1 nowadays1 the art of getting to heaven when we die1 and saving our own miserable1 worthless souls1 and getting ,god's wages without doing ,god's work--as if that was godliness1--as if that was any thing but selfishness2 as if selfishness was any the better for being everlasting selfishness6 ,if selfishness is evil1 my friends1 the sooner we get rid of it the better1 instead of mixing it up as we do with all our thoughts of heaven1 and making our own enjoyment and our own safety the vile root of our hopes for all eternity4 ,and therefore it is that people have forgotten what ,god's glory is4 ,they seem to think1 that ,god's highest glory is saving them from hell-fire4 ,and they talk not of ,god and of the wondrous majesty of ,god1 but only of the wonder of ,god's having saved them--looking at themselves all the time1 and not at ,god4 ,we must get rid of this sort of religion1 my friends1 at all risks1 in order to get rid of all sorts of irreligion1 for one is the father of the other4 ,it is a wonder1 indeed1 that we are saved from hell1 much more raised to heaven1 such peevish1 cowardly1 pitiful creatures as the best of us are3 and yet the more we think of it1 the less wonder we shall find it4 ,the more we think of the wonder of all wonders1--,god ,himself1 ,his majesty1 ,his power1 ,his wisdom1 ,his love1 ,his pity1 ,his infinite condescension1 the less reason we shall have to be surprised that ,he has stooped to save us4 ,yes1 do not be startled--for it is true1 that ,he has done for sinful men nothing contrary to ,himself1 but just what was to be expected from such unutterable condescension1 and pity1 and generosity1 as ,god's is4 ,and so recollecting this1 we shall begin to forget ourselves1 and look at ,god2 and in thinking of ,him we shall get beyond mere wondering at ,him1 and rise to something higher--to worshipping ,him4 ,yes1 my friends1 this is what we must try at if we would be really godly--to find out what ,god is--to find out ,his likeness1 ,his character1 as ,he is3 and has ,he not shewn us what ,he is8 ,he who has earnestly read ,christ's story--he who has understood1 and admired1 and loved ,christ's character1 and its nobleness and beauty--he who can believe that ,jesus ,christ is now1 at this minute1 raising up his heart to good1 guiding his thoughts to good1 he has seen ,god2 for he has seen the ,son1 who is the exact likeness of the ,father's glory1 in whom dwells all the fulness of the ,godhead in a bodily shape4 ,remember1 he who knows ,christ knows ,god1--and that knowledge will help us up a noble step farther--it will help us to shew forth ,god's glory4 ,for when we once know what ,god's glory is1 we shall see how to make others know it too4 ,we shall know how to do ,god justice1 to set men right as to their notions of ,god1 to give them1 at all events1 in our own lives and characters1 a pattern of ,christ1 who is the ,pattern of ,god2 and whatsoever we do we shall be able to do all to ,god's glory4 ,for what is doing every thing to the glory of ,god8 ,it is this2--we have seen what ,god's glory is3 ,he is ,his own glory4 ,as you say of any very excellent man1 you have but to know him to honour him2 or of any very beautiful woman1 you have but to see her to love her2 so ,i say of ,god1 men have but to see and know ,him to love and honour ,him4 ,well1 then1 my friends1 if we call ourselves ,christian men1 if we believe that ,god is our ,father1 and delight1 as on the grounds of common feeling we ought1 to honour our ,father1 we should try to make every one honour ,him as ,he deserves4 ,in short1 whatever we do we should make it tend to ,his glory--make it a lesson to our neighbours1 our friends1 and our families4 ,we should preach ,god's glory to them day by day1 not by words only1 often not by words at all1 but by our conduct4 ,ay1 there is the secret4--,if you wish other men to believe a thing1 just behave as if you believed it yourself4 ,nothing is so infectious as example4 ,if you wish your neighbours to see what ,jesus ,christ is like1 let them see what ,he can make you like4 ,if you wish them to know how ,god's love is ready to save them from their sins1 let them see ,his love save you from your sins4 ,if you wish them to see ,god's tender care in every blessing and every sorrow they have1 why let them see you thanking ,god for every sorrow and every blessing you have4 ,i tell you1 friends1 example is every thing4 ,one good man1--one man who does not put his religion on once a-week with his ,sunday coat1 but wears it for his working dress1 and lets the thought of ,god grow into him1 and through and through him1 till every thing he says and does becomes religious1 that man is worth a ton of sermons--he is a living ,gospel--he comes in the spirit and power of ,elias--he is the image of ,god4 ,and men see his good works1 and admire them in spite of themselves1 and see that they are ,godlike1 and that ,god's grace is no dream1 but that the ,holy ,spirit is still among men1 and that all nobleness and manliness is ,his gift1 ,his stamp1 ,his picture2 and so they get a glimpse of ,god again in ,his saints and heroes1 and glorify their ,father who is in heaven4 ,would not such a life be a heavenly life8 ,ay1 it would be more1 it would be heaven--heaven on earth3 not in versemongering cant1 but really4 ,we should then be sitting1 as ,st4 ,paul tells us1 in heavenly places with ,jesus ,christ1 and having our conversation in heaven4 ,all the while we were doing our daily work1 following our business1 or serving our country1 or sitting at our own firesides with wife and child1 we should be all that time in heaven4 ,why not8 we are in heaven now--if we had but faith to see it4 ,oh1 get rid of those carnal1 heathen notions about heaven1 which tempt men to fancy that1 after having misused this place--,god's earth--for a whole life1 they are to fly away when they die1 like swallows in autumn1 to another place--they know not where--where they are to be very happy--they know not why or how1 nor do ,i know either4 ,heaven is not a mere place1 my friends4 ,all places are heaven1 if you will be heavenly in them4 ,heaven is where ,god is and ,christ is4 ,and hell is where ,god is not and ,christ is not4 ,the ,bible says1 no doubt1 there is a place now--somewhere beyond the skies--where ,christ especially shews forth ,his glory--a heaven of heavens3 and for reasons which ,i cannot explain1 there must be such a place4 ,but1 at all events1 here is heaven2 for ,christ is here and ,god is here1 if we will open our eyes and see them4 ,and how8--,how8 ,did not ,christ ,himself say1 #8,if a man will love ,me1 ,my ,father will love him2 and we1 ,my ,father and ,i1 will come to him1 and make our abode with him1 and we will shew ourselves to him8' ,do those words mean nothing or something8 ,if they have any meaning1 do they not mean this1 that in this life1 we can see ,god--in this life we can have ,god and ,christ abiding with us8 ,and is not that heaven8 ,yes1 heaven is where ,god is4 ,you are in heaven if ,god is with you1 you are in hell if ,god is not with you2 for where ,god is not1 darkness and a devil are sure to be4 ,there was a great poet once--,dante by name--who described most truly and wonderfully1 in his own way1 heaven and hell1 for1 indeed1 he had been in both4 ,he had known sin and shame1 and doubt and darkness and despair1 which is hell4 ,and after long years of misery1 he had got to know love and hope1 and holiness and nobleness1 and the love of ,christ and the peace of ,god1 which is heaven4 ,and so well did he speak of them1 that the ignorant people used to point after him with awe in the streets1 and whisper1 ,there is the man who has been in hell4 ,whereon some one made these lines on him3-- 8,thou hast seen hell and heaven8 ,why not8 since heaven and hell ,within the struggling soul of every mortal dwell40 ,think of that6--thou--and thou--and thou6--for in thee1 at this moment1 is either heaven or hell3 and which of them8 ,ask thyself--ask thyself1 friend4 ,if thou art not in heaven in this life1 thou wilt never be in heaven in the life to come4 ,at death1 says the wise man1 each thing returns into its own element1 into the ground of its life2 the light into the light1 and the darkness into the darkness4 ,as the tree falls so it lies4 ,my friends1 who call yourselves enlightened ,christian folk1 do you suppose that you can lead a mean1 worldly1 covetous1 spiteful life here1 and then the moment your soul leaves the body that you are to be changed into the very opposite character1 into angels and saints1 as fairy tales tell of beasts changed into men8 ,if a beast can be changed into a man1 then death can change the sinner into a saint1--but not else4 ,if a beast would enjoy being a man1 then a sinner would enjoy being in heaven1 but not else4 ,a sinful1 worldly man enjoy being in heaven8 ,does a fish enjoy being on dry land8 ,the sinner would long to be back in this world again4 ,why1 what is the employment of spirits in heaven1 according to the ,bible 7for that is the point to which ,i have been trying to lead you round again78 ,what but glorifying ,god8 ,not trying only to do every thing to ,god's glory1 but actually succeeding in doing it--basking in the sunshine of ,his smile1 delighting to feel themselves as nothing before ,his glorious majesty1 meditating on the beauty of ,his love1 filling themselves with the sight of ,his power1 searching out the treasures of ,his wisdom1 and finding ,god in all and all in ,god--their whole eternity one act of worship1 one hymn of praise4 ,are there not some among us who will have had but little practice at that work8 ,those who have done nothing for ,god's glory here1 how do they expect to be able to do every thing for ,god's glory hereafter8 7,those who will not take the trouble of merely standing up at the psalms1 like the rest of their neighbours1 even if they cannot sing with their voices ,god's praises in this church1 how will they like singing ,god's praises through eternity87 ,no2 be sure that the only people who will be fit for heaven1 who will like heaven even1 are those who have been in heaven in this life1--the only people who will be able to do every thing to ,god's glory in the new heavens and new earth1 are those who have been trying honestly to do all to ,his glory in this heaven and this earth4 ,think over1 in the meantime1 what ,i have said this day2 consider it1 and you will have enough to think of1 and pray over too1 till we meet here again4 ,,sermon ,,xxii4 ,,national ,,privileges4 ,,luke1 x4 #bc4 8,blessed are the eyes which see the things which ye see3 for ,i tell you1 that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which ye see1 and have not seen them2 and to hear those things which ye hear1 and have not heard them40 ,,this is a noble text1 my friends--and yet an awful one1 for if it does not increase our religion1 it will certainly increase our condemnation4 ,it tells us that we1 even the meanest among us1 are more favoured by ,god than the kings1 and judges1 and conquerors of the old world1 of whom we read this afternoon in the first lesson2 that we have more light and knowledge of ,god than even the prophets ,david1 ,isaiah1 ,jeremiah1 and ,ezekiel1 to whom ,god's glory appeared in visible shape4 ,it tells us that we see things which they longed to see1 and could not2 that words are spoken to us for which their ears longed in vain2 that they1 though they died in hope1 yet received not the promises1 ,god having provided some better things for us1 that they without us should not be made perfect4 ,now1 what was this which they longed for1 and had not1 and yet we have8 ,it was this1--a ,saviour and a ,saviour's kingdom4 ,all wise and holy hearts for ages--as well heathens as ,jews--had had this longing4 ,they wanted a ,saviour1--one who should free them from sin and conquer evil1--one who should explain to them all the doubt and contradiction and misery of the world1 and give them some means of being freed from it1--one who should set them the perfect pattern of what a man should be1 and join earth and heaven1 and make godliness part of man's daily life4 ,they longed for a ,saviour1 and for a heavenly kingdom also4 ,they saw that all the laws in the world could never make men good2 that one half of men broke them1 and the other half only obeyed them unwillingly through slavish fear1 loving the sin they dared not do4 ,that men got worse and worse as time rolled on4 ,that kings1 instead of being shepherds of their people1 were only wolves and tyrants to keep them in ignorance and misery4 ,that priests only taught the people lies1 and fattened themselves at their expense4 ,that1 in short1 as ,david said1 men would not learn1 or understand1 and all the foundations of the earth1 the grounds and principles of society1 politics and religion1 were out of course1 and the devil very truly the king of this lower world2 so they longed for a heavenly kingdom--a kingdom of ,god1 one in which men should obey ,god for love1 and not for fear1 and man for ,god's sake2 a spiritual kingdom--a kingdom whose laws should be written in men's hearts and spirits1 and be their delight and glory1 not their dread4 ,they longed for a ,king of kings1 who should teach all kings and magistrates to rule in love and wisdom4 ,they longed for a ,high-priest1 who should teach all priests to explain the wonder and the glory that there is in every living man1 and in heaven and earth1 and all that therein lies1 and lead men's hearts into love1 and purity1 and noble thoughts and deeds4 ,they longed1 in short1 for a kingdom of ,god1 a golden age1 a regeneration of the world1 as they called it1 and rightly4 ,of course1 the ,jewish prophets saw most clearly how this would be brought about1 and how utterly necessary a ,saviour and ,his kingdom was to save mankind from utter ruin4 ,they1 ,i say1 saw this best4 ,but still all the wise and pious heathens1 each according to his measure of light1 saw the same necessity1 or else were restless and miserable1 because they could not see it4 ,so that in all ages of the world1 in a thousand different shapes1 there was rising up to heaven a mournful1 earnest prayer1--8,thy kingdom come60 ,and now this kingdom is come1 and the ,king of it1 the ,saviour of men1 is ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son of ,god4 ,long men prayed1 and long men waited1 and at last1 in the fulness of ,god's good time1 just when the night seemed darkest1 and under the abominations of the ,roman ,empire1 religion1 honesty1 and common decency1 seemed to have died out1 the ,sun of ,righteousness rose on the dead and rotten world1 to bring life and immortality to light4 ,god sent forth ,his ,son made of a woman1 not to condemn the world1 but that the world1 through ,him1 might be saved4 ,he sent ,him to be our ,saviour1 to die on the cross for our sins and our children's1 that all our guilt might be washed away1 and we might come boldly to the throne of grace1 with our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience1 and our bodies washed in the waters of baptism4 ,he sent ,him to be our ,teacher in the perfect law of love1 our pattern in every thing which a man should be1 and is not4 ,he sent ,him to conquer death by rising from the dead1 that ,he might have power to raise us also to life and immortality4 ,he sent ,him to fill men with ,his ,spirit1 the ,spirit of reason and truth1 the ,spirit of love and courage1 that he might know the will of ,god1 and do it as our ,saviour did before us4 ,he sent ,him to found a ,church1 to join all men into one brotherhood1 one kingdom of ,god1 whose rulers are kings and parliaments1 whose ministers are the clergy1 whose prophets are all poets and philosophers1 authors and preachers1 who are true to their own calling2 whose signs and tokens are the sacraments2 a kingdom which should never be moved1 but should go on for ever1 drawing into all honest and true hearts1 and preserving them ever for ,christ their ,lord4 ,and that we might not doubt that we1 too1 belonged to this kingdom1 ,he has placed in this land ,his ministers and teachers1 ,christ's sacraments1 ,christ's churches in every parish in the land1 ,christ's ,bible1 or the means of attaining the ,bible1 in every house and every cottage2 that from our cradle to our grave we might see that we belonged1 as sworn servants and faithful children1 to the great ,father in heaven and ,jesus ,christ1 the ,king of the earth4 ,thus1 my friends1 all that all men have longed for we possess2 we want no more1 and we shall have no more4 ,if1 under the present state of things1 we cannot be holy1 we shall never be holy4 ,if we cannot use our right in this kingdom of ,christ1 how can we become citizens of ,god's everlasting kingdom1 when ,christ shall have delivered up the dominion to ,his ,father1 and ,god shall be all in all8 ,god has done all for us that ,god will do4 ,he has given us ,his ,son for a ,saviour1 and a ,church in which and by which to worship that ,saviour2 and what more would we have8 ,alas6 my friends1 have we yet used fairly what ,god has given us8 and if not1 how terrible will be our guilt6 8,how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation80 ,and yet how many do neglect--how few live as if they were citizens of ,christ's kingdom6 ,it seems as if ,god had been too good to us1 and heaped us so heavily with blessings1 that we were tired of them1 and despised them as common things4 ,common things8 ,they are the very things1 as ,i said1 which the great and the wise in all ages have longed for and prayed for1 and yet never found6 ,surely1 surely1 ,god may well say to us1 8,what could have been done unto my vineyard which has not been done to it80 ,what1 indeed8 ,i wish ,i could take some of you into a heathen country for a single week1 that you might see what it is not to know of a ,saviour--not to be members of ,his ,church1 as we are4 ,why1 we here in ,england are in the very garden of the ,lord4 ,we have but to stretch out our hand to the tree of life1 and eat and live for ever4 ,from our cradle to our grave1 ,christ the ,king is ready to guide1 to teach1 to comfort1 to deliver us4 ,when we are born1 we are christened in ,his name1 made members of ,christ1 children of ,god1 and inheritors by hope of the kingdom of heaven4 ,is that nothing8 ,it is1 alas6 nothing in the eyes of most parents6 ,as we grow older1 are we not taught who we are--taught call ,god our ,father--taught about ,jesus ,christ1 who ,he is1 and what ,he is8 ,is that1 too1 nothing8 ,alas6 that knowledge is generally a mere meaningless school-lesson1 cared for neither by child nor by man4 ,at confirmation1 again1 we solemnly declare that we belong to ,christ's kingdom1 and that we will live as ,his subjects1 and ,his alone4 ,and we are brought to ,his bishops1 to be received as free1 reasonable1 ,christian people1 to claim our citizenship in the kingdom of ,god4 ,is that nothing8 ,yet that1 too1 is nothing with three-fourths of us4 ,nothing8 ,hear me1 young people--as ,i have often told you--you are ready enough to excuse yourselves from your confirmation vows1 by saying you were not taught to understand them--were not taught how to put them into practice4 ,that may be true1 or it may not2 your sin is just the same4 ,no one with any common honesty or common sense could answer as you have to the bishop's questions at confirmation1 without knowing that you did make a promise1 and knowing well enough what you promised--and you who carried to confirmation a careless heart and a lying tongue1 have only yourselves to blame for it6--,but to proceed4 ,is not ,christ present1 or ready to be present1 with us8 ,sunday after ,sunday1 for years1 have not the churches been opened all around us1 inviting us to enter and worship ,christ1 knowing that where two or three are gathered together1 there is ,christ in the midst of them4 ,is that nothing8 ,this ,creed--these ,lessons--these prayers1 which ,sunday after ,sunday you have used2--are they nothing8 ,are they not all proofs that the kingdom of ,god is come to you1 and means whereby you can behave like children of the kingdom8 ,and not on ,sundays alone4 ,have we not been taught daily1 in our own houses1 in our own hearts1 in all danger1 and trouble1 and temptation1 to pray to ,jesus ,christ1 our ,king1 knowing that ,he will hear and save all them that put their trust in ,him8 ,is that nothing8 ,on our happy marriage morn1 too1 was it not in ,god's house1 before ,christ's minister1 in ,christ's name1 that we were married8 ,surely the kingdom of ,god is come to us1 when our wedlock1 as well as our souls and bodies1 is holy to the ,lord4 ,is that nothing8 ,how few think of their marriage-joys as holy things--an ordinance of ,christ's kingdom1 which ,he delights in and blesses with ,his presence and ,his special smile1 seeing that it is the noblest and the purest of all things on earth--the picture of the great mystery which shall be the bridal of all bridals1 the marriage of ,christ and ,his ,church6 ,people do not1 nowadays1 believe in marriage as a part of their religion2 and so1 according to their want of faith it happens to them2 their marriage is not holy1 and the love and joy of their youth wither into a peevish1 careless1 lonely old age2--and yet over their heads these words were said1 8,they are man and wife together1 in the ,name of the ,father1 and of the ,son1 and of the ,holy ,ghost60 comes of not believing in ,christ's presence and ,christ's favour2 of not believing1 in short1 in what the ,creed truly calls the ,holy ,catholic ,church4 ,neither after that does ,christ leave us4 ,every time a woman is churched1 is not that meant to be a sign of thankfulness to ,christ1 the great ,physician1 to whom she owes her life and health once more8 ,then1 season after season1 is the sacrament of ,christ's body and blood offered you4 ,is that no sign that ,christ is here among us8 ,ah6 blessed are the eyes which see that--blessed are the ears which hear those words1 8,take1 eat2 this is ,my body which is given for you40 ,truly1 if that honour--that blessing--is so vast1 the love and the condescension of ,christ1 the ,lamb of ,god1 so unutterable1 that prophets and kings1 whatever they believed1 never could have desired1 never could have imagined1 that the ,son of ,god should offer to the sons of men1 year after year1 in their little parish churches1 ,his most precious body1 ,his most precious blood4 ,and another thing1 too1 those prophets and kings would never have imagined1--that when ,christ1 in those churches1 offers ,his body and ,his blood1 nine-tenths of the congregation1 calling themselves ,christians1 should quietly walk out1 and go home1 and leave the sacraments of ,christ's body and ,christ's blood behind as a useless and unnecessary matter6 ,that1 indeed1 the old prophets and kings never saw1 and never expected to see--but so it is4 ,christ is among us1 and our eyes are holden1 and we know ,him not4 ,and then at last1 after all these blessed privileges1 these tokens of ,god's kingdom have been neglected through a long life1 does ,christ neglect us in the hour of death8 ,ah1 no6 ,he is at the grave1 as ,he was at the font1 at the marriage-bed1 at ,his own holy table in ,god's house2 and the body is laid in the ground by ,christ's minister1 in the certain hope of a joyful resurrection4 ,but what--a sure and certain hope for each and all8 ,the resurrection is a joyful hope--but is it so for all8 ,only1 too often1 a faint1 dim longing that clings to the last chance1 and dares not confess to itself how hopeless must be the death of that man or woman whose life was spent in the kingdom of ,god1 in the midst of blessings which kings said prophets desired in vain to see1 and yet who neglected them all1 never entered into the spirit of them--never loved them--never lived according to them1 but despised and trampled under foot the kingdom of ,god from their childhood to their grave1 as three-fourths of us do4 ,christ came to judge no man1 and therefore ,christ's ministers judge no man1 and read the ,christian funeral service over all1 and pray ,christ to be there1 and to remember ,his blessed promise of raising up the body and soul to everlasting life4 ,but how can they help fearing that ,christ will not hear them--that after all ,his offers and gifts in this life have been despised1 ,he will give nothing after death but death2 and that it were better for the sinful1 worldly sham ,christian1 when lying in his coffin1 if he had never been born8 ,how can those escape who neglect such great salvation8 ,ah1 my friends--my friends1 take this to heart6 ,blessed1 indeed1 are the eyes which see what you see1 and hear what you hear2 prophets and kings have desired to see and hear them1 and have not seen or heard6 ,but if you1 cradled among all these despised honours and means of grace1 bring forth no fruit in your lives--shut out from yourselves the thought of your high calling in ,jesus ,christ2 what shall be your end but ruin8 ,he that despises ,christ1 ,christ will despise him2 and say not to yourselves1 as many do1 ,we are church-goers--we are all safe4 ,i say to you1 ,god is able1 from among the ,negro and the wild ,irishman--ay1 ,god is able of these stones to raise up children to the ,church of ,england1 while those of you1 the children of the kingdom1 who lived in the ,church of your fathers1 and never used or loved her1 or ,christ1 her ,king1 shall be cast into outer darkness1 where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth4 ,,sermon ,,xxiii4 ,,lenten ,,thoughts4 ,,haggai1 i4 #e4 8,now1 therefore1 thus saith the ,lord of ,hosts1 consider your ways40 ,,next ,wednesday is ,ash-,wednesday1 the first day of ,lent1 the season which our forefathers have appointed for us to consider and mend our ways1 and return1 year by year1 heart and soul to that ,lord and ,heavenly ,father from whom we are daily wandering4 ,now1 we all know that we ought to have repented long ago2 we all know that1 sinning in many things daily1 as we do1 we ought all to repent daily4 ,but that is not enough2 we do want1 unless we are wonderfully better than the holy men of old1--we do want1 ,i say1 a particular time in which we may sit down deliberately and look our own souls steadily in the face1 and cast up our accounts with ,god1 and be thoroughly ashamed and terrified at those accounts when we find1 as we shall1 that we cannot answer ,god one thing in a thousand4 ,it is all very well to say1 ,i confess and repent of my sins daily1 why should ,i do it especially in ,lent8 ,very true--,let us see1 then1 by your altered life and conduct that you have repented during this ,lent1 and then it will be time to talk of repenting every day after ,lent4 ,but1 in fact1 a man might just as well argue1 ,i say my prayers every day1 and ,god hears them1 why should ,i say them more on ,sundays than any other day8 ,why8 not only because your forefathers1 and the ,church of your forefathers1 have advised you1 which1 though not an imperative reason1 is still a strong one1 surely1 but because the thing is good1 and reasonable1 and right in itself4 ,because1 as they found in their own case1 and as you may find in yours1 if you will but think1 the hurry and bustle of business is daily putting repentance and self-examination out of our heads4 ,a man may think much1 and pray much1 thank ,god1 in the very midst of his busiest work1 but he is apt to be hurried2 he has not set his thoughts especially on the matters of his soul1 and so the soul's work is not thoroughly done4 ,much for which he ought to pray he forgets to pray for4 ,many sins and feelings of which he ought to repent slip past him out of sight in the hurry of life4 ,much good that might be done is put off and laid by1 often till it is too late4 ,but now here is a regular season in which we may look back and say to ourselves1 #8,how have ,i been getting on for this twelvemonth1 not in pocket1 but in character8 not in the appearance of character in my neighbour's eyes1 but in real character--in the eyes of ,god8 ,am ,i more manly1 or more womanly--more godly1 more true1 more humble1 above all1 more loving1 than ,i was this time last year8 ,what bad habits have ,i conquered8 ,what good habits have grown upon me8 ,what chances of doing good have ,i let slip8 ,what foolish1 unkind things have ,i done8 ,my duty to ,god and my neighbours is so and so1 how have ,i done it8 ,above all1 this ,saviour and ,king in heaven1 in whom ,i profess to believe1 to whom ,i have sworn to be loyal and true1 and to help ,his good cause1 the cause of godliness1 manliness1 and happiness among my neighbours1 in my family1 in my own heart1--how have ,i felt towards ,him8 ,have ,i thought about ,him more this year than ,i did last8 ,do ,i feel any more loyalty1 respect1 love1 gratitude to ,him than ,i did8 ,ay1 more1 do ,i think about ,him at all as a living man1 much less as my ,king and ,saviour2 or1 is all really know about ,him the sound of the words ,jesus ,christ1 and the story about ,him in the ,apostles' ,creed8 ,do ,i really believe and trust in 8,jesus ,christ10 or do ,i not8 ,these are sharp1 searching questions1 my friends1--good ,lenten food for any man's soul1--questions which it is much more easy to ask soberly and answer fairly now when you look quietly back on the past year1 than it is1 alas6 to answer them day by day amid all the bustle your business and your families4 ,but you will answer1 #8,this bustle will go on just as much in ,lent as ever4 ,our time and thoughts will be just as much occupied4 ,we have our livings to get4 ,we are not fine gentlemen and ladies who can lie by for forty days and do nothing but read and pray1 while their tradesmen and servants are working for them from morning to night4 ,how then can we give up more time to religion now than at other times8 ,this is all true enough2 but there is a sound and true answer to it4 ,it is not so much more time which you are asked to give up to your souls in ,lent1 as it is more heart4 ,what do ,i talk of8 ,giving up more time to your souls8 ,and yet this is the way we all talk1 as if our time belonged to our bodies1 and so we had to rob them of it1 to give it up to our souls1--as if our bodies were ourselves1 and our souls were troublesome burdens1 or peevish children hanging at our backs1 which would keep prating and fretting about heaven and hell1 and had to be quieted1 and their mouths stopped as quickly and easily as possible1 that we might be rid of them1 and get about our true business1 our real duty1--this mighty work of eating and drinking1 and amusing ourselves1 and making money4 ,i am afraid--afraid there are too many1 who1 if they spoke out their whole hearts1 would be quite as content to have no souls1 and no necessity to waste their precious time 7as they think7 upon religion4 ,but1 my friends1 my friends1 the day will come when you will see yourselves in a true light2 when your soul will not seem a mere hanger-on to your body1 but you will find out that you are your soul4 ,then there will be no more forgetting that you have souls1 and thrusting them into the background1 to be fed at odd minutes1 or left to starve1--no more talk of giving up time to the care of your souls2 your souls will take the time for themselves then--and the eternity1 too2 they will be all in all to you then1 perhaps when it is too late6 ,well1 ,i want you1 just for forty days1 to let your souls be all in all to you now2 to make them your first object--your first thought in the morning1 the last thing at night1--your thought at every odd moment in the day4 ,you need not neglect your business2 only for one short forty days do not make your business your ,god4 ,we are all too apt to try the heathen plan1 of seeking first every thing else in the world1 and letting the kingdom of ,god and ,his righteousness be added to us over and above--or not as it may happen4 ,try for once the plan the ,lord of heaven and earth advises1 and seek first the kingdom of ,god and ,his righteousness1 and see whether every thing else will not be added to you4 ,again1 you need not be idle a moment more in ,lent than at any other time4 ,but ,i dare say1 that none of you are so full of business that you have not a free ten minutes in the morning1 and ten minutes at night1 of which the best of uses may be made4 ,what do ,i say8 ,why1 of all men in the world1 farmers and labourers have most time1 ,i think1 to themselves2 working1 as they do1 the greater part of their day in silence and alone2 what opportunities for them to have their souls busy in heaven1 while they are pacing over the fields1 ploughing and hoeing6 ,i have read of many1 many labouring men who had found out their opportunities in this way1 and used them so well as to become holy1 great1 and learned men4 ,one of the most learned scholars in ,england at this day was once a village carpenter1 who used1 when young1 to keep a book open before him on his bench while he worked1 and thus contrived to teach himself1 one after the other1 ,latin1 ,greek1 and ,hebrew4 ,so much time may a man find who looks for time6 ,but after all1 and above all1 believe this--that if your business or your work does actually give you no time to think about ,god and your own souls1--if in the midst of it all you cannot find leisure enough night and morning to pray earnestly1 to read your ,bible carefully1--if it so swallows up your whole thoughts during the day1 that you have no opportunity to recollect yourself1 to remember that you are an immortal being1 and that you have a ,saviour in heaven1 whom you are serving faithfully1 or unfaithfully1--if this work or business of yours will not give you time enough for that1 then it is not ,god's business1 and ought not to be yours either4 ,but you have time1--you have all time4 ,when there is a will there is a way4 ,make up your minds that there shall be a will1 and pray earnestly to ,god to give it you1 if it is but for forty days3 and in them think seriously1 slowly1 solemnly1 over your past lives4 ,examine yourselves and your doings4 ,ask yourselves fairly1--#8,am ,i going forward or back8 ,am ,i living like a child of ,god1 or like a mere machine for making food and wages8 ,is my conduct such as the ,holy ,scripture tells me that it should be8 ,you will not need to go far for a set of questions1 my friends1 or rules by which to examine yourselves4 ,you can hardly open a page of ,god's blessed ,book without finding something which stares you in the face with the question1 #8,do ,i do thus8' or1 #8,do ,i not do thus8' ,take1 for example1 the ,epistle of this very day4 ,what better test can we have for trying and weighing our own souls8 ,what says it8 ,that though we were wise1 charitable1 eloquent--all that the greatest of men can be1 and yet had not charity--love1 we are nothing6--nothing6 ,and how does it describe this necessary1 indispensable1 heavenly love8 ,let us spend the last few minutes of this sermon in seeing how4 ,and if that description does not prick all our hearts on more points than one1 they are harder than ,i take them for--far harder1 certainly1 than they should be4 ,this charity1 or love1 we hear1 which each of us ought to have and must have--8suffers long1 and is kind40 ,what shall we say to that8 ,how many hasty1 revengeful thoughts and feelings have risen in the hearts of most of us in the last year8--,here is one thought for ,lent4 8,charity envies not40--,have we envied any their riches1 their happiness1 their good name1 health1 and youth8--,another thought for ,lent4 8,charity boasts not herself40 ,alas6 alas6 my friends1 are not the best of us apt to make much of the little good we do1--to pride ourselves on the petty kindnesses we shew1--to be puffed up with easy self-satisfaction1 just as charity is not puffed up8--,another ,lenten thought4 8,charity does not behave herself unseemly20 is never proud1 noisy1 conceited2 gives every man's opinion a fair1 kindly hearing2 making allowances for all mistakes4 ,have we done so8--,then there is another thought for ,lent4 8,charity seeks not her own20 does not stand fiercely and stiffly on her own rights1 on the gratitude due to her4 ,while we--are we not too apt1 when we have done a kindness1 to fret and fume1 and think ourselves deeply injured1 if we do not get repaid at once with all the humble gratitude we expected8 ,of this also we must think4 8,charity thinks no evil10 sets down no bad motives for any one's conduct1 but takes for granted that he means well1 whatever appearances may be2 while we 7,i speak of myself just as much as of any one71 are we not continually apt to be suspicious1 jealous1 to take for granted that people mean harm2 and even when we find ourselves mistaken1 and that we have cried out before we are hurt1 not to consider it as any sin against our neighbour1 whom in reality we have been silently slandering to ourselves8 8,charity rejoices not in iniquity10 but in the truth1 whatever it may be2 is never glad to see a high professor prove a hypocrite1 and fall into sin1 and shew himself in his true foul colours2 which we1 alas6 are too apt to think a very pleasant sight4--,are not these wholesome meditations for ,lent8 8,charity hopes all things0 of every one1 8believes all things10 all good that is told of every one1 8endures all things10 instead of flying off and giving up a person at the first fault4 ,are not all these points1 which our own hearts1 consciences1 common sense1 or whatever you like to call it 7,i shall call it ,god's spirit71 tell us are right1 true1 necessary8 ,and is there one of us who can say that he has not offended in many1 if not in all these points2 and is not that unrighteousness--going out of the right1 straightforward1 childlike1 loving way of looking at all people8 ,and is not all unrighteousness sin8 ,and must not all sin be repented of1 and that as soon as we find it out8 ,and can we not all find time this ,lent to throw over these sins of ours8--to confess them with shame and sorrow8--to try like men to shake them off8 ,oh1 my friends6 you who are too busy for forty short days to make your immortal souls your first business1 take care--take care1 lest the day shall come when sickness1 and pain1 and the terror of death1 shall keep you too busy to prepare those unrepenting1 unforgiven1 sin-besotted souls of yours for the kingdom of ,god4 ,,sermon ,,xxiv4 ,,on ,,books4 ,,john1 i4 #a4 8,in the beginning was the ,word1 and the ,word was with ,god1 and the ,word was ,god40 ,i ,,do not pretend to be able to explain this text to you1 for no man can comprehend it but ,he of whom it speaks1 ,jesus ,christ1 the ,word of ,god4 ,but ,i can1 by ,god's grace1 put before you some of the awful and glorious truths of which it gives us a sight1 and may ,christ direct you1 who is the ,word1 and grant me words to bring the matter home to you1 so as to make some of you1 at least1 ask yourselves the golden question1 #8,if this is true1 what must we do to be saved8' ,the text says that the ,word was from the beginning with ,god1--ay1 ,god ,himself3 who the ,word is1 there is no doubt from the rest of the chapter1 which you heard read this morning4 ,but why is ,christ called the ,word of all words--the ,word of ,god8 ,let us look at this4 ,is not ,christ the man1 the head and pattern of all men who are what men ought to be8 ,and did ,he not tell men that ,he is the ,life8 ,that all life is given by ,him and out of ,him8 ,and does not ,st4 ,john tell us that ,christ the ,life is the light of men1--the true light which lighteth every man who cometh into the world8 ,remember this1 and then think again1--what is it which makes men different from all other living things we know of8 ,is it not speech--the power of words8 ,the beasts may make each other understand many things1 but they have no speech4 ,these glorious things--words--are man's right alone1 part of the image of the ,son of ,god--the ,word of ,god1 in which man was created4 ,if men would but think what a noble thing it is merely to be able to speak in words1 to think in words1 to write in words6 ,without words1 we should know no more of each other's hearts and thoughts than the dog knows of his fellow dog2--without words to think in2 for if you will consider1 you always think to yourself in words1 though you do not speak them aloud2 and without them all our thoughts would be mere blind longings1 feelings which we could not understand our own selves4 ,without words to write in1 we could not know what our forefathers did2--we could not let our children after us know what to do4 ,but1 now1 books--the written word of man--are precious heirlooms from one generation to another1 training us1 encouraging us1 teaching us1 by the words and thoughts of men1 whose bodies are crumbled into dust ages ago1 but whose words--the power of uttering themselves1 which they got from the ,son of ,god--still live1 and bear fruit in our hearts1 and in the hearts of our children after us1 till the last day6 ,but where did these words--this power of uttering our thoughts1 come from8 ,do you fancy that men first1 began like brute beasts or babies1 with strange cries and mutterings1 and so gradually found out words for themselves8 ,not they2 the beasts have been on the earth as long as man2 and yet they can no more speak than they could when ,god created ,adam3 but ,adam1 we find1 could speak at once4 ,god spoke to ,adam the moment he was made1 and ,adam understood ,him2 so he knew the power and the meaning of words4 ,who gave him that power8 ,who but ,jehovah--,jesus--the ,word of ,god1 who imparted to him the word of speech and the light of reason8 ,without them what use would there have been in saying to him1 8,thou shalt not eat of the tree of knowledge80 ,without them what would there have been in ,god's bringing to him all the animals to see what he would call them1 unless ,he had first given ,adam the power of understanding words1 and thinking of words1 and speaking words8 ,this was the glorious gift of ,christ--the ,voice or ,word of the ,lord ,god1 as we read in the second chapter of ,genesis1 whom ,adam heard another time with fear and terror1--8,the voice of the ,lord walking in the garden in the cool of the day40--,a text and a story strange enough1 till we find in the first chapter of ,st4 ,john the explanation of it1 telling us that the ,word was in the beginning with ,god--very ,god1 and that ,he was the light which lighteth every man who cometh into the world4 ,so ,christ is the light which lighteth every man who cometh into the world4 ,how are we to understand that1 when there are so many who live and die heathens or reprobates1--some who never hear of ,christ1--some1 alas6 in ,christian lands1 who are dead to every doctrine or motive of ,christianity8 yet the ,bible says that ,christ lights every man who comes into the world4 ,difficult to understand at first sight1 yet most true1 and simple too1 at bottom4 ,for how is every one1 whether heathen or ,christian1 child or man1 enlightened or taught1 to live and behave8 ,is it not by the words of those round him1 by the words he reads in books1 by the thoughts which he thinks out and puts into shape for himself8 ,all this is the light which every human being has his share of4 ,and has not every man1 too1 the light of reason and good feeling1 more or less1 to tell him whether each thing is right or wrong1 noble or mean1 ugly or beautiful8 ,this is another way by which the light which lighteth every man works4 ,and ,st4 ,john tells us in the text1 that he who works in this way1--he who gives us the power of understanding1 and thinking1 and judging1 and speaking1 is the very same ,word of ,god who was made flesh1 and dwelt among men1 and died on the ,cross for us2 8the ,lamb of ,god1 who taketh away the sins of the world60 ,he is the ,word of ,god--by ,him ,god has spoken to man in all ages4 ,he taught ,adam1--,he spoke to ,abraham as a man speaketh with his friend4 ,it was ,he ,jehovah1 whom we call ,jesus1 whom ,moses and the seventy elders saw--saw with their bodily eyes on ,mount ,sinai1 who spoke to them with human voice from amid the lightning and the rainbow4 ,it must have been only ,he1 the ,word1 by whom ,god the ,father utters ,himself to man1 for no man hath seen ,god at any time2 only the ,word1 the only-begotten ,son1 who is in the bosom of the ,father1 ,he hath declared ,him4 ,and who put into the mouth of ,david those glorious ,psalms--the songs in which all true men for three thousand years have found the very things they longed to speak themselves and could not8 ,who but ,christ the ,word of ,god1 the ,lord1 as ,david calls ,him1 put a new song into the mouth of ,his holy poet1--the sweet singer of ,israel8 ,who spake by the prophets1 again8 ,what do they say themselves8--8,the ,word of the ,lord came to me1 saying40 ,and then1 when the ,spirit of ,god stirred them up1 the ,word of ,god gave them speech1 and they said the sayings which shall never pass away till all be fulfilled4 ,and who was it who1 when ,he was upon earth1 spake as never man spake1--whose words were the simplest1 and yet the deepest1--the tenderest1 and yet the most awful1 which ever broke the blessed silence upon this earth1--whose words1 now to this day1 come home to men's hearts1 stirring them up to the very roots1 piercing through the marrow of men's souls1--whose but ,christ's1 the ,word1 who was made flesh and dwelt among us1 full of grace and truth8 ,and who since then1 do you think1 has it been who has given to all wise and holy poets1 philosophers1 and preachers1 the power to speak and write the wonderful truths which1 by ,god's grace1 they thought out for themselves and for all mankind1--who gave them utterance8--who but ,christ1 the ,lord of men's spirits1 the ,word of ,god1 who promised to give to all ,his true disciples a mouth and wisdom1 which their enemies should not be able to gainsay or resist8 ,well1 my friends1 ought not the knowledge of this to make us better and wiser8 ,ought it not to make us esteem1 and reverence1 and use many things of which we are apt to think too lightly8 ,how it should make us reverence the ,bible1 the written word of ,god's saints and prophets1 of ,god's apostles1 of ,christ1 the ,word ,himself8 ,oh1 that men would use that treasure of the ,bible as it deserves2--oh1 that they would believe from their hearts1 that whatever is said there is truly said1 that whatever is said there is said to them1 that whatever names things are called there are called by their right names4 ,then men would no longer call the vile person beautiful1 or call pride and vanity honour1 or covetousness respectability1 or call sin worldly wisdom2 but they would call things as ,christ calls them--they would try to copy ,christ's thoughts and ,christ's teaching2 and instead of looking for instruction and comfort to lying opinions and false worldly cunning1 they would find their only advice in the blessed teaching1 and their only comfort in the gracious promises1 of the word of the ,book of ,life4 ,again1 how these thoughts ought to make us reverence all books4 ,consider6 except a living man1 there is nothing more wonderful than a book6--a message to us from the dead--from human souls whom we never saw1 who lived1 perhaps1 thousands of miles away2 and yet these1 in those little sheets of paper1 speak to us1 amuse us1 terrify us1 teach us1 comfort us1 open their hearts to us as brothers4 ,why is it that neither angels1 nor saints1 nor evil spirits1 appear to men now to speak to them as they did of old8 ,why1 but because we have books1 by which ,christ's messengers1 and the devil's messengers too1 can tell what they will to thousands of human beings at the same moment1 year after year1 all the world over6 ,i say1 we ought to reverence books1 to look at them as awful and mighty things4 ,if they are good and true1 whether they are about religion or politics1 farming1 trade1 or medicine1 they are the message of ,christ1 the ,maker of all things1 the ,teacher of all truth1 which ,he has put into the heart of some man to speak1 that he may tell us what is good for our spirits1 for our bodies1 and for our country4 ,and at the last day1 be sure of it1 we shall have to render an account--a strict account1 of the books which we have read1 and of the way in which we have obeyed what we read1 just as if we had had so many prophets or angels sent to us4 ,if1 on the other hand1 books are false and wicked1 we ought to fear them as evil spirits loose among us1 as messages from the father of lies1 who deceives the hearts of evil men1 that they may spread abroad the poison of his false and foul messages1 putting good for evil1 and evil for good1 sweet for bitter1 and bitter for sweet1 saying to all men1 #8,i1 too1 have a tree of knowledge1 and you may eat of the fruit thereof1 and not die4' ,but believe him not4 ,when you see a wicked book1 when you find in a book any thing which contradicts ,god's book1 cast it away1 trample it under foot1 believe that it is the devil tempting you by his cunning1 alluring words1 as he tempted ,eve1 your mother4 ,would to ,god all here would make that rule1--never to look into an evil book1 a filthy ballad1 a nonsensical1 frivolous story6 ,can a man take a snake into his bosom and not be bitten8--can we play with fire and not be burnt8--can we open our ears and eyes to the devil's message1 whether of covetousness1 or filth1 or folly1 and not be haunted afterwards by its wicked words1 rising up in our thoughts like evil spirits1 between us and our pure and noble duty--our baptism-vows8 ,i might say much more about these things1 and1 by ,god's help1 in another sermon ,i will go on1 and speak to you of the awful importance of spoken words1 of the sermons and the conversation to which you listen1 the awful importance of every word which comes out of your own mouth4 ,but ,i have spoken only of books this morning1 for this is the age of books1 the time1 one would think1 of which ,daniel prophesied that many should run to and fro1 and knowledge should be increased4 ,a flood of books1 newspapers1 writings of all sorts1 good and bad1 is spreading over the whole land1 and young and old will read them4 ,we cannot stop that--we ought not3 it is ,god's ordinance4 ,it is more3 it is ,god's grace and mercy1 that we have a free press in ,england--liberty for every man1 that if he have any of ,god's truth to tell he may tell it out boldly1 in books or otherwise4 ,a blessing from ,god6 one which we should reverence1 for ,god knows it was dearly bought4 ,before our forefathers could buy it for us1 many an honoured man left house and home to die in the battle-field or on the scaffold1 fighting and witnessing for the right of every man to whom ,god's ,word comes1 to speak ,god's ,word openly to his countrymen4 ,a blessing1 and an awful one6 for the same gate which lets in good lets in evil4 ,the law dare not silence bad books4 ,it dare not root up the tares lest it root up the wheat also4 ,the men who died to buy us liberty knew that it was better to let in a thousand bad books than shut out one good one2 for a grain of ,god's truth will ever outweigh a ton of the devil's lies4 ,we cannot then silence evil books1 but we can turn away our eyes from them--we can take care that what we read1 and what we let others read1 shall be good and wholesome4 ,now1 if ever1 are we bound to remember that books are words1 and that words come either from ,christ or the devil1--now1 if ever1 we are bound to try all books by the ,word of ,god1--now1 if ever1 are we bound to put holy and wise books1 both religious and worldly1 into the hands of all around us1 that if1 poor souls6 they must need eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge1 they may also eat of the tree of life1--and now1 if ever1 are we bound to pray to ,christ the ,word of ,god1 that ,he will raise up among us wise and holy writers1 and give them words and utterance1 to speak to the hearts of all ,englishmen the message of ,god's covenant1 and that he may confound the devil and his lies1 and all that swarm of vile writers who are filling ,england with trash1 filth1 blasphemy1 and covetousness1 with books which teach men that our wise forefathers1 who built our churches and founded our constitution1 and made ,england the queen of nations1 were but ignorant knaves and fanatics1 and that selfish money-making and godless licentiousness are the only true wisdom2 and so turn the divine power of words1 and the inestimable blessing of a free press1 into the devil's engine1 and not ,christ's the ,word of ,god4 ,but their words shall be brought to nought4 ,may ,god preserve us and all our friends from that defilement1 and may ,he give you all grace1 in these strange times1 to take care what you read and how you read1 and to hold fast by the ,book of all books1 and ,christ the ,word of ,god4 ,try by them all books and men2 for if they speak not according to ,god's law and testimony1 it is because there is no truth in them4 ,,sermon ,,xxv4 ,,the ,,courage ,,of ,,the ,,saviour4 ,,john1 xi4 #g1 #h4 8,then after that saith ,he to ,his disciples1 ,let us go into ,judea again4 ,his disciples say to ,him1 ,master1 the ,jews of late sought to stone thee1 and goest thou thither again80 ,,we all admire a brave man4 ,and we are right4 ,to be brave is ,god's gift4 ,to be brave is to be like ,jesus ,christ4 ,cowardice is only the devil's likeness4 ,but we must take care what we mean by being brave4 ,now1 there are two sorts of bravery--courage and fortitude4 ,and they are very different3 courage is of the flesh1--fortitude is of the spirit4 ,courage is good1 but dumb animals have it just as much as we4 ,a dog1 a tiger1 and a horse1 have courage1 but they have no fortitude1--because fortitude is a spiritual thing1 and beasts have no spirits like ours4 ,what is fortitude8 ,it is the courage which will make us not only fight in a good cause1 but suffer in a good cause4 ,courage will help us only to give others pain2 fortitude will help us to bear pain ourselves4 ,and more1 fortitude will make a fearful person brave1 and very often the more brave the more fearful they are4 ,and thus it is that women are so often braver than men4 ,we1 men1 are made of coarser stuff2 we do not feel pain as keenly as women2 and if we do feel1 we are rightly ashamed to shew it4 ,but a tender woman1 who feels pain and sorrow infinitely more than we do1 who need not be ashamed of being frightened1 who perhaps is terrified at every mouse and spider1--to see her bearing patiently pain1 and sorrow1 and shame1 in spite of all her fearfulness1 because she knows it is her duty--that is ,christ's likeness--that is true fortitude--that is a sight nobler than all the 8bull-dog courage0 in the world4 ,for what is the courage of the bull-dog after all1 or of the strong quarrelsome man8 ,he is confident in his own strength1 he is rough and hard1 and does not care for pain2 and when he thrusts his head into a fight1 like a surly dog1 he does it not because it is his duty1 but because he likes it1 because he is angry1 and then every blow and every wound makes him more angry1 and he fights on1 forgetting his pain from blind rage4 ,that is not altogether bad2 men ought to be courageous4 ,but1 oh6 my friends1 is there not a more excellent way to be brave8 and which is nobler1 to suffer bravely for ,god's sake1 or to beat men made in ,god's image bravely for one's own sake8 ,think of any fight you ever saw1 and then compare with that the stories of those old martyrs who died rather than speak a word against their ,saviour4 ,if you want to see true fortitude1 think of what has happened thousands of times when the heathen used to persecute the ,christians4--,how delicate women1 who would not venture to set the sole of their foot to the ground for tenderness1 would submit1 rather than give up their religion and deny the ,lord who died for them1 to be torn from husband and family1 and endure nakedness1 and insult1 and tortures which make one's blood run cold to read of1 till they were torn slowly piecemeal1 or roasted in burning flames1 without a murmur or an angry word1--knowing that ,christ1 who had borne all things for them1 would give them strength to bear all things for ,him1 trusting that if they were faithful unto death1 ,he would give them a crown of life4 ,there was true fortitude--there was true faith--there was ,god's strength made perfect in woman's weakness6 ,do you not see1 my friends1 that such a death was truly brave8 ,how does bull-dog courage shew beside that courage--the courage which conquers grief and pain for duty's-sake1 instead of merely forgetting them in rage and obstinacy8 ,and do you not see how this bears on my text8 ,how it bears on our ,lord's whole life8 ,was he not indeed the perfectly brave man--the man who endured more than all living men put together1 at the very time that he had the most intense fear of what he was going to suffer8 ,and stranger still1 endured it all of ,his own will1 while ,he had it in ,his power to shake it all off any instant1 and free ,himself utterly from pain and suffering4 ,now1 this speech of our ,lord's in the text is just a case of true fortitude4 ,he was beyond ,jordan4 ,he had been forced to escape thither to save ,his life from the mad1 blinded ,jews4 ,he had no foolhardiness2 ,he knew that ,he had no more right than we have to put ,his life in danger when there was no good to be done by it4 ,but now there was good to be done by it4 ,lazarus was dead1 and ,he wanted to raise him to life4 ,therefore ,he said to ,his disciples1 8,let us go into ,judea again40 ,they knew the danger2 they said1 8,master1 the ,jews of late sought to stone ,thee1 and goest ,thou thither again80 ,but ,he would go2 ,he had a work to do1 and ,he dared bear anything to do ,his work4 ,ay1 here is the secret1 this is the feeling which gives a man true courage--the feeling that he has a work to do at all costs1 the sense of duty4 ,oh6 my friends1 let men1 women1 or children1 once feel that they have a duty to perform1 let them once say to themselves1 #8,i am bound to do this thing--it is right for me to do this thing2 ,i owe it as a duty to my family1 ,i owe it as a duty to my country1 ,i owe it as a duty to ,god1 who called me into this station of life2 ,i owe it as a duty to ,jesus ,christ1 who bought me with ,his blood1 that ,i might do ,his will and not my own pleasure4'--,when a man has once said that honestly to himself1 when that glorious heavenly thought1 #8,it is my duty1' has risen upon his soul1 like the sun upon the earth1 warming his heart and enlightening it and making it bring forth all good and noble fruits1 then that man will feel a strength come to him1 and a courage from ,god above1 which will conquer all his fears and his selfish love of ease and pleasure1 and enable him to bear insults1 and pain1 and poverty1 and death itself1 provided he can but do what is right1 and be found by ,god1 whatever happens to him1 working ,god's will where ,god has put him4 ,this is fortitude--this is true courage--this is ,christ's likeness--this is the courage which weak women on sick beds may have as well as strong men on the battle-field4 ,even when they shrink most from suffering1 ,god's ,spirit will whisper to them1 #8,it is thy duty1 it is thy ,father's will1' and then they will find ,his strength made perfect in their weakness1 and when their human weakness fails most ,god will give them heavenly fortitude1 and they will be able1 like ,st4 ,paul1 to say1 8,when ,i am weak1 then ,i am strong1 for ,i can do all things through ,christ1 who strengtheneth me40 ,and now1 remember that there was no pride1 no want of feeling to keep up our ,lord's courage4 ,he has tasted sorrow for every man1 woman1 and child1 and therefore ,he has tasted fear also2 tempted in all things1 like as we are1 that in all things ,he might be touched with the feeling of our infirmities1--that there might be no poor soul terrified at the thought of pain or sorrow1 but could comfort themselves with the thought1 ,well1 the ,son of ,god knows what fear is4 ,he who said that ,his soul was troubled--,he who at the thought of death was in such agony of terror1 that ,his sweat ran down to the ground like great drops of blood1--,he who cried in ,his agony1 8,father1 if it be possible1 let this cup pass from me10--,he understands my pain1--,he tells me not to be ashamed of crying in my pain like ,him1 8,father1 if it be possible let this cup pass from me0--for ,he will give me the strength to finish that prayer of ,his1 and in the midst of my trouble say1 8,nevertheless1 ,father1 not as ,i will1 but as ,thou wilt40 ,remember1 again1 that our ,lord was not like the martyrs of old1 forced to undergo ,his sufferings whether ,he liked them or not4 ,we are too apt to forget that1 and therefore we misunderstand our ,lord's example2 and therefore we misunderstand what true fortitude is4 ,jesus ,christ was the ,son of ,god2 ,he had made the very men who were tormenting ,him2 ,he had made the very wood of the cross on which ,he hung1 the iron which pierced ,his blessed hands2 and1 for aught we know1 one wish of ,his1 and they would all have crumbled into dust1 and ,he have been safe in a moment4 ,but ,he would not2 ,he endured the cross4 ,he was the only man who ever really endured anything at all1 because ,he alone of all men had perfect power to save ,himself1 even when ,he was nailed to the tree1 fainting1 bleeding1 dying4 ,it was never too late for ,him to stop4 ,as ,he said to ,peter when he wanted to fight for ,christ1 8,thinkest thou that ,i cannot pray to my ,father1 and ,he will send me instantly more than twelve legions of angels80 ,but ,he would not4 ,he had to save the world1 and ,he was determined to do it1 whatever agony or fear it cost ,him4 ,st4 ,peter was a brave man4 ,he drew his sword in the garden1 and attacked1 single-handed1 that great body of armed soldiers2 cutting down a servant of the high-priest's4 ,but he was only brave1 our ,lord was more4 ,the blessed ,jesus had true fortitude2 ,he could bear patiently1 while ,peter could only rage and fight uselessly4 ,and see how ,christ's fortitude lasted ,him1 while ,peter's mere courage failed him4 ,while our ,lord was witnessing that glorious confession of ,his before ,pilate1 bearing on through1 without shrinking1 even to the cross itself1 where was ,peter8 ,he had denied his ,master1 and ran shamefully away4 ,he had a long lesson to learn before he was perfect1 had ,peter4 ,he had to learn not how to fight1 but how to suffer--and he learnt it2 and in his old age that strong1 fierce ,st4 ,peter had true fortitude to give himself up to be crucified1 like his ,lord1 without a murmur1 and preach ,christ's gospel as he hung for three whole days upon the torturing cross4 ,there was fortitude2 that violence of his in the garden was only courage as of a brute animal1--courage of the flesh1 not the true courage of the spirit4 ,oh1 my friends1 that we could all learn this lesson1 that it is better to suffer than to revenge1 better to be killed than to kill4 ,there are times when a man must fight--for his country1 for just laws1 for his family1 but for himself it is very seldom that he must fight4 ,he who returns good for evil1--he who when he is cursed1 blesses those who curse him1--he1 who takes joyfully the spoiling of his goods1 who submits to be cheated in little matters1 and sometimes in great ones1 sooner than ruin the poor sinful wretch who has ill-used him2 that man has really put on ,christ's likeness1 that man is really going on to perfection1 and fulfilling the law of love2 and for everything he gives up for the sake of peace and mercy1 which is for ,god's sake1 ,god will reward him sevenfold into his bosom4 ,there are times when a man is bound to go to law1 bound to expose and punish evil-doers1 lest they should1 being unpunished1 become confident and go on from bad to worse1 and hurt others as well as him4 ,a man sometimes is bound by his duty to his neighbours and to society to defend himself1 to go to law with those who injure him1--sometimes2 but never bound to revenge himself1 never bound to say1 #8,he has hurt me1 and ,i will pay him off for it at law2' that is abusing law1 which is ,god's ordinance1 for mere selfish revenge4 ,you may say1 it is difficult to know which is which1 when to defend oneself1 and when not4 ,it is difficult2 without the light of ,god's ,spirit1 ,i think no man will know4 ,but let a man live by ,god's ,spirit1 let him pray for kindliness1 mercifulness1 manliness1 and patience1 for true fortitude to bear and to forbear1 and ,god will surely open his eyes to see when he is called on to avenge an injury1 and when he is called on to suffer patiently4 ,god will shew him--if a man wishes to be like ,christ1 and to work like ,christ1 at doing good1 ,god will teach him and guide him in all puzzling matters like this4 ,and do not be afraid of being called cowards and milksops for bearing injuries patiently--those who call you so will be likely to be the greatest cowards themselves4 ,patience is the truest sign of courage4 ,ask old soldiers1 who have seen real war1 and they will tell you that the bravest men1 the men who endured best1 not in mere fighting1 but in standing still for hours to be mowed down by cannon-shot2 who were most cheerful and patient in shipwreck1 and starvation and defeat1--all things ten times worse than fighting1--ask old soldiers1 ,i say1 and they will tell you that the men who shewed best in such miseries1 were generally the stillest and meekest men in the whole regiment3 that is true fortitude2 that is ,christ's image--the meekest of men1 and the bravest too4 ,and so books say1 and seem to prove it1 by many strange stories1 that the lion1 while he is the strongest and bravest of beasts of prey1 is also the most patient and merciful4 ,he knows his own strength and courage1 and therefore he does not care to be shewing it off4 ,he can afford to endure an affront4 ,it is only the cowardly cur who flies out and barks at every passer-by4 ,and so with our blessed ,lord4 ,the ,bible calls ,him the ,lion of ,judah2 but it also calls ,him the ,lamb dumb before the shearers4 ,ah1 my friends1 we must come back to ,him1 for all the little that is great and noble in man or woman1 or dumb beast even1 is perfected in ,him2 ,he only is perfectly great1 perfectly noble1 brave1 meek4 ,he who to save us sinful men1 endured the cross1 despising the shame1 till ,he sat down at the right hand of the ,majesty on high1 perfectly brave ,he is1 and perfectly gentle1 and will be so for ever2 for even at ,his second coming1 when ,he shall appear the ,conqueror of hell1 with tens of thousands of angels1 to take vengeance on those who know not ,god1 and destroy the wicked with the breath of ,his mouth1 even then in ,his fiercest anger1 the ,scripture tells us1 ,his anger shall be 8the anger of the ,lamb40 ,almighty vengeance and just anger1 and yet perfect gentleness and love all the while4--,mystery of mysteries6--,the wrath of the ,lamb6 ,may ,god give us all to feel in that day1 not the wrath1 but the love of the ,lamb who was slain for us6 ,,footnotes #ib 8,and when ,he was come to the other side1 into the country of the ,gergesenes1 there met ,him two possessed with devils1 coming out of the tombs1 exceeding fierce1 so that no man might pass by that way4 ,and1 behold1 they cried out1 saying1 ,what have we do with ,thee1 ,jesus1 ,thou ,son of ,god8 ,art ,thou come hither to torment us before the time8 ,and there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding4 ,so the devils besought him1 saying1 ,if ,thou cast us out1 suffer us to go away into the herd of swine4 ,and ,he said unto them1 ,go4 ,and when they were come out1 they went into the herd of swine3 and1 behold1 the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea1 and perished in the waters40 #ahg ,von ,stolberg4