E-text prepared by Al Haines
THE VILLAGE PULPIT
A Complete Course of 66 Short Sermons, or Full
Sermon Outlines for Each Sunday, and Some
Chief Holy Days of the Christian Year.
by the
REV. S. BARING-GOULD M.A.,
Author of
"A First Series of Village Preaching for a Year."
"A Second Series of Village Preaching for a Year."
"Village Preaching for Saints' Days."
"The Preacher's Pocket."
"The Mystery of Suffering."
"Sermons to Children."
"Sermons on the Seven Last Words." &c.
VOL. II.
TRINITY TO ADVENT.
Second Edition.
London:
Skeffington & Son, 163, Piccadilly.
1886.
CONTENTS.
SERMON XXXVII.
_CHRISTIAN UNITY._
(Trinity Sunday.)
S. Matt. xxviii. 19.
"In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
SERMON XXXVIII.
_GREAT SURPRISES._
(1st Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Luke xv. 23.
"In hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments."
SERMON XXXIX.
_THE HOLY COMMUNION._
(2nd Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Luke xiv. 16.
"A certain man made a great supper."
SERMON XL.
_RECEIVING AND SELECTING._
(3rd Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Luke xv. 2.
"This Man receiveth sinners."
SERMON XLI.
_RASH DECISIONS._
(4th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Luke vi. 37.
"Judge not--condemn not--forgive."
SERMON XLII.
_THE SECRET OF SUCCESS._
(5th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Luke v. 5.
"We have taken nothing; nevertheless, at Thy word I will let
down the net."
SERMON XLIII.
_PERSISTENCY IN WRONG DOING._
(6th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Matt. v. 25.
"Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the
way with him."
SERMON XLIV.
_THE MEASURE OF SIN._
(7th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Mark viii. 2.
"I have compassion on the multitude."
SERMON XLV.
_CASTING BLAME._
(8th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Matt. vii. 15.
"Inwardly they are ravening wolves."
SERMON XLVI.
_PETTY DISHONESTY._
(9th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Luke xvi. 3, 4.
"What shall I do?--I am resolved what to do."
SERMON XLVII.
_THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN._
(10th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Luke xix. 42.
"If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the
things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from
thine eyes."
SERMON XLVIII.
_SELF-INSPECTION._
(11th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Luke xviii. 13.
"The publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as
his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God, be
merciful to me, a sinner."
SERMON XLIX.
_PERFECTION TO BE SOUGHT._
(12th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Mark vii. 37.
"He hath done all things well."
SERMON L.
_ZEAL._
(13th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Luke x. 25
"What shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
SERMON LI.
_GRATITUDE._
(14th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Luke xvii. 18.
"There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save
this stranger."
SERMON LII.
_TRUST IN GOD._
(15th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Matt. vi. 31.
"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness."
SERMON LIII.
_THE CONTEMPLATION OF DEATH._
(16th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Luke vii. 12.
"Behold, there was a dead man carried out."
SERMON LIV.
_HUMILITY._
(17th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Luke xiv. 2.
"Whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted."
SERMON LV.
_PROFESSION AND PRACTICE._
(18th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Matt. xxii. 42.
"What think ye of Christ?"
SERMON LVI.
_EVIL THOUGHTS._
(19th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Matt. ix. 4.
"Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?"
SERMON LVII.
_THE HEAVENLY BANQUET._
(20th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Matt. xxii. 4.
"Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings
are killed, and all things are ready; come unto the marriage."
SERMON LVIII.
_EXAMPLE._
(21st Sunday after Trinity.)
S. John iv. 13.
"And himself believed, and his whole house."
SERMON LIX.
_THE PREACHER AND HIS HEARERS._
(22nd Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Matt. xviii. 23.
"The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a certain king, which
would take account of his servants."
SERMON LX.
_THE IMAGE OF SELF._
(23rd Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Matt. xxii. 20.
"Whose is this image?"
SERMON LXI.
DREAD OF RIDICULE.
(24th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Matt. ix. 24.
"And they laughed Him to scorn."
SERMON LXII.
_WHAT LASTS, AND WHAT PASSES AWAY._
(25th Sunday after Trinity.)
S. Matt. xxiv. 35.
"Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall not
pass away."
SERMON LXIII.
_THANKFULNESS TO GOD._
(Harvest.)
S. Matt. xxii. 21.
"Render--unto God, the things that are God's."
SERMON LXIV.
_THE FORMATION OF HABITS._
(SCHOOL SERMON.)
Proverbs xxii. 6.
"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old
he will not depart from it."
SERMON LXV.
_RELIGIOUS ZEAL._
(Dedication Festival.)
Psalm lxix. 9.
"The zeal of Thine house hath eaten me up."
SERMON LXVI.
_THE MEETING HEREAFTER._
(Funeral Sermon.)
Joshua iii. 17.
"And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord
stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan,
and all the Israelites
passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed
clean over Jordan."
XXXVII.
_CHRISTIAN UNITY._
Trinity Sunday.
S. Matt. xxviii. 19.
"In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."
INTRODUCTION.--An ancient writer informs us that when the Egyptians named
their Greatest God who was over all, they cried thrice, "Darkness!
Darkness! Darkness!" And when we come to speak of the great mystery of
the Holy Trinity, the utmost we can do is to repeat their cry, and say,
"Darkness! Darkness! Darkness! In the name of the Father--Darkness,
and of the Son--Darkness; and of the Holy Ghost--Darkness!" for however
much the mind may strive to penetrate this mystery, it can never attain
to its solution. Just as the eye, looking at the sun, sees the
Overpowering light as a dark ball, being dazzled by its excessive glory,
so the eye of the mind perceives only darkness, when looking into the
infinite splendour of God in Three Persons.
We may, indeed, see sundry likenesses here on earth, which assist us in
believing the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, but they are helps, and helps
only; and not explanations. Thus, the sun may shine into a glass, and
the glass reflect in clear water, and we see three suns, a sun in the
heaven, a sun in the glass, and a sun in the water, which proceeds from
both;--and this assists us to understand how the Son of God is of the
Father, and the Holy Ghost is of the Father, and of the Son, and how that
each is God, and yet that there are not three Gods, but one God. But,
after all, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a matter of Faith, and not
of Reason. We must believe, though we cannot understand.
SUBJECT.--In this Holy Trinity of Persons there is perfect unity
existing, an unity of substance, an unity of Godhead, an unity of
perfection, an unity of love.
And on earth, among men, there should be unity. "Be ye perfect," said
our Lord, "even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect." The
Father is love, the Son is love, and the Holy Ghost is the love of the
Father and of the Son, and this love requires the same of us--even love,
or unity.
This is what God wills on earth, our living unity, even as it exists in
Heaven between the Three Persons of the glorious Trinity.
But there are three great hindrances to Christian Unity.
I. _Selfishness_. Each man seeks his own interest, not the general
interest. Let his own selfish interests be touched, and all concord is
at an end. Look at two little dogs playing together, they put their paws
on each other's shoulders, and dance round each other, and roll each
other over, and are full of affectionate play. Throw them a bone, and it
is a true bone of contention at once. All their affection is dead, and
they are fighting each other for the bone. It is the same with men, they
are perfectly friendly with each other so long as no little bone comes in
the way--some little money matter--and then there is no end to the
snarling and snapping and growling. How often it is that the dearest
friends fall out about money! This has been so often noticed that it has
become a common saying, "Have no money dealings with your friend." Even
near relations become bitter, and are estranged, over some provision in a
will. All this arises from self-seeking. Each cares for himself, and
not for others.
Now look at the Holy Trinity. The Three Persons share in equal Power,
Majesty, and Eternity. The Father commits all power unto the Son, the
Son gives all honour to the Father, the Son gives over to the Holy Ghost
the government of His Church. The Father shares with the Son and the
Holy Ghost the Divine nature, wisdom, and glory. All three are equally
eternal, equally almighty, equally perfect.
II. _Pride_. Each man seeks to place himself before another. 'I am as
good as another, or I am above so-and-so,' is a common thought. No man
is content with what he is, he desires to thrust himself ahead of
another. The whole of society is like a cabbage-stalk covered with
caterpillars, and none is satisfied till it has crawled to the top. The
caterpillar at the bottom bites the one above him, gets over his back,
and then exults, 'There is a caterpillar nearer the bottom of the
cabbage-stalk than I,' and so all the way up the stalk, those below
scrambling over those above, and they at the top--at the proud elevation
and unique honour of being at the head of a cabbage-stalk--tumble off,
and are buried in the soil.
Was there any such pride of place in the angel host? Yes--once. The
Devil wanted to be at the top, and he fell. The other angels are content
where they are, and they remain angels. If they began pushing ahead of
each other, cherubim wanting to be above seraphim, and angels envious of
archangels, what a falling there would be from heaven! Falling stars
indeed! All turning into devils. Look at the Blessed Trinity. God the
Son says, "My Father is greater than I." He places Himself in the lowest
rank. He calls Himself "The Son of Man"; there is no boasting, "I am the
Son of God."
III. _Obstinacy_. That is the third source of discord. Each man
follows his own will, his dogged, headlong will, regardless of the wishes
and advice of others.
In the Book of Judges we read that Samson caught three hundred foxes and
tied them together by their tails, and put burning brands between them,
where their tails were tied. What was the consequence? The wretched
creatures dashed in opposite directions, each wanted to get away from the
brand that scorched his tail, and so each wanted to go exactly in a
different direction from the fox to which he was tied, and so the whole
lot went dashing in a mad, disorderly manner among the standing corn, and
destroyed a whole harvest.
That is something like a great number of people I know. They will tear
off in their own direction, and drag others after them who wish to go in
another direction, and the fire of discord is between them.
Look at the Blessed Trinity. Christ said, "I came not to do mine own
will, but the will of Him that sent me."
"Let us make man," was said at the Creation. God the Father did not say
"I will make man," nor God the Son "I will make man in My image," nor God
the Holy Ghost "I will make man, and breathe My spirit into him," but all
united in one work, and that work was very good.
CONCLUSION.--When Julian the Apostate was Emperor, three Christian
soldiers were brought before him. Their names were Emmanuel, Sabael, and
Ismael. He ordered them to be examined apart, lest they should encourage
one another in their faith and endurance under torture. Emmanuel, seeing
his object, said, "Tyrant! we Three are one in one Trinity."
Now, listen to our Lord's prayer, "I pray not for these alone, but for
those also which shall believe on Me through their word, that they all
may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee."
XXXVIII.
_GREAT SURPRISES._
1st Sunday after Trinity.
S. Luke xvi. 23.
"In hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments."
INTRODUCTION.--What a great surprise for Dives! So utterly unawaited!
Dives, who had lived so comfortably, clothed in purple and fine linen,
and had had such a good coat, and such excellent dinners, and such a
cellar of wine, and such good friends at his dinners, goes to sleep one
night after a banquet, and wakes up, and lo!--he is in hell. Surprise
number one.
He feels the flames, he perceives himself surrounded by demons, his
tongue is burning with thirst, and he lifts up his eyes and
sees!--surprise number two!--Lazarus, the poor dirty wretch who had
lain full of sores at his door. He did not know that the fellow was
dead. And--surprise number three!--this wretched fellow is in Paradise.
There is another story of a great surprise in the Gospels. That is of
the man who laid up for himself great possessions, and said to himself,
"Soul! thou hast much goods laid up for many years,--I will pull down
my barns and build greater--take thy ease, eat, drink and be merry."
That night he died, and when his soul came to realise the fact that he
had nothing left of all he had laid by--that was a great surprise, and
a very unpleasant one.
SUBJECT.--Let us take care that we do not have some such a great and
unpleasant surprise ourselves. "Take heed," says our Lord, "to
yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with
surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day
come upon you unawares."
I. Now I am going to tell you a story of another great surprise. The
king of Syria was engaged in war with the king of Israel, and one of
the servants of the king of Syria told him that Elisha the Prophet saw
and knew all that was planned by him against the king of Israel, and
that he told the king of Israel, so that the Syrians were never able to
catch him at a disadvantage, and defeat him. Then the king of Syria
enquired where this prophet lived, and was told that he was then at
Dothan.
"Therefore sent he thither horses and chariots, and a great host: and
they came by night and compassed the city about." Then Elisha prayed
to God to deceive and blind the eyes of the soldiers, and he went out
of the gates of Dothan to them, and said, "This is not the way, neither
is this the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you
seek." So he went before, and led them along the road to Samaria, the
capital of the king of Israel. Then he brought them all in through the
gates, and they followed, as docile as lambs, and when they were in the
market-place, he said, "Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may
see." And the Lord opened their eyes, and lo! they were in the
market-place in the midst of Samaria, and all around them were the
soldiers of their enemy, the king of Israel, with swords drawn, and in
the windows were others armed with stones and javelins and molten lead
to hurl down on them. Here was an unpleasant surprise!
The king of Israel and all his soldiers were eager to be at them and
cut them to pieces, but Elisha was too good-hearted for that, he
persuaded the king to be generous, to give them their breakfast and
send them home. So "He prepared great provisions for them; and when
they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their
master." They were lucky to be let off so easily, and they owed their
lives to there being a Saint of God there to intercede for them. But
you may be assured to their dying day they carried with them a lively
recollection of the very unpleasant surprise it was to them when their
eyes were opened, and they found themselves in the midst of their
enemies, when they fondly supposed themselves in the humble and
undefended little town of Dothan.
II. Now for you!--Whither are you going? Whither are you being led?
Are you at all aware? I very much fear that a great many of you are as
blind and as ignorant of the road you are treading as were those
soldiers of the king of Syria. You are going on headlong, chattering
with one another, laughing and singing, in open order, very little
discipline, and perfectly confident that you will come to no harm.
Take care! Some day your eyes will be opened, and you will experience
an unpleasant surprise. Then, when your eyes are opened you will see
yourselves surrounded by the enemies of your souls, ready to drag you
to destruction, and no help near. Very unexpected was this case of the
Syrians, that the prophet prayed for them, and that instead of being
put to death they were fed and sent away in peace. That is not what
you must expect. Dives, when his eyes were opened, cried to Abraham,
but got no help, no, not even a drop of water to cool his tongue.
III. No man need go blindly to destruction, for God has given him
guidance, and power of seeing whither he goes. The prophet led these
soldiers of Syria into the midst of their enemies, but God's good
Spirit, which is our guide, will lead us into the Land of Righteousness
if we will listen to His voice, and go where he points the way.
We have no right to plead blindness and ignorance, if hereafter we find
that we have gone astray, and our eyes are opened when we are in the
midst of our enemies, for blindness can not come upon us unless we
wilfully shut our eyes to the light, and with the teaching of Christ
and His Church ever sounding in our ears, we have no right to plead
ignorance.
Moreover, God is so merciful, that He never allows any to go to
destruction unwarned of their danger. As He sent His angel to stand in
the way of Balaam, so will He send some check, and throw some obstacle
in the road you are treading, to bring you to your senses in time, and
will not allow you to perish, unless you wilfully and deliberately
persist in the road of evil, knowing the consequences, and knowing
whither you are going.
CONCLUSION.--Lastly. It was a great surprise to Lazarus when he found
himself in Paradise. He had no doubt hoped and prayed to be admitted
there, but when he found himself there, he was amazed to see how far
its happiness and its peace surpassed his expectations. So with those
of us who are found meet to enter Heaven. However great our
anticipations, they will be surpassed. Eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, to conceive those
good things which God hath prepared for those who love Him.
May He bring us all to that glad surprise.
XXXIX.
_THE HOLY COMMUNION._
2nd Sunday after Trinity.
S. Luke xiv. 16.
"A certain man made a great supper."
INTRODUCTION.--When the fulness of time was come, God the Eternal
Father said: "In burnt-offerings and sacrifices for sin, I have no
pleasure." Then said the Son, "Lo, I come." He came that He might
take away the valueless sacrifice, and establish the one full and
perfect propitiation for the sins of the world. And indeed it was
time. All creation was groaning and travailing in pain, and waiting
for redemption, then said He--"Lo, I come." The souls of the faithful
were in Hades, prophets, patriarchs, and kings, desirous to see His
Day, prisoners of Hope, desirous to be released by His Blood of the
Covenant,--then said He--"Lo, I come."
Men wandered in darkness, desiring light, the whole head was sick, and
the whole heart faint, and in their error, darkly, and in their
sickness, faintly, they sought the Lord, if haply they might feel after
Him; then said He--"Lo, I come."
They knew not the way of God how they might walk, and they needed a
guide; then said He--"Lo, I come."
They were sunk in sin, and found that the old bloody sacrifices and
burnt offerings could not take away guilt, they needed a more perfect
sacrifice; then said He--"Lo, I come." They knew not what the nature
of God was, and they formed to themselves gods, in the likeness of men.
How should they know without a teacher? Then said He--"Lo, I come."
Nor is this all. At this day, still His answer is, promptly, when He
is needed--"Lo, I come."
Does any father desire his dear little one to be taken into the arms of
Christ and blessed, still His answer is--"Lo, I come."
Does any man need direction, guidance, help in the way of life? He
says, "Lo, I come; I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
Does any desire sustaining food by the way? He says--"Lo, I come, and
the Bread I give is My flesh, which I give for the life of the world."
Is any burdened with the weight of sin, and desires pardon and
reconciliation, He says--"Lo, I come, though thy sins be as scarlet,
they shall be made as white as wool."
Is any in sorrow, and heart sore? He says, "Lo, I come to bind up the
broken-hearted."
Is any dying?--He is still ready with His answer, "Lo, I come, when
thou goest through the waters I am with thee."
You see how striking is the readiness of Our Blessed Lord. Now look at
to-day's Gospel, and see how this is met by man. Christ is represented
as having made a great supper, the Holy Eucharist, and to that he
invites all Christians, and He sends forth His messengers to bid them
come, then they all with one consent begin to make excuse. The
messengers go to the man who has bought oxen, and invite him to the
supper of his lord, and his answer is, "I pray thee, have me excused."
They go to a man who has bought a farm, and his answer is, "I pray
thee, have me excused." They go to a man who has married a wife, and
his answer is, "I cannot come."
"Lo, I come!" says Christ. "I cannot come," says man. "Lo, I come to
man," says Christ. "I cannot come to Christ," says man.
I. It was the rule among the early Christians to communicate every
Lord's Day. The rule of the Church, as laid down in the service-books,
then ordered that all those who were open and scandalous livers, all
those who had committed some deadly sin, and had not been reconciled to
God, should leave church before the Consecration, after the reading of
the Gospel. Now suppose some good old bishop of that day were to rise
from the dead, and come into this church, what would he see?--Directly
the sermon is over,--a rush of almost all in the church, men, women,
and children, running out of the door, and only three or four, or at
most a dozen, remaining to partake of the Lord's Body. That is what he
would see. Now, what would he say?--He would lift up his hands in
horror, and say, "What is this? All these notorious sinners! All
these open profligates! All these burdened with mortal sin, cutting
them off from the grace of God! Take me back to my grave, I do not
want to see any more of such horrible days."
But if I happened to be present, I would say to him. "You are jumping
to conclusions too rashly. Times are altered. It is not the criminals
and profligates who go out of church before the Consecration of the
Blessed Sacrament, and are unworthy to eat of the Lord's Body, it is
those who cannot make up their minds to do exactly what the Lord
commanded; it is those who are half-hearted, who wish to serve God, but
do not want to serve Him very much." Then, I doubt not, the old bishop
would turn upon me with a wrathful face, and say, "Let me go back to my
grave! This is worse! A thousand times worse! The whole Christian
world has grown cold of heart, and dead of faith, if all with one
consent begin to make excuse, and say, 'I cannot come.' I had rather
they were either hot or cold, but because they are neither hot nor
cold--away! I cannot bear to look at their faces! Let me go back to
my grave."
III. I know what is passing in your minds as well as if you had got
glass skulls. And this is what I see that not a few of you are
thinking. "Ha! there is the Parson at it again! always hammering away
at Communion. Can he not leave us alone? Let him talk to us of other
matters; let him preach to us some real stinging gospel truth, and make
us wince. Anything but this eternal preaching about coming to
Communion." Now I will tell you why I preach about this, and hammer,
hammer, at it. Because it is good stinging gospel truth, and the
grumbling that is going on is because your consciences really are
wincing at what I say.
Listen:--other folks talked like you in olden times. When the children
of Israel came out of Egypt, God in mercy sent them Bread from Heaven,
the manna, to feed them on their way through the wilderness. What said
the people in return for the blessing? Were they very grateful? Were
they very eager to gather up the Angels' food? By no means, they sat
grumbling in their tents and said, "Our soul is dried away; there is
nothing beside this manna before our eyes." Put into modern language
that is, "Our souls have dried up for want of preaching of free
justification, and no good at all in keeping the law; we don't want any
of your Sacramental teaching, no Communion for us, we can do very well
without that, our soul abhorreth this light food, as for this Holy
Communion, there is nothing but that preached to us, year in, year out."
Well! If this Sacramental teaching be not God's own blessed Gospel,
there is no meaning in words. Listen to this! I never said anything
so strong, and this is what Christ Himself spake:--"I am the Bread of
Life. Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. I
am the living bread which came down from heaven, if any man eat of this
bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is My
flesh, which I give for the life of the world." "Verily, verily, I say
unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His
blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My
blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For
My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed."
Now--mark you. When Jesus said this, many of His disciples said, "This
is a hard saying"--and, from that time they went back, and walked no
more with Him. It is so still, it will be so always. Just as many of
the old Israelites loathed the manna and said, "Our souls are dried
away; there is nothing but this manna before our eyes," so there always
will be faithless disciples who when they hear the invitation to
partake of the Body of Christ, the true Manna, will say, "This is a
hard saying," and will thenceforth no more walk with Him.
XL.
_RECEIVING AND REJECTING._
3rd Sunday after Trinity.
S. Luke, xv. 2.
"This Man receiveth sinners."
INTRODUCTION.--In to-day's Gospel our Lord represents Himself as a Good
Shepherd seeking His lost sheep, going out into the wilderness after
them, to bring them back into the fold.
The fold is that place where He keeps His flock shut behind the hurdles
of the Ten Commandments. Every now and then a sheep leaps one of these
hurdles, or pushes his way between them, and runs away into forbidden
pastures. Then the Good Shepherd goes after the erring sheep, and
brings it back. "And when he cometh home, he calleth together his
friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have
found my sheep which was lost."
SUBJECT.--Christ is not always to be regarded as the Saviour receiving
sinners. The time will come when He will be the Judge, rejecting them.
He is a shepherd now, bringing back the straying sheep, and replacing
them in the fold, but one day He will do just the contrary, He will go
to His fold, and pick out the incorrigibly bad sheep, and cast them out.
I. We will consider Him now as the Good Shepherd. What is His purpose
in bringing back the straying sheep? That they may remain within
bounds for the future. Christ has come to save sinners, that is to
say, He brings them to repentance, and pardons their transgressions, in
order that, for the future, they may walk in newness of life, and not
commit the sins of which they were guilty before. Thus if He brings
back one who has been a liar, it is to truth that he returns, and
Christ expects him to speak the truth ever after. If He brings back a
drunkard, it is to temperance, and He expects him to be sober for the
future. If He brings back one who has sinned through impurity, it is
to chastity and modesty. This is what S. Paul means when he says, "Put
off concerning the former conversation, the old man, which is corrupt
according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your
mind. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his
neighbour. Let him that stole steal no more, let no corrupt
conversation proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the
use of edifying. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And
be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another."
II. We will consider Christ as the Judge. The time will come when He
will separate the bad from the good, when He will go over His fold, and
pick out all those diseased sheep which are good for nothing, and which
taint and infect the others, and will cast them outside.
That is to say, the time will come, when Christ will no more call
sinners to Him, and bring them to His Church, but will examine those
who are in His Church, and unless they have mended their ways, unless
they have become better for being there, He will throw them out, and
have nothing further to do with them.
When Joshua was leading the people of God into the Promised Land, God
said to Joshua, "Up! Sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves
against to-morrow."
In what did this sanctification consist? "Joshua rose early in the
morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was
taken: and he brought the family of Judah; and took the family of the
Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and
Zabdi was taken: and he brought his household man by man; and Achan,
the son of Carmi was taken." Then Joshua learned how this man had
sinned and incurred the anger of God, and he and all Israel carried him
and his family outside the camp unto the valley of Achor, "and all
Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they
had stoned them with stones." That was the sanctification of
Israel,--the putting away the black sheep out of the flock.
When Jesus sat with His Twelve in the supper chamber, at the Last
Supper, Judas rose and went out, and when he was gone forth, Jesus
said, "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him."
A little while before, while Judas was in the room, we are told, "Jesus
was troubled in spirit." But the moment the evil one among the
Apostles was cast forth, the glorification of the Son of Man began.
So it is now, and so will it be hereafter.
Now, as long as there is evil in the Church, as long as there are
sinners who will not amend, as long as there are tares growing up with
the wheat,--so long "Jesus is troubled in spirit." But when the great
Day comes, when our true Joshua will lead the people of God into the
Promised Land, then He will sanctify His people by casting out from
among them the Achans; then from the company of His Elect the Judases
will be banished, and the Son of Man will be glorified indeed.
CONCLUSION.--Therefore, my Brethren, be careful to amend. You may have
been strayed sheep who have been mercifully brought back to the fold,
if so, amend your ways, and grow in holiness and in spiritual health;
or in the Last Day you will be thrust forth as incurable, and the
Children of God will be sanctified, whilst you are buried in the valley
of Achor.
XLI.
_RASH DECISIONS._
4th Sunday after Trinity.
S. Luke vi. 37.
"Judge not--condemn not--forgive."
INTRODUCTION.--Our Lord here condemns all rash judgments. We know not
the motives of other men's actions, and therefore have no right to pass
a sweeping condemnation upon them. From our ignorance, we ought to be
cautious and merciful in our judgments, and from our own weakness, we
should be forgiving to those who have trespassed against us.
Rash judgments arise from pride. It is because we are puffed up with a
high opinion of our own selves, our own goodness, the soundness of our
judgment, the sharpness of our perception, that we are so prompt to
pass judgment on others.
SUBJECT.--This same Pride urges us to something else, Persistency in
maintaining that on which we have determined, even after we know it is
unwise. It is of this which I am going to speak to-day. This fault is
so closely akin to rash judgment of others, that I may well address you
on the subject upon a Sunday when our Lord warns against the other.
I. Many a man, out of pride, sticks to what he says after he knows
that it is wrong. He will not admit that he is wrong, or he is moved
by a false sense of what is due to himself to hold to his word, or to
his opinion, when his conscience tells him that he is in error. You
must have met with those stubborn persons who are not to be moved by
any argument, not to be convinced by any proof, that they are wrong.
They have made up their minds once for all, and are no longer open to
reverse their decision.
Let us look to Scripture, and see if we have any examples of such. I
find two; and one of these is in a man of whom we might have hoped
better things--King David.
I. When David came to the kingdom, he was very anxious to show
kindness to any son of Jonathan whom he might find; and he heard of
Mephibosheth, who was lame in both his feet, and at once made over to
him all the landed property that had belonged to King Saul, his
grandfather. After seven years, Absalom, David's son, conspired
against his father, and David was obliged to fly from Jerusalem, with a
few friends. As David was escaping, there came to him Ziba, a servant
of Mephibosheth, with a couple of asses saddled, and upon them two
hundred loaves of bread, and a hundred bunches of raisins, and an
hundred of summer fruits, and a skin of wine. Then David asked Ziba
what these were for, and Ziba answered that he had brought them to the
king as a present, thinking he might need them in his flight. And the
king asked after Mephibosheth; then Ziba said, "O! he is at home in
Jerusalem, he said in my hearing, A good time is coming to me. To-day
shall the house of Israel restore me the kingdom of my father." Now
all this was a wicked lie. Mephibosheth had sent the present, and Ziba
had promised to tell David why his master could not come with him,
because he was crippled in both his feet, and could not get about. As
for any idea of recovering the throne of Saul, it had not once entered
his head. Now when David heard the slander of Ziba, he was very angry
with Mephibosheth, and at once he judged him, and condemned him,
without waiting to hear more, and said to Ziba, "Behold, I will give
thee all that belonged to Mephibosheth, if ever I get back to Jerusalem
and recover my power."
Not long after there was a great battle, and Absalom was slain, and the
enemies of David put to flight. Then David returned over Jordan from
the wilderness where he had taken refuge, and Mephibosheth met him.
This good man, full of love for David, "had neither dressed his feet,
nor trimmed his beard, nor washed his clothes," all the time of David's
absence, to shew his great grief. David at once reproached him for his
disloyalty, and then only he heard how great a lie Ziba had told. Then
David answered, "Why speakest thou any more of thy matters? I have
said, Thou and Ziba divide the land." Mark the wicked injustice. The
lying, slanderous servant is rewarded with half the property of poor
Mephibosheth,--why?--because David had promised him the whole when
misinformed. David knows that Ziba has acted falsely, yet, because he
had said to him that he should be given the land of his master, he
keeps his word to him, though he knows he is doing an injustice to
Mephibosheth.
There you have a pretty example of an obstinate man sticking to what he
has said, after he is convinced that he has been misled, and doing a
great wrong rather than acknowledge that he had judged rashly, and
condemned on no good grounds.
II. I can give you another example. King Herod was pleased with the
dancing of the daughter of Herodias one evening at a supper, and he
swore to her, when he was half tipsy, that he would give her what she
liked in reward for her display. Then she asked him to cut off the
head of S. John the Baptist, and give it her in a dish. Now, as soon
as she asked this, the king was sorry, for he knew that S. John was a
good man, and he knew also that he had no right to have a man murdered
in prison to please the whim of a wicked woman; however, because he had
passed his word, he was too proud and cowardly to go back from it, and
refuse her what she had no right to ask. Then he sent an executioner,
and he cut off the head of the saint, and put it in a dish, and it was
brought thus to the girl, and she carried it to her mother.
III. A man is right to stick to his word, if his word be right. He is
right to stick to his promise, if he have promised that over which he
has a just right. He is right to stick to his opinion if his opinion
be founded on good grounds, and if he have heard nothing that ought to
cause him to alter it.
But--no man has any right to stick to his opinion simply because it is
his opinion. He has no right to hold a promise which he had no right
to make. He has no right to adhere to a harsh judgment simply because
he has formed that judgment.
When our Lord bids us not judge, He bids us be very cautious in forming
a decided opinion, and in sticking to it through thick and thin. We
know so little here, and so imperfectly, that our opinions must be
formed on uncertain grounds, and therefore we have no right to be
tenacious about them. Yet many persons are as touchy about their
opinions as though it were a sacrilege to dispute them. Some of the
greatest injustices have been done through obstinacy, in clinging to
opinions that have become untenable.
CONCLUSION.--Remember then the lessons taught you by our Lord in this
day's Gospel, and also by the conduct of David. Be very cautious of
forming a judgment, and when you have formed one, do not allow Pride to
stand in the way of confessing your fault, and changing your opinion,
when you are given reasonable grounds for so doing.
XLII.
_THE SECRET OF SUCCESS._
5th Sunday after Trinity
S. Luke v. 5.
"We have taken nothing; nevertheless at Thy word, I will let down the
net."
INTRODUCTION.--S. Peter and the other Apostles had been fishing all
night, and had met with no success at all, then Jesus entered into the
boat of Simon, and bade him launch out and let down his net. S. Peter
did not hesitate. He had met with no success when fishing in the
night, nevertheless now, at the word of Christ, he fishes again, and
this time the net encloses a great multitude, so that the net breaks.
No doubt our Lord desired to show those who were to become fishers of
men that there were two ways of doing a thing, and that one way would
be successful and the other would not.
If they were going to become fishers of men, they must try to catch
them by carrying Christ, _i.e._ a Christlike spirit, with them, and the
spirit of Christ is love and gentleness. If they were to be successful
in winning souls, they must have a loving zeal, and that would gain
more than hard work without love.
SUBJECT.--We are all of us, in our several callings, fishers of souls.
Of course, especially are the clergy fishers, but not they only, every
man who loves God must seek to win souls for God, every man who is in
the net of the Church must seek to draw others into the same net. If
the fisher is to be successful, he must fish in the spirit of Christ,
that is, actuated by love, and must deal gently with the souls he
desires to gain.
I. I say, we are all fishers. Those of us who are parents desire to
draw to Christ the souls of our children, those who are masters, the
souls of their servants. The husband seeks to win the wife, and the
believing wife the husband. "What knowest thou, O wife," says S. Paul,
"whether thou shalt save thy husband? or how knowest thou, O man,
whether thou shalt save thy wife?"
The servant seeks to win the fellow-servant, the labourer in the field
has the welfare of his fellow-labourer at heart, and seeks to draw him
to God. It was Cain who said, "Am I my brother's keeper?" And the
same isolating, selfish spirit is in those who take no interest in
those they associate with, and do not seek their good.
I was much struck last spring with something a gentleman said to me,
who had been a good deal in America; he was much surprised and struck
with the interest felt in England by the rich for the poor, by the
master and mistress for their servants, by the landowner for his
tenants, and he said to me, "This seems to me the most marvellous thing
I have seen in England. With us a master cares not one snap of the
fingers what becomes of the man he employs, he no more thinks of what
becomes of him than he does of a dollar that passes through his hands.
He sees that he does his work, and if the man dies, the master gets
another in his place to-morrow, and asks nothing about the man who has
disappeared."
Well! I thank God we are not come to that yet, however advanced we may
be in our independent ways; and it is not right and Christian that we
should.
II. Now we come to the way in which we are to try to draw other souls
to Christ, the souls of our children, of our servants, of our
companions, of our fellow-workers. The first principle of success is
gentleness.
In the 4th chapter of the 2nd book of Kings we have this story. There
was a Shunammite woman who had an only son. She was a good
kind-hearted woman, who had shown much hospitality to the prophet
Elijah [Transcriber's note: Elisha?]. One day the little boy ran out
into the harvest field, when the sun was hot, and he had a sunstroke,
and was very ill. "He said unto his father, My head, my head. And he
said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him and
brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then he
died. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and
shut the door upon him, and went out." Then she ordered one of the
servants to saddle an ass, and drive her to the prophet; and when she
found him, she told him the piteous story, and how the poor little
fellow whom she loved so dearly, and who was such a darling of his
father, and such a pet of the old Elisha when he paid them his visits,
was lying white and dead upstairs on the bed.
Then Elisha was sorely troubled, and he gave his staff to his servant,
Gehazi, and made him run as fast as he could to the house of the
Shunammite. "Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and
go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute
thee, answer him not again; and lay my staff upon the face of the
child." Gehazi obeyed, but it was of no use. "He laid the staff upon
the face of the child: but there was neither voice, nor hearing." Then
Elisha came himself, and he shut the door, and laid himself beside the
little body, and put his lips to the lips of the child, and his warm
loving heart against the little dead heart, and took the chill hands in
his. Then the spirit of the child came back into him again, and he sat
up, and Elisha delivered him alive to his mother.
Now this story contains some lesson for us. And this is the short
comment on the miracle by an old writer, "Him whom the rod of terror
will not rouse, _love_ will." Or in other words, we may learn by this
that gentleness will succeed where harshness will fail.
In the time when all the north of England was heathen, there was an
assembly held at Iona to decide who should preach the gospel to the
English of Northumbria. Then one missionary was sent, and after having
laboured for some years, he came back to give an account of his
mission. And a council was held, and he said, "Those Northumbrians are
a stiff-necked, hard-hearted people. I threatened them with God's
wrath, I spoke to them of Hell-fire, I warned them of the terrors of
judgment, I denounced the vengeance of God on them, and they would not
be converted." Then one sitting in a bark seat said, "My brother, it
seems to me that you went the wrong way to work. You should have gone
in love, and not in wrath. You should have tried to win, and not to
drive." All eyes were turned en the speaker, and it was decided with
one voice that he should be sent, and he went. His name was Aidan--and
he was the Apostle of all Northumberland, Durham, and Yorkshire. He
had the joy to see the whole people bow their necks to receive the yoke
of Christ.
What says S. Paul? "What will ye? shall I come unto you with a rod, or
in love, and in the spirit of meekness?" If he had come with the rod,
he would have gone back disappointed.
CONCLUSION.--Let us then, dear brethren, in dealing with the souls of
others, approach them, not with the rod, or we shall fail to awake them
to a new and better life, but in love, and in the spirit of gentleness,
and then we shall meet, I doubt not, with good success.
XLIII.
_PERSISTENCY IN WRONG DOING._
6th Sunday after Trinity.
S. Matt. v. 25.
"Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with
him."
INTRODUCTION.--I spoke to you the Sunday before last about the
obstinacy of persisting in an opinion after you have good cause to
believe that this opinion is unjust, or unreasonable. I am going to
speak to you to-day of another form of obstinacy.
SUBJECT.--My subject is Persistency in doing wrong, because you have
begun wrong. This is only another form of the same fault. The other
is thinking wrong persistently, this is perseverance in doing wrong.
And the source of both is the same, Pride. Pride stands in the way of
altering an erroneous opinion, and in the way of altering a wrongful
course of action.
I. In the tenth chapter of the second book of Samuel we have a
striking story of the way in which a man having once done a wrong,
persists in it, and it brings about his ruin.
King David, when firmly established on his throne, began to look about
him to see who had been kind to him in his day of adversity, and to
reward, or thank them. He showed his gratitude to the memory of his
friend Jonathan by investing his son Mephibosheth with his
grandfather's property. Then he remembered that Nahash the King of
Ammon had shown him hospitality, and he heard also that he was just
dead. So David said, "I will show kindness unto Hanun the son of
Nahash, as his father showed kindness unto me." And David sent to
comfort him by the hand of his servants for his father.