small sin; in fact, some have even exalted the doubts and fears of God's
people into fruits and graces, and evidences of great advancement in
experience. But to doubt the kindness, the faithfulness, and the love of
God, is a very heinous offence. That can be no light sin which makes God
a liar; and yet unbelief does in effect cast foul and slanderous
suspicion upon the veracity of the Holy One of Israel. That can be no
small offence which charges the Creator of heaven and earth with
perjury; and yet, if I mistrust His oath, and will not believe His
promise, sealed with the blood of His own Son, I count the oath of God
to be unworthy of my trust; and so I do, in very deed, accuse the King
of Heaven as false to His covenant and oath. Besides, unbelief of God is
the fountain of innumerable sins. As the black cloud is the source of
many rain-drops, so dark unbelief is the parent of many crimes. It is a
sin which should be condemned by every believer, should be struggled
against, should if possible be subdued, and certainly should be the
object of our deep repentance and abhorrence.
_The One Family._
The universe of God is one: heaven and earth are not so separate as
unbelief has dreamed. As the Lord hath but one family, written in one
register, redeemed with one blood, quickened by one Spirit, so this
whole household abides in one habitation evermore. We who are in the
body abide in the lower room, which is sometimes dark and cold, but
bears sufficient marks that it is a room in God's house; for to the eye
of our faith, it is often lit up with heavenly lustre, and we, even we,
while we are yet here, are by blessed earnests made partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in light. It is the same house, I say, but
ours is the lower room, while our glorified brethren are up there in the
upper story, where the sunlight streams in everlastingly, where no
chilling winds or poisonous breath can ever reach. And, to a great
extent, there is a likeness between the lower room and the upper room.
As on earth we prepare for heaven, so the state of the saints on earth
is heaven foreshadowed. In many respects the condition of the child of
God on earth is a type of his condition in heaven; and what the
character of the saints is above, that should be the character of the
saints below. We may very safely take for our example those glorified
spirits. We need not be afraid that we shall be led astray by imitating
them, by learning their occupations, or by attempting to share their
joys. Surely the things in heaven are patterns of the things on earth,
and as _they_ are before the throne so ought we to be. Nay; so we shall
be in proportion as we live up to our privileges, and receive the
likeness and image of our Lord Jesus Christ.
_The Spirit of Praise._
"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy
name." Wake up my _memory_, and find matter for the song. Tell what God
has done for me in days gone by. Fly back, ye thoughts, to my childhood,
sing of cradle-mercies. Review my youth and its early favors. Sing of
long-suffering grace which followed my wanderings, and bore with my
rebellions. Review before my eyes that gladsome hour when first I knew
the Lord, and tell over again the matchless story of His mercy. Awake up
my _judgment_, and give measure to the music. Come forth my
_understanding_, and weigh His lovingkindness in the balance. See if
thou canst count the small dust of His mercies. See if thou canst
estimate the unsearchable riches which God hath given thee in His
unspeakable gift of Christ Jesus. Recount His eternal love to thee.
Reckon up the treasures of that everlasting covenant which He made on
thy behalf, and which was "ordered in all things and sure." Sing aloud
of that divine wisdom which contrived, of that love which planned, and
of that grace which carried out the scheme of thy redemption. "Bless the
Lord, O my soul!" For doth not all nature around me praise Him? If _I_
were silent I should be an exception to the universe. Doth not the
thunder praise Him as it rolls like drums in the march of the God of
Armies? Do not the mountains praise Him when the woods upon their
summits wave in adoration? Does not the lightning write His name in
letters of fire upon the midnight darkness? Hath not the whole earth a
voice, and shall I, can I, be silent? "Bless the Lord, O my soul."
_Love to Christ._
Have you a friend at court--at heaven's court? Is the Lord Jesus your
friend? Can you say that you love Him, and has He ever revealed himself
in the way of love to you? Oh! to be able to say, "Christ is my friend,"
is one of the sweetest things in the world. The love of Christ casts not
out the love of relatives, but it sanctifies our creature love, and
makes it sweeter far. Earthly love is sweet, but it must pass away; and
what will you do if you have no wealth but the wealth which fadeth, and
no love but the love which dies, when death shall come? Oh, to have the
love of Christ! You can take that across the river of death with you;
you can wear it as your jewel in heaven, and set it as a seal upon your
hand; for His love is "strong as death, and mightier than the grave."
_The First Lesson._
The doorstep to the temple of wisdom is a knowledge of our own
ignorance. He cannot learn aright who has not first been taught that he
knows nothing. It is a good thing for a man to feel that he is only
beginning to learn, and to be willing to submit his heart to the
teachings of God's Spirit, that he may be guided in everything by Him.
The prayer of the quickened soul is, "Teach thou me." We become as
little children when God begins to deal with us.
_Danger of Prosperity._
High places, and God's praise, do seldom agree: a full cup is not
easily carried without spilling: he that stands on a pinnacle needs a
clear head and much grace.
_Idleness._
Some temptations come to the industrious, but _all_ temptations attack
the idle. Idle Christians are not tempted of the devil so much as they
do tempt the devil to tempt them. Idleness sets the door of the heart
ajar, and asks Satan to come in; but if we are occupied from morning
till night, should Satan get in, he must break through the door. Under
sovereign grace, and next to faith, there is no better shield against
temptation than obedience to the precept, that ye be "Not slothful in
business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord."
_Grace._
Grace is always grace, but it never seems so gracious as when we see it
brought to our unworthy selves.
_Obtaining Promises._
God sometimes gives His people fresh promises "by faith," just before
a trial is about to come upon them. It was so with Elijah. God said to
him, "Go to the brook Cherith; behold, I have commanded the ravens to
feed thee there." This was at the beginning of the famine. There he
abode, and God fulfilled the promise, for by faith Elijah had obtained
it. Acting upon faith, still dependent upon God, he abides at Cherith,
and as the result of this faith, God gives him a fresh promise, "Arise,
get thee to Zarephath--I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain
thee." The faith which received the first promise, obtained the honor of
a second. So with us. If we have had a little promise, and up till now
have realized it; if we have lived upon it and made it the stay and
support of our souls, surely God will give us another and a greater one.
And so, from promise to promise speeding our way, we shall find the
promises to be rounds of the ladder which Jacob saw, the top whereof
shall reach to heaven. Doubt and be distrustful about the promise which
you have, and you cannot expect God to increase His revelation to your
soul. Be afraid and unbelieving about that promise which was laid to
your heart yesterday, and you shall not have a new one to-morrow. But
act in simple faith upon what God has already given you, and you shall
go from strength to strength, receiving grace upon grace, and promise
upon promise. The Spirit of God shall whisper into your soul some
promise which shall come home with as much power as though an angel from
heaven had spoken it to you, and you shall "through faith" obtain
promises which before were beyond your reach.
_Sympathy._
Sympathy is especially a _Christian's_ duty. Consider what the
Christian is, and you will say that if every other man were selfish,
_he_ should be disinterested; if there were nowhere else a heart which
had sympathy for the needy, there should be one found in every Christian
breast. The Christian is a "king:" it becometh not a king to be meanly
caring for himself. Was Alexander ever more royal than when, while his
troops were suffering from thirst, he put aside a bowl full of the
precious liquid, which a soldier offered him, and said it was not
fitting for a king to drink while his subjects were thirsty; he had
rather share their sorrow with them? O ye, whom God has made kings and
princes, reign royally over your own selfishness, and act with the
honorable liberality which becomes the seed royal of the universe. You
are sent into the world to be saviours of others; but how shall you be
so if you care only for yourselves? It is yours to be lights; and doth
not a light consume itself while it scatters its rays into the thick
darkness? Is it not your office and privilege to have it said of you, as
of your Master--"He saved others, himself he cannot save?"
"_Endure Hardness._"
Soldier of Christ, thou wilt have to do hard battle. There is no bed of
down for thee; there is no riding to heaven in a chariot: the rough way
must be trodden; mountains must be climbed; rivers must be forded;
dragons must be fought; giants must be slain; difficulties must be
overcome; and great trials must be borne. It is not a smooth road to
heaven; those who have gone but a very few paces therein, have found it
to be rough and rugged. Yet it is pleasant; it is the most delightful
journey in all the world; not because it is easy in itself, it is only
pleasant because of the company; because of the sweet promises on which
we lean; because of our Beloved who walks with us through all the rough
and thorny brakes of this vast wilderness. Christian soldiers, expect
conflict: "Think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to
try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you." As truly as
thou art a child of God, thy Saviour hath left thee for His legacy--"In
the world ye shall have tribulation." Yet remember that this
"tribulation" is the way to "_enter the kingdom_;" therefore "endure
hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."
_Usefulness._
Christ, my Master, _goes about doing good_, and if you would walk with
Him, you must go about upon the same mission.
_The Church and the World._
Christian men ought so to live that it were idle to speak of a
comparison between them and the men of the world. It should not be a
comparison, but a contrast. No scale of degrees should be possible: the
believer should be a direct and manifest contradiction to the
unregenerate. The life of a saint should be altogether above and out of
the same list as the life of a sinner. We should compel our critics not
to confess that moralists are good, and Christians a little better; but
while the world is darkness, we should manifestly be light; and while
the world lieth in the Wicked One, we should most evidently be of God,
and overcome the temptations of that Wicked One. Wide as the poles
asunder, are life and death, light and darkness, purity and sin. There
should be as much difference between the worldling and the Christian, as
between hell and heaven, between destruction and eternal life. As we
hope at last that there shall be a great gulf separating us from the
doom of the impenitent, there should be here a deep and wide gulf
between us and the ungodly. The purity of our character should be such,
that men must take knowledge of us that we are of another and superior
race. If we were what we profess to be, there would be no difficulty in
detecting the Christian from the worldling. But, alas! the Church is so
much adulterated, that we have to abate our glorying, and cannot exalt
our character as we would. O, for the time when "our conversation shall
be in heaven," and the ignoble life of the worldly man shall be rebuked
by our Christ-like character! God grant us more and more to be clearly a
chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people;
that we may show forth the praises of Him who has called us out of
darkness into his marvellous light.
_The Fight of Faith._
Like the Spartans, every Christian is born a warrior. It is his
destiny to be assaulted; it is his duty to attack. Part of his life will
be occupied with defensive warfare. He will have to defend earnestly the
faith once delivered to the saints; he will have to resist the devil; he
will have to stand against all his wiles; and having done all, still to
stand. He will, however, be but a sorry Christian if he acteth only on
the defensive; he must be one who goes against his foes. He must be able
to say with David, "I come against thee in the name of the Lord of
hosts, the God of the armies of Israel whom thou hast defied." He must
wrestle not with flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers.
He must have weapons for his warfare--not carnal--but "mighty through
God to the pulling down of strongholds." He must not be content to live
in the stronghold well-guarded, but he must go forth to attack the
castles of the enemy, and to drive the Canaanite out of the land. But
there are many ways in which the Christian may, to a great degree,
forget his martial character. And, alas! there are not a few who, if
they be Christians at all, certainly know but very little of that daily
warfare to which the Captain of our salvation calleth His disciples.
They have a soft religion; a religion which shuns opposition; a
reed-like religion, which bows before every blast, unlike that cedar of
godliness which standeth aloft in the midst of the storm, and claps its
boughs in the hurricane for very joy of triumph, though the earth be all
in arms abroad. Such men lack the faith which shares the glory. Though
saved, yet their names shall not be found written among the mighty men
who, for our Great Commander's sake, are willing to suffer the loss of
all things, and to go forth without the camp bearing His reproach. O,
let us never be contented with such inglorious ease, but earnestly and
manfully fight the Lord's battles. Is it a little thing for a follower
of Christ to be losing the immortal honor of serving the Lord? What will
not men do to win fame? and shall we, when it lies at our doors, turn
idly aside and cast our glory to the ground? Let us be up and doing, for
it is no light thing to be losing the honor of a faithful servant of
Christ.
_Life's Great Object._
As Christians, we ought ever to be distinguished from the world _in
the great object of our life_. As for worldly men, some of them are
seeking wealth, others of them fame; some seek after comfort, others
after pleasure. Subordinately you may seek after any of these, but your
main and principal motive as a Christian should always be to live for
Christ. To live for glory? Yes, but for His glory. To live for comfort?
Yes, but be all your consolation in Him. To live for pleasure? Yes, but
when you are merry, sing psalms, and make melody in your hearts to the
Lord. To live for wealth? Yes, but to be rich in faith. You may lay up
treasure, but lay it up in heaven, "where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal." You can make
the most common calling become really sacred by dedicating your daily
life wholly to the service of Jesus, taking as your motto, "_For me to
live is Christ_." There is such a thing as living thus a consecrated
life; and if any deny its possibility let them stand self-convicted,
because they obey not that precept: "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink,
or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God."
_Love's Circumference._
The Christian's sympathy should ever be of the widest character,
because he serves a God of infinite love. When the precious stone of
love is thrown by grace into the crystal pool of a renewed heart, it
stirs the transparent life-floods into ever-widening circles of
sympathy: the first ring has no very wide circumference--we love our
household; for he who careth not for his own household is worse than a
heathen man. But mark the next concentric ring--we love the household of
faith: "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we
love the brethren." Look once more, for the ever-widening ring has
reached the very limit of the lake, and included all in its area, for
"supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks are to be
made for all men." A follower of Jesus means a friend of man. A
Christian is a philanthropist by profession, and generous by force of
grace; wide as the reign of sorrow is the stretch of his love, and where
he cannot help he pities still.
_The Way to Heaven._
There is no way to heaven, whatever thy hopes may be, but through
Christ: there is no way to the gates of pearl but through the bleeding
side of Jesus. These are the gates of paradise--these bleeding wounds.
If thou wouldst find thy way to God's bright throne, find first thy way
to Jesus' cross; if thou wouldst know the way to happiness, tread in
that path of misery which Jesus trod. What! attempt another way? Art
thou mad enough to think that thou canst rend the posts, and bars, and
gates of heaven, from their perpetual places, and force thy way by thy
created strength? Or dost thou think to purchase with thy riches and thy
gold a foothold in paradise? Fool! what is thy gold, where streets are
made of it, and where the gates are solid pearl?--where the foundations
are of jasper, and the walls whereof are precious gems? And dost thou
think to get there by thy merits? Ah! by pride fell the angels, and by
thy pride thou fallest. Heaven is not for such as thou art. But dost
thou say, "I will leave my wealth, after I have gone, to charities; I
will build a hospital, or feed the poor?" Then let _men_ pay thee: thou
hast wrought for them, let them pay the debt; let them rear the stony
pillar, and set thine effigy upon the top thereof. If thou hast wrought
for thy country, let thy country pay thee what they owe thee. But
_God_--what does He owe to thee? Thou hast forgotten Him; thou hast
despised His Son; thou hast rejected His gospel. Be thou warrior,
statesman, patriot--let men pay thee; God owes thee nothing; and all
thou canst do, if thou comest not in the _right way through Jesus
Christ_, who lived and died, and is alive forevermore, and hath the keys
of heaven at his girdle, will not bribe Him to admit thee to His palace.
_Religion Exemplified._
I would not give much for your religion unless it can be _seen_. Lamps
do not talk, but they do shine: a lighthouse sounds no drum, it beats no
gong; and yet, far over the waters its friendly spark is visible to the
mariner. So let your actions shine out your religion. Let the main
sermon of your life be illustrated by all your conduct, and it shall not
fail to be illustrious.
_The Right Estimate._
The higher a man is in grace, the lower he will be in his own esteem.
"_Vessels of Mercy._"
God's chosen ones are spoken of as "vessels of mercy." Now we know that
a vessel is _nothing but a receiver_. A "vessel" is not a fountain, but
only a container and holder of that which is poured out into it. Such
are the redeemed of God; they are not fountains by nature, out of whom
there springeth up anything which is good; they are simply receivers. At
one time they are full of themselves, but grace empties them, and then
as empty vessels they are set in the way of God's goodness; God fills
them to the brim with His lovingkindness, and so they are proved to be
the vessels of His mercy. They may as "vessels" afterwards give out to
others, but they can only give out what God has put in them; they may
work out their own salvation with fear and trembling, but they cannot
work it out unless God worketh in them both to will and to do of His
good pleasure. They may run over with gratitude, but it is only because
God has filled them with grace; they may stream forth with holiness, but
it is only because the Lord keeps the supply overflowing. They are
receivers, and receivers only.
_Christian Diligence._
We find in the Scripture that most of the great appearances which were
made to eminent saints were made when they were busy. Moses kept his
father's flock when he saw the burning bush; Joshua is going round about
the city of Jericho when he meets the angel of the Lord; Jacob is in
prayer, and the angel of God appears to him; Gideon is threshing, and
Elisha is ploughing, when the Lord calls them; Matthew is at the receipt
of custom, when he is bidden to follow Jesus; and James and John are
fishing. The Almighty Lover of the souls of men is not wont to manifest
Himself to idle persons. He who is slothful and inactive, cannot expect
to have the sweet company of his Saviour.
"_Comfort ye My People._"
God never gives His children a duty to do without giving them _the
means to do it_; and when He tells us to "comfort" His people, we may be
certain that there are means whereby they may be comforted. Child of
God! art thou at a loss for a topic to comfort the aching heart? Tell of
the ancient things of former days; whisper in the mourner's ear electing
grace, and redeeming mercy, and Divine love. When thou findest a
troubled one, tell him of the covenant, in all things ordered well; tell
him what the Lord hath done in former days, how He cut Rahab, and
wounded the dragon; tell him the wondrous story of God's dealings with
His people; tell him that God, who divided the Red Sea, can make a
highway for His people through the deep waters of affliction--that He
who appeared in the burning bush, which was not consumed, will support
him in the furnace of tribulation; tell him of the marvellous things
which God has wrought for His chosen people: surely there is enough
there to comfort him; tell him that God watcheth the furnace as the
goldsmith the refining-pot. If that does not suffice, tell him of his
present mercies; tell him that he has much left, though much is gone;
tell him there is "now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus;" tell him that now he is accepted in the Beloved; tell him that
he is now adopted, and that his standing is safe; tell him that Jesus is
above, pleading his cause; tell him that though earth's pillars shake,
God is a refuge for us; tell the mourner that the everlasting God
faileth not, neither is weary. But if this is not enough, tell him of
the future; whisper to him that there is a heaven with pearly gates, and
golden streets; tell him that
"A few more rolling suns at most,
Will land him on fair Canaan's coast,"
and therefore he may well bear his sorrows; tell him that Christ is
coming, and that His sign is in the heavens, His advent is near, He will
soon appear to judge the earth with equity, and His people in
righteousness. And if that suffice not, tell him all about that Saviour
who lived and died; take him to Calvary; picture to him the bleeding
hands, and side, and feet; tell him of the thorn-crowned King of grief;
tell him of the mighty Monarch of woe and blood, who wore the scarlet of
mockery which was yet the purple of the empire of grief; tell him that
He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree. Thus, by God's
blessing, thou shalt accomplish thy mission, and "comfort" one of His
people. "Comfort ye My people, saith your God."
_Self._
Faith will never be weak if _self_ be weak, but when self is strong,
faith cannot be strong; for "self" is very much like what the gardener
calls the "sucker," at the bottom of the tree, which never bears fruit,
but only draws away the nourishment from the tree itself. Now, self is
that sucker which diverts the nourishment from faith, and you must cut
it up, or else your faith will always be "little faith," and you will
have difficulty in maintaining any comfort in your soul.
_Strength through Joy._
It is when the mind is happy that it can be laborious. "The joy of the
Lord is your strength."
_The Refiner's Fire._
There is not an ingot of silver in heaven's treasury, which has not been
in the furnace on earth, and been purified seven times; there is not a
gem which the Divine Jeweller has not exposed to every sort of test;
there is not an atom of gold in the Redeemer's crown which has not been
molten among the hottest coals, so as to rid it of its alloy. It is
universal to every child of God. If you are a servant of the Lord, you
must be tried "as gold is tried."
_Heart-Learning._
We can learn nothing of the gospel except by feeling its truths. There
are some sciences that may be learned by the head, but the science of
Christ crucified can only be learned by the heart.
_The Hope of Heaven._