forgetful of past favours, that he was ready to make a lasting
friendship with Hanun, and he desired to exhibit his sympathy with the
son for the loss of his father. These were the three motives actuating
David, all good. Now, how did Hanun act? One would naturally suppose
that he would appreciate these motives, and that he would be glad, when
scarce settled on his throne, to secure the powerful friendship of King
David. No!--he was young, insolent, inconsiderate, and fond of
practical joking,--a vulgar-minded fellow, puffed up with conceit at
his elevation to power. Hanun took the servants, the ambassadors of
David, and shaved off half their beards, and cut off the lower half of
all their clothes, and sent them back to David. And when it was told
unto David that his messengers had been thus ignominiously treated, "he
sent to meet them, because the men were greatly ashamed, and said,
Tarry at Jericho, until your beards be grown, and then return." As
soon as Hanun and his Ammonites had done this, what was their next
step?--As perhaps you are aware, by the laws of civilized and
uncivilized people, the persons of ambassadors are held to be sacred.
Therefore Hanun had not only done an insolent, and utterly blackguard
trick, but he had gone against one of the first laws of nations. What
he ought to have done, was at once to send to David a most humble
apology, with an acknowledgment that he had acted wrongly. But he was
too proud for this. He would not admit that he had erred. He at once
sent and hired the Syrians of Beth-rehob, and the Syrians of Zoba,
twenty thousand foot soldiers, and of King Maacah a thousand men, and
of Ish-tob twelve thousand men, so that this malicious trick began to
shew that it was an expensive one. Then David's army drew up in array
against this army of Ammon and their hired allies, and at once, all the
mercenaries ran away. So then there was nothing for it but for the
Ammonites to return as quickly as possible within the walls of their
city. Now, what should Hanun have done? It was clear that David was
not eager to punish him, for he had not even sent his army against
Ammon till Hanun had collected the great host against him, and as soon
as the Ammonites, deserted by their auxiliaries, had retired within
their walls, the army of David had not pressed them, but gone quietly
back to Jerusalem. What then ought Hanun to have done? Of course, he
should now have sent his apology, and said how wrongly he had acted,
how ashamed of himself he was, and how desirous he was to have the past
forgotten. But no, having done wrong once, his pride would not let him
acknowledge it, and he went on. He now engaged Hadarezar, King of the
Syrians, and this time there was a great battle, and David slew of the
Syrians seven hundred chariots, and forty thousand horsemen, and smote
the captain of their host, so that he was left dead on the field, and
all the Syrians who could escape ran away for their lives. Then
Hadarezer had had quite enough of fighting against Israel, and he made
peace with David, and "So the Syrians feared to help the children of
Ammon any more." Now the Ammonites were left completely without
auxiliaries. What chance was there for them? Still David did not
press them. A whole year passed, and he made no move. He was waiting
for an apology. But no. That headstrong Hanun was still too proud to
make it. He would die with all his people rather than say he had done
wrong. So, at the end of a year, David sent his army against the
Ammonites, and destroyed them utterly. He killed Hanun, and took away
his crown, and plundered his capital town, and ruined all his cities.
That was the end of one practical joke unapologised for.
II. In the Gospel for to-day, our Lord warns against the same
hard-headedness in persisting in refusing an apology, and to make up
friendship that has been broken. "Agree with thine adversary quickly,
while thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary
deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer,
and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no
means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." He
urges Christians when they have done an injury to any, frankly to
confess it, to put their pride in their pocket, and to ask forgiveness.
It is not an easy thing to do, to acknowledge that you have done wrong,
but there is more true courage in doing so, than in persevering in
spite of the consequences, in wrong doing. Many a lasting and
miserable quarrel has arisen because at the outset one little word has
not been said, which would have made all things smooth. Two families
become estranged and bitterly hostile, because some one has reported to
the mother in one, that the mother in the other had made a disparaging
remark about her. A little word, and all would be explained, and set
to rights. "Let not the sun go down on your wrath," says the Apostle,
and an excellent piece of advice this is:--Make up all quarrels the
same day that they break out.
There was a good old bishop of Alexandria called John the Almsgiver,
and he and the Governor of the city were great friends. Something
occurred which made a breach between them. If I remember aright, it
was this. The bishop was very charitable, and was always urging the
rich people to give to the poor, and they were constantly sending him
money to distribute among the sick and needy. Now at this time the
Governor had experienced some difficulty in raising the taxes, and this
ruffled his temper. He was on a visit to the Bishop, when he saw on
the stairs a number of servants of a rich lady bringing up, as a
present to the bishop some pots, labelled "Virgin Honey." The Governor
said he did not believe they were pots of honey, but pots of gold, and
when the bishop offered to open them and let him see for himself, he
dashed out of the door in a rage, and said, "No wonder I can't get
money in taxes when you swindle it out of the people, to feed the
beggars on honey." When the Governor was gone, the old Bishop was very
troubled, and he sat in his room all the rest of the day, waiting for
the Governor to come and make it up with him. But no! the Governor was
fuming with anger and would do no such thing. That evening the
Governor had a party, and as he was sitting at table with the guests, a
little scrap of paper was put on his plate, a servant of the Bishop had
brought it. The Governor took it up and saw, "Dear old Friend--THE SUN
IS SETTING." Then his heart relented, he excused himself to his
guests, and ran to the house of the Bishop, and they fell into one
another's arms and made friends again.
CONCLUSION.--Now remember this story. Whenever you have a quarrel with
another, let not the sun go down on your wrath. Make it up before set
of sun.
XLIV.
THE MEASURE OF SIN.
7th Sunday after Trinity.
S. Mark viii. 2.
"I have compassion on the multitude."
INTRODUCTION.--In to-day's Gospel we see the tender compassion of our
Lord for those who came into the wilderness to hear Him. This is only
one example out of many of His great love and mercy: and indeed "His
mercy is over all His works." "Thou, O Lord," says David, "art full of
compassion and mercy, long-suffering and truth." This is a verity of
which we are so convinced that it is quite possible we may overlook the
other truth, that His mercy, though unlimited in extent, is limited in
its application. His mercy is extended for a definite purpose, and
when it ceases to avail for this purpose, then it ceases to flow. What
that purpose is, S. Paul tells us. "Knowest thou not," he says, "that
the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance." That is, God is
merciful that we may amend, not in order that we may continue in sin.
Now, if men thought that when they had fallen into grievous sin there
was no more a hope of recovery, then they would sink into despair, and
become hard and impenitent. But that this may not be the case, God
assures us of His mercy, but he assures us of His mercy only to insure
our amendment.
SUBJECT.--It seems plain from Holy Scripture that to each man there is
a fixed measure of sin, and that if he fills that measure, after that
there is no place for repentance, and no more pardon. This is a very
terrible truth,--but a truth it is, as I shall show you.
I. There was a nation of Canaan called the Amorites, and God promised
to Abraham that He would give their land to his descendants, but that
He could not give it yet without injustice. The land was in the
possession of the Amorites, a people on their trial, and till the day
of their probation was expired, their kingdom could not be taken from
them. "In the fourth generation," God said, "thy seed shall come
hither, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet full." Now
actually it was not till four hundred and seventy years later that the
destruction of the Amorites was accomplished. Four generations after
Abraham, that is some two hundred and forty years after, the measure of
their iniquities was full, and yet they existed on till Joshua crossed
Jordan with the Israelites, and then they were all put to the sword.
In the New Testament we hear the Jews addressed as though they also had
a measure of sin they must fill up before God would forsake them. Our
Lord says to them, "Ye are the children of them which killed the
prophets. Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers. Ye serpents,
ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of Hell?
Behold I send unto you prophets, and wise-men, and scribes: and some of
them ye shall kill and crucify: and persecute them from city to city:
that upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth,
from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of
Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar." The Jewish
nation had done great wickedness, but the measure of their iniquities
was not full till they had rejected Christ, and had refused to listen
to His Apostles, and the Holy Ghost speaking through their mouths.
Till then He would not cast them off entirely.
II. David prays to God, "Lord, let me know the number of my days, that
I may be certified how long I have to live." No doubt, God has fixed
for all men a certain length of life. No doubt also He has set for
each a certain limit of forbearance; a line, an invisible line drawn
somewhere, and He says to man, Thus far mayest thou go, and I will
still be merciful and pardon, but no further. Transgress that line,
and I forgive no more. My Spirit will not always strive with man.
In those cases which I have quoted to you, God is dealing with nations,
but He deals with individuals in the same way. His laws are uniform;
as He deals with an assemblage of people, so He deals with single
individuals. If He fixes a bound to nations, beyond which they cannot
go without His forsaking them, it is because there is the law, which is
of general application to all human beings; a law applying to single
persons, and to persons in the aggregate.
In the Prophet Amos we read a message from God to Judah, "Thus saith
the Lord: For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not
turn away the punishment thereof." This means, if I mistake not, Judah
has committed some two or three gross sins, and I was ready to turn
away the punishment, had there been a sign of repentance, but when to
the three they added a fourth, then it was too late. The time of
repentance was past, and the punishment threatened must fall.
And now perhaps you can understand a saying of S. John in his first
Epistle. He says:--"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not
unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin
not unto death. There is a sin unto death, I do not say that he shall
pray for it." S. John is not speaking here of what we call mortal
sins, but of mortal sins continued till the measure is filled up, and
when the last sin has been added which completes the measure, that is
the sin unto death, which it avails nothing to pray for, for that sin
ends in death. Before, there was life, spiritual life, perhaps
flickering, but extant, then comes the last sin, and the life is gone
out, all is dark, and dead, and cold, no more fanning of the black
ashes is of any avail, the fire is out and cannot be revived.
III. How does God deal with those who have gone beyond this measure?
In one of two ways. Either:--
1. There comes a sudden call,--a sudden death-sickness or accident
cuts them off. Or:--
2. Dead impenitence settles over the soul, which no longer wishes for
anything better, which feels no desire for pardon.
Of the first case, we have instances in Scripture. King Belshazzar had
committed many transgressions, he was weighed in the balances, but
still found wanting in the final and irreversible act of wickedness,
till that night when he brought out the sacred vessels used in the
temple to drink out of them at his riotous banquet in his palace. That
act of sacrilege was the one sin which weighed down the balance. What
says the sacred text? "In that night was Belshazzar the King of the
Chaldeans slain." I may instance also Judas, who having for long been
a thief, added to his former sins the one last and terrible sin of
selling his Master, and then a fit of madness came over him in which he
hung himself.
But sometimes hardness and impenitence is the result. The conscience
is dead, and, to use S. Paul's words, "there remains no more sacrifice
for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery
indignation, which shall devour the adversaries."
CONCLUSION.--Let us, therefore, be very cautious of adding sin to sin,
that grace may abound, but rather fly from it as from the face of a
serpent. We know not what is the number of our days determined by God,
and we know not what is the number of our sins beyond which there is no
forgiveness.
XLV.
_CASTING BLAME._
8th Sunday after Trinity.
S. Matt. vii. 15.
"Inwardly they are ravening wolves."
INTRODUCTION.--A Schoolmaster finds one day that several of his
scholars are playing truant. The morning passes and they do not
arrive. At last, in the afternoon, the truants turn up. The master
has a strong suspicion where they have been: however, he asks, "Why
were you not at school this morning?" "Please, sir, mother kept me at
home to mind the baby." "Indeed--let me look at your mouth." He opens
the mouth, and finds it black inside. "Ah! I thought as much,
rambling in the woods, picking and eating whortleberries." So with the
others, they make their excuses, but he looks into their mouths, and
the black colour betrays them.
Now, my friends, I am almost afraid to look in your mouths, lest I
should see them black, not with whortleberries, but with something much
sweeter, blame and fault-finding. You are, I suspect, all of you
nearly fond of abusing your neighbours, of finding fault, of telling
unkind things of them, of blackening their good names.
SUBJECT.--I am going to take as my subject to-day the Casting of Blame.
I. "Be ye merciful," said our Lord, "even as your Father which is in
heaven is merciful." He did not mean only in our dealings with others,
to be merciful to their bodies, and merciful in not exacting debts, and
merciful in not punishing neglect, and so forth, but He meant also that
we were to be merciful with their characters. We are not to be ready
to impute evil, not ready to cast blame, not ready to believe hard
things of others and retail them to our neighbours, but to be very slow
to suspect evil, very slow to charge it on others, and exceedingly slow
to say what is evil of others.
"Charity," says S. Paul, "is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil,
rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all
things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things."
It seems to me, that charity is the exact reverse of this
fault-finding, blame-imputing character. "Charity thinketh no evil,"
but how is it with you? Do you not always suspect that the motives of
people are bad, do you not always think people are worse than they
really are? "Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity." Ha! there is a bit
of scandal, something very bad has come out about So and so. What a
running about from house to house! the village is like a hive of bees
swarming. Do you mean to tell me it is not a delight, a joy to you, to
have this little bit of iniquity to talk about? I know better.
"Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity," but charity is not to be found in
that tittle-tattling, excited crowd of talkers. "Charity believeth all
things"--will, that is, believe and trust, as long as it is possible,
that people are not so bad after all, that the stories told are not
true, and "Charity hopeth all things," hopes even against hope that it
is so.
O! what a blessed thing is charity! S. Paul said he would rather have
that, than be able to speak with tongues, and to prophesy; he would
rather have that than work miracles. It is a better thing even to have
that than Faith. But, alas! if it be such a good thing, it is also a
very rare one.
II. How very often we cast blame when there is no cause, and are
therefore guilty of serious injustice.
I was one day walking in the street of a little town, when a poor
inoffensive dog passed me. He went quietly along without a thought of
doing anyone an injury, when he happened to pass a knot of boys just
come out of school. At once one of the urchins took up a stone and
threw it at him, the others clapped their hands, and hooted after him,
"Hit him! Knock him over! Mad dog!" Away ran the unhappy cur, and
all the boys yelling after him, throwing dirt, and striking at him with
sticks. What next? Everyone in the street ran to the door, and saw
the brute tearing down the way, with his tail between his legs. Then
out of every door rushed all the house-dogs, the butcher's dog, and the
coach-dog, and even the little lap-dog jumped up, and ran down stairs,
and out of the door, to join in the barking, and away went all the dogs
of the place after the poor wretch. There was a tumult! And the
people in their doors and at their windows shouted, and one said, "Kill
him! he is mad!" and another, "He has bitten a woman!" and another, "He
has stolen some meat!" and another, "He has knocked over a child!"
Now all this arose from one boy throwing a stone at a harmless dog.
And all the things said about the dog were untrue. The proverb was
verified, "Give a dog a bad name, and you may hang him."
Is not this very much like what takes place among men? Someone throws
blame on a poor harmless person for no cause in the world but out of
sheer malevolence, or love of mischief, and at once others join in.
Everyone has something to say, everyone joins in the general abuse. No
lack of blame. No lack of unkind things said. And--all untrue, all
unjust!
I do not mean to say that when a person has done what is wrong we are
not to speak of it at all; but what I do say is, that we should be very
careful indeed not to cast blame till we are quite sure that we are
justified in doing so. "As for this way, we know that it is everywhere
spoken against," was what was said of Christianity. All sorts of bad,
lying things were said of the early Christians, that they killed and
ate children, that they practised horrible idolatries: the stories were
not true, but they were believed, simply because everyone said these
things were done.
III. Now this is the advice I give you:--
_a_. Be sure that blame is just before you cast it.
_b_. Be merciful in attributing blame even when it is deserved.
First:--Be sure that you have real cause to cast blame, be sure that
you are not committing a great injustice, and doing another a grievous
injury which is unmerited.
"Do to others as you would they should do to you." Consider how
miserable you would feel were you the subject of unmerited blame.
Secondly:--Be merciful in attributing blame even when it is deserved.
Remember that you yourself are not guiltless. There are things that
you have done which deserve censure quite as much as those things you
blame in others. One day a woman, taken in adultery, was brought
before Christ, and the Jews desired to stone her to death because of
her sin. Then our Lord said, "He that is without sin among you, let
him first cast a stone at her." And when they heard it, being
convicted by their own consciences, they went out, one by one,
beginning at the eldest even unto the last.
I say to you: when you are inclined to cast blame, even when just,
think, "Am I without sin, that I should judge and condemn another?"
XLVI.
_PETTY DISHONESTY._
9th Sunday after Trinity.
S. Luke xvi, 3, 4.
"What shall I do?--I am resolved what to do."
INTRODUCTION.--The dishonest Steward in to-day's Gospel shows us the
natural tendency of the human heart when in a scrape--to have recourse
to dishonesty to escape from it. He knows that he is about to be
turned out of his stewardship because he has been wasteful--not
dishonest, but wasteful. He has not been a prudent and saving steward,
but a sort of happy-go-lucky man who has not kept the accounts
carefully, and has been content so long as he has not lost much money.
So soon as he sees himself about to be turned out of his stewardship,
he is wakened out of his easy-going ways with a shock, and he says to
himself, "Here am I in a predicament! I shall lose my livelihood, and
am not likely to get another situation; I am too old to work with my
hands for my living, and I have too much self-respect to try. What can
I do?--I am resolved what to do. I will cheat my master."
SUBJECT.--I believe that a very similar process goes on now-a-days in a
great many hearts. Bad times come. What is to be done? There is
nothing for it but to be just a little bit dishonest. Honesty won't
pay. So the manufacturer weaves bad silk, and makes shoddy cloth, and
the wine-merchant doctors his wine, and the brewer his ale, and the
milkman puts water into his milk, and the butterman sells butter made
of Thames mud, and the calico is dressed with chalk, and the ready-made
clothes come to pieces because the thread's ends are not fastened, and
the farm work is half done, and the whole trade and commerce of the
country is one great system of adulteration and petty cheating.
I. Abraham was a very scrupulous man. In all his dealings he was
perfectly just and honourable. Once five kings came into the valley of
the Jordan, and made a sudden onslaught on the towns there; they
carried away all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and thoroughly sacked
the cities. They did not only that, but they carried off as well a
great number of the inhabitants as captives. Then Abraham lent his
servants to the king of Sodom to help him to recover the booty and
liberate the captives, and there was a battle, the result of which was
that the five kings were defeated, and all the spoil and the prisoners
recovered. Then the King of Sodom offered Abraham the booty in
repayment for his valuable services. He said, "Give me the persons,
and take the goods to thyself." But Abraham answered, "No! I will not
take from a thread even to a shoe-latchet, and I will not take any
thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abraham
rich." Now, this was just an occasion when he might have fairly
claimed remuneration from the recovered plunder, but no! he was far too
scrupulous. He knew of what that plunder consisted--it was made up of
the household goods of the inhabitants of the towns of Sodom and
Gomorrah; of all the sticks of furniture, and clothes, and crockery,
and household ornaments that the people valued. He would not deprive
them of one, lest they should think that Abraham had enriched himself
at their expense. He puts an extreme case,--lest some poor woman
should lament that she had lost all her thread wherewith to mend her
torn clothes, and say, "Ah! I had plenty of thread once, but Abraham
has it now," or another should say, "I have no buckle to my shoe,
Abraham has taken of the spoil, and my shoe-buckle he has got now."
Well, now listen to what follows immediately. This upright conduct of
Abraham so pleased God, that we read, "After these things the word of
the Lord came unto Abraham in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abraham: I am
thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward."
How many are there now who act like Abraham? How many who fear lest it
should be said of them that they had been enriched by those whose money
they had no right to take? There would be fewer failing banks, and the
little stores of widows and orphans swallowed up, were the bankers more
of the mind of Abraham. There would be fewer swindling speculations
swallowing up the savings of the thrifty, if men shrank from taking
that which is not lawfully and fairly their own.
II. All purchases, and all agreements for labour, are contracts. The
purchaser asks for one thing, and of that thing a certain amount, and
if for his money he is given another thing, or a smaller amount than
that for which he has paid, then there is dishonesty. If you went to a
shop and asked for a pound of tea, and were given something which was
not tea, or tea which weighed less than a pound, you would be dealt
with dishonestly. So if you go into another shop to buy flannel, and
purchase three yards, and then when you come home and measure it, you
find that it is six inches short, you would have been dealt with
dishonestly. In both cases you would be exceedingly angry with the
traders, and justly so. But consider, do you always act justly with
your employers? When you are hired for a day's work, do you give good
work? And is the time just measure? Or is there much idling and
talking when you are unobserved?
Let there be honour and fairness all round. How would you like to be
paid in clipped coin, that was not full weight? And yet you have no
scruple in giving clipped time, and work in short weight. I speak
plainly about this, for it is a crying evil of the day. There is
everywhere apparent a lack of conscientiousness in the dealings of man
with man. We used to do a large trade with our manufactures in Europe
and the East, and now we have to a large extent lost it--because we
have sent out bad material and sold it as good. It is a common
complaint that men do not work now as well as of old in every
department of industry. They rob their masters of time and labour,
which they have contracted to give. Then the masters say, "What shall
we do?--we are resolved what we will do, we will make up the loss by
adulteration of our goods." Then purchasers discover this and refuse
to buy, so the trade of the country declines.
III. Remember, then, in all your transactions, how Abraham dealt with
the King of Sodom, and how God rewarded him for his honesty, and you
may be very sure that God will not overlook you if you deal with others
faithfully. The eye of God is over all, and He sees whether you fulfil
your obligations honestly or not, and He will certainly bless
abundantly those who recognise His presence. S. Paul bids all who
serve others--we all do that in one way or another--do their duty, not
with eye-service, as men-pleasers, but as though they were working for
Christ, not as if they were doing the will of man, but the will of God,
from the heart, "Knowing that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the
same shall he receive of the Lord."
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."