THREE PLANS OF GREAT ADDRESSES.
For the purpose of showing how completely speech of all kinds may be
embraced in a brief skeleton, we place before the reader three addresses
of the most varied characteristics, yet each most admirable in its own
department. One of these is English in origin, one Greek, and the last
may well be styled universal, comprising, as it does, every element of
excellence.
At the end of the first year of the great war waged between Sparta and
Athens, Pericles pronounced a funeral oration over the dead who had
fallen in the Athenian cause. Much of the language employed may,
perhaps, be ascribed to the invention of the historian, Thucydides, but
the substance and many of the strong expressions probably fell from the
lips of the great statesman and orator of Athens. The speech possesses
the simplicity and classic grace for which Grecian art has ever been
celebrated. The orator’s SUBJECT was furnished by the occasion—the
worthiness of the sacrifice which the fallen heroes had made to the
greatness and glory of their native land. His OBJECT was to encourage
the living to continue the war with ardor and support its privations
with fortitude. There are no digressions, no anecdotes, and scarcely any
illustrations. The glory of Athens and of her dead heroes is the one
theme ever before him. This severe simplicity is carried too far to be
entirely pleasing to modern taste, but the effect is certainly grand and
sublime. A few very strong sentences relieve the general tone of clear,
calm description. The translation is that of Professor Jowett.
OUTLINE OF FUNERAL SPEECH.
OCCASION.—The burial of those Athenians who fell in the first year
of the Peloponnesian War.
SUBJECT.—The glory of Athens and of the heroes who died for her.
OBJECT.—To nourish patriotism and fan warlike enthusiasm.
INTRODUCTION.—Inadequacy of words to the praise of the brave.
I. THE SOURCE OF ATHENIAN GREATNESS.
1. The praise of ancestors who procured freedom and empire for the
city.
2. Excellencies of the form of our Government.
3. Refinements of our life.
4. In war we are an over-match for all our enemies.
5. All our citizens are interested in public affairs, which are
freely discussed.
6. In short, Athens is the school of Hellas.
II. THE PRAISE OF THE FALLEN.
1. The above praise of the city is the praise of the dead, for they
made her great.
2. Death is the final seal of their virtues and secures them from
all change of fortune.
3. The whole earth is full of their glory, and their example is
precious to their country.
III. COMFORT TO KINDRED.
1. To parents.
2. To sons, brothers, and widows.
CONCLUSION.—Athens crowns her heroes by these honors, and by
maintaining their children at public cost.
FUNERAL SPEECH.
“Most of those who have spoken here before me have commended the
lawgiver who added this oration to our other funeral customs; it
seemed to them a worthy thing that such an honor should be given at
their burial to the dead who have fallen on the field of battle. But
I should have preferred that, when men’s deeds have been brave, they
should be honored in deed only, and with such an honor as this
public funeral, which you are now witnessing. Then the reputation of
many would not have been imperiled on the eloquence or want of
eloquence of one, and their virtues believed or not as he spoke well
or ill. For it is difficult to say neither too little nor too much;
and even moderation is apt not to give the impression of
truthfulness. The friend of the dead who knows the facts is likely
to think that the words of the speaker fall short of his knowledge
and of his wishes; another who is not so well informed, when he
hears of anything which surpasses his own powers, will be envious
and will suspect exaggeration. Mankind are tolerant of the praises
of others so long as each hearer thinks that he can do as well or
nearly as well himself, but when the speaker rises above him
jealousy is aroused and he begins to be incredulous. However, since
our ancestors have set the seal of their approval upon the practice,
I must obey, and to the utmost of my power shall endeavor to satisfy
the wishes and beliefs of all who hear me.
“I will speak first of our ancestors, for it is right and becoming
that now, when we are lamenting the dead, a tribute should be paid
to their memory. There has never been a time when they did not
inhabit this land, which by their valor they have handed down from
generation to generation, and we have received from them a free
State. But if they were worthy of praise, still more were our
fathers, who added to their inheritance, and after many a struggle
transmitted to us, their sons, this great empire. And we ourselves
assembled here to-day, who are still most of us in the vigor of
life, have chiefly done the work of improvement, and have richly
endowed our city with all things, so that she is sufficient for
herself both in peace and war. Of the military exploits by which our
various possessions were acquired, or of the energy with which we or
our fathers drove back the tide of war, Hellenic or Barbarian, I
will not speak; for the tale would be long and is familiar to you.
But before I praise the dead, I should like to point out by what
principles of action we rose to power, and under what institutions
and through what manner of life our empire became great. For I
conceive that such thoughts are not unsuited to the occasion, and
that this numerous assembly of citizens and strangers may profitably
listen to them.
“Our form of government does not enter into rivalry with the
institutions of others. We do not copy our neighbors, but are an
example to them. It is true that we are called a democracy, for the
administration is in the hands of the many and not of the few. But
while the law secures equal justice to all alike in their private
disputes, the claim of excellence is also recognized; and when a
citizen is in any way distinguished, he is preferred to the public
service, not as a matter of privilege, but as the reward of merit.
Neither is poverty a bar, but a man may benefit his country whatever
be the obscurity of his condition. There is no exclusiveness in our
public life, and in our private intercourse we are not suspicious of
one another, nor angry with our neighbor if he does what he likes;
we do not put on our sour looks at him, which, though harmless, are
not pleasant. While we are thus unconstrained in our private
intercourse, a spirit of reverence pervades our public acts; we are
prevented from doing wrong by respect for authority and for the
laws, having an especial regard to those which are ordained for the
protection of the injured as well as to those unwritten laws which
bring upon the transgressor of them the reprobation of the general
sentiment.
“And we have not forgotten to provide for our weary spirits many
relaxations from toil; we have regular games and sacrifices
throughout the year; at home the style of our life is refined; and
the delight which we daily feel in all these things helps to banish
melancholy. Because of the greatness of our city the fruits of the
whole earth flow in upon us; so that we enjoy the goods of other
countries as freely as of our own.
“Then, again, our military training is in many respects superior to
that of our adversaries. Our city is thrown open to the world, and
we never expel a foreigner or prevent him from seeing or learning
anything of which the secret if revealed to an enemy might profit
him. We rely not upon management or trickery, but upon our own
hearts and hands. And in the matter of education, whereas they from
early youth are always undergoing laborious exercises which are to
make them brave, we live at ease, and yet are equally ready to face
the perils which they face. And here is the proof. The Lacedæmonians
come into Attica not by themselves, but with their whole confederacy
following; we go alone into a neighbor’s country; and although our
opponents are fighting for their homes and we on a foreign soil, we
have seldom any difficulty in overcoming them. Our enemies have
never yet felt our united strength; the care of a navy divides our
attention, and on land we are obliged to send our own citizens
everywhere. But they, if they meet and defeat a part of our army,
are as proud as if they had routed us all, and when defeated they
pretend to have been vanquished by us all.
“If, then, we prefer to meet danger with a light heart but without
laborious training, and with a courage which is gained by habit and
not enforced by law, are we not greatly the gainers? Since we do not
anticipate the pain, although, when the hour comes, we can be as
brave as those who never allow themselves to rest; and thus too our
city is equally admirable in peace and in war. For we are lovers of
the beautiful, yet simple in our tastes, and we cultivate the mind
without loss of manliness. Wealth we employ, not for talk and
ostentation, but when there is a real use for it. To avow poverty
with us is no disgrace; the true disgrace is in doing nothing to
avoid it. An Athenian citizen does not neglect the State because he
takes care of his own household; and even those of us who are
engaged in business have a very fair idea of politics. We alone
regard a man who takes no interest in public affairs, not as a
harmless, but as a useless character; and if few of us are
originators, we are all sound judges of a policy. The great
impediment to action is, in our opinion, not discussion, but the
want of knowledge which is gained by discussion preparatory to
action. For we have a peculiar power of thinking before we act and
of acting too, whereas other men are courageous from ignorance but
hesitate upon reflection. And they are surely to be esteemed the
bravest spirits who, having the clearest sense both of the pains and
pleasures of life, do not on that account shrink from danger. In
doing good, again, we are unlike others; we make our friends by
conferring, not by receiving favors. Now he who confers a favor is
the firmer friend, because he would fain by kindness keep alive the
memory of an obligation; but the recipient is colder in his
feelings, because he knows that in requiting another’s generosity he
will not be winning gratitude but only paying a debt. We alone do
good to our neighbors not upon a calculation of interest, but in the
confidence of freedom and in a frank and fearless spirit. To sum up:
I say that Athens is the school of Hellas, and that the individual
Athenian in his own person seems to have the power of adapting
himself to the most varied forms of action with the utmost
versatility and grace. This is no passing and idle word, but truth
and fact; and the assertion is verified by the position to which
these qualities have raised the State. For in the hour of trial
Athens alone among her contemporaries is superior to the report of
her. No enemy who comes against her is indignant at the reverses
which he sustains at the hands of such a city; no subject complains
that his masters are unworthy of him. And we shall assuredly not be
without witnesses; there are mighty monuments of our power which
will make us the wonder of this and of succeeding ages; we shall not
need the praises of Homer or of any other panegyrist whose poetry
may please for the moment, although his representation of the facts
will not bear the light of day. For we have compelled every land and
every sea to open a path for our valor, and have everywhere planted
eternal memorials of our friendship and of our enmity. Such is the
city for whose sake these men nobly fought and died; they could not
bear the thought that she might be taken from them; and every one of
us who survive should gladly toil on her behalf.
“I have dwelt upon the greatness of Athens because I want to show
you that we are contending for a higher prize than those who enjoy
none of these privileges, and to establish by manifest proof the
merit of these men whom I am now commemorating. Their loftiest
praise has been already spoken. For in magnifying the city I have
magnified them, and men like them whose virtues made her glorious.
And of how few Hellenes can it be said as of them, that their deeds
when weighed in the balance have been found equal to their fame!
Methinks that a death such as theirs has been gives the true measure
of a man’s worth; it may be the first revelation of his virtues, but
is at any rate their final seal. For even those who come short in
other ways may justly plead the valor with which they have fought
for their country; they have blotted out the evil with the good, and
have benefited the State more by their public services than they
have injured her by their private actions. None of these men were
enervated by wealth or hesitated to resign the pleasures of life;
none of them put off the evil day in the hope, natural to poverty,
that a man, though poor, may one day become rich. But, deeming that
the punishment of their enemies was sweeter than any of these
things, and that they could fall in no nobler cause, they determined
at the hazard of their lives to be honorably avenged, and to leave
the rest. They resigned to hope their unknown chance of happiness;
but in the face of death they resolved to rely upon themselves
alone. And when the moment came they were minded to resist and
suffer, rather than to fly and save their lives; they ran away from
the word of dishonor, but on the battle-field their feet stood fast,
and in an instant, at the height of their fortune, they passed away
from the scene, not of their fear, but of their glory.
“Such was the end of these men; they were worthy of Athens, and the
living need not desire to have a more heroic spirit, although they
may pray for a less fatal issue. The value of such a spirit is not
to be expressed in words. Any one can discourse to you forever about
the advantages of a brave defense which you know already. But
instead of listening to him I would have you day by day fix your
eyes upon the greatness of Athens, until you become filled with the
love of her; and when you are impressed by the spectacle of her
glory, reflect that this empire has been acquired by men who knew
their duty and had the courage to do it, who in the hour of conflict
had the fear of dishonor always present to them, and who, if ever
they failed in an enterprise, would not allow their virtues to be
lost to their country, but freely gave their lives to her as the
fairest offering which they could present at her feast. The
sacrifice which they collectively made was individually repaid to
them; for they received again each one for himself a praise which
grows not old, and the noblest of all sepulchres—I speak not of that
in which their remains are laid, but of that in which their glory
survives, and is proclaimed always and on every fitting occasion
both in word and deed. For the whole earth is the sepulchre of
famous men; not only are they commemorated by columns and
inscriptions in their own country, but in foreign lands there dwells
also an unwritten memorial of them, graven not on stone but in the
hearts of men. Make them your examples, and, esteeming courage to be
freedom and freedom to be happiness, do not weigh too nicely the
perils of war. The unfortunate who has no hope of a change for the
better has less reason to throw away his life than the prosperous,
who, if he survive, is always liable to a change for the worse, and
to whom any accidental fall makes the most serious difference. To a
man of spirit, cowardice and disaster coming together are far more
bitter than death, striking him unperceived at a time when he is
full of courage and animated by the general hope.
“Wherefore, I do not now commiserate the parents of the dead who
stand here; I would rather comfort them. You know that your life has
been passed amid manifold vicissitudes, and that they may be deemed
fortunate who have gained most honor, whether an honorable death
like theirs, or an honorable sorrow like yours, and whose days have
been so ordered that the term of their happiness is likewise the
term of their life. I know how hard it is to make you feel this,
when the good fortune of others will too often remind you of the
gladness which once lightened your hearts. And sorrow is felt at the
want of those blessings, not which a man never knew, but which were
a part of his life before they were taken from him. Some of you are
of an age at which they may hope to have other children, and they
ought to bear their sorrow better; not only will the children who
may hereafter be born make them forget their own lost ones, but the
city will be doubly a gainer. She will not be left desolate, and she
will be safer. For a man’s counsel cannot have equal weight or worth
when he alone has no children to risk in the general danger. To
those of you who have passed their prime, I say, ‘Congratulate
yourselves that you have been happy during the greater part of your
days; remember that your life of sorrow will not last long, and be
comforted by the glory of those who are gone. For the love of honor
alone is ever young, and not riches, as some say, but honor is the
delight of men when they are old and useless.’
“To you who are the sons and brothers of the departed, I see that
the struggle to emulate them will be an arduous one. For all men
praise the dead, and however pre-eminent your virtue may be, hardly
will you be thought, I do not say to equal, but even to approach
them. The living have their rivals and detractors, but when a man is
out of the way, the honor and good-will which he receives is
unalloyed. And, if I am to speak of womanly virtues to those of you
who will henceforth be widows, let me sum them up in one short
admonition: To a woman not to show more weakness than is natural to
her sex is a great glory, and not to be talked about for good or for
evil among men.
“I have paid the required tribute, in obedience to the law, making
use of such fitting words as I had. The tribute of deeds has been
paid in part; for the dead have been honorably interred, and it
remains only that their children should be maintained at the public
charge until they are grown up: this is the solid prize with which,
as with a garland, Athens crowns her sons, living and dead, after a
struggle like theirs. For where the rewards of virtue are greatest,
there the noblest citizens are enlisted in the service of the State.
And now, when you have duly lamented, every one his own dead, you
may depart.”
We next present the sketch of a sermon by Rev. C. H. Spurgeon, and part
of the sermon itself. This is the more instructive, as the plan was
prepared substantially in the way we have advised, and the sermon
preached extemporaneously from it.
“LOVE AND I”—A MYSTERY.
A SERMON BY C. H. SPURGEON.
[_From Homiletic Monthly, Nov., 1882._]
PULPIT NOTES USED BY SPURGEON.
_John xvii, 26._
_Our Lord praying with His disciples at the last.
This the climax of the prayer.
In the deep, scratching the ground, get a harvest.
Here the final word is love and union with “I.”
Lord, what a subject._
I. THE FOOD OF LOVE.
_1. Knowledge._
_2. Knowledge given by Christ._
_3. Knowledge gradually increasing._
_4. Knowledge distinguishing us from the world._
_5. Knowledge of the name._
_Righteous Father._
_Holiness, goodness, mercy, love._
II. THE LOVE ITSELF.
_1. It is not love toward us but in us._
_2. It is not love from the wells of the creature._
_3. It is a recognition of Father’s love to the Son._
_It is a sense of the Father’s love to us._
_It is a reflection upon Jesus of the Father’s love._
_It is a beaming forth of love all around._
_4. It has the most blessed results._
_Expulsive, repulsive, impulsive._
_Renders supremely happy, brave, patient, elevated._
III. THE COMPANION OF LOVE.
_Love and I._
_Jesus sure to be where there is love, faith, the Spirit, God._
_Christ ever near._
_Believer ever safe._
_Believer should render good entertainment._
It will be noticed that the preacher’s _subject_ is Christ and love
dwelling in the human heart; the _object_ is to induce those who have
this love to appreciate it more highly, and all others to seek it. We
give only the introduction and the third division (which is also the
conclusion), together with a part of the first division, as the whole
discourse is too long to be quoted here. It may be added that these
notes and the development of these parts are fair specimens of the
manner in which the great London preacher prepares and delivers his
discourses.
Text.—_I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it; that
the love wherewith Thou has loved me may be in them, and I in
them._—John xvii, 26.
“For several Sabbath mornings my mind has been directed into
subjects which I might fitly call the deep things of God. I think I
have never felt my own incompetence more fully than in trying to
handle such subjects. It is a soil into which one may dig and dig as
deep as ever you will, and still never exhaust the golden nuggets
which lie within it. I am, however, comforted by this fact, that
these subjects are so fruitful that even we who can only scratch the
surface of them shall yet get a harvest from them. I read once of
the plains of India that they were so fertile that you had only to
tickle them with the hoe and they laughed with plenty; and surely
such a text as this may be described as equally fruitful, even under
our feeble husbandry. Pearls lie on the surface here as well as in
the depth. We have only to search its surface, and stir the soil a
little, and we shall be astonished at the plentitude of spiritual
wealth which lies before us. Oh! that the Spirit of God may help us
to enjoy the blessed truths which are herein set forth! Here is the
priceless treasure, but it lies hid till He reveals it to us.
“You see, this text is taken out of our Lord’s last prayer with His
disciples. He did as good as say, ‘I am about to leave you; I am
about to die for you; and for a while you will not see me; but now,
before we separate, let us pray.’ It is one of those impulses that
you have felt yourselves. When you have been about to part from
those you love, to leave them, perhaps, in danger and difficulty,
you have felt you could do no less than say, ‘Let us draw nigh unto
God.’ Your heart found no way of expressing itself at all so
fitting, so congenial, so satisfactory, as to draw near unto the
great Father and spread the case before Him. Now a prayer from such
a one as Jesus, our Lord and Master—a prayer in such a company, with
the eleven whom He had chosen, and who had consorted with Him from
the beginning, a prayer under such circumstances, when He was just
on the brink of the brook of Cedron, and was about to cross that
gloomy stream and go up to Calvary, and there lay down His life—such
a prayer as this; so living, earnest, loving, and divine, deserves
the most studious meditations of all believers. I invite you to
bring hither your best thoughts and skill for the navigation of this
sea. It is not a creek or bay, but the main ocean itself. We cannot
hope to fathom its depths. This is true of any sentence of this
matchless prayer, but for me the work of exposition becomes
unusually heavy, because my text is the close and climax of this
marvelous supplication, it is the central mystery of all. In the
lowest depth there is still a lower deep, and this verse is one of
those deeps which still exceed the rest. Oh! how much we want the
Spirit of God! Pray for His bedewing; pray that His balmy influences
may descend upon us richly now.
“You will observe that the last word of our Lord’s prayer is
concerning _love_. This is the last petition which He offers, ‘That
the love wherewith Thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in
them.’ He reaches no greater height than this, namely, that His
people be filled with the Father’s _love_. How could He rise higher?
For this is to be filled with all the fullness of God, since God is
love, and he that loveth dwelleth in God and God in him. What
importance ought you and I attach to the grace of love! How highly
we should esteem that which Jesus makes the crown jewel of all. If
we have faith, let us not be satisfied unless our faith worketh by
love and purifieth the soul. Let us not be content, indeed, until
the love of Christ is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost
which is given unto us. Well did the poet say,
‘Only love to us be given;
Lord, we ask no other Heaven;’
for indeed there is no other Heaven below, and scarcely is there any
other Heaven above than to reach to the fullness of perfect love.
This is where the prayer of the Son of David ends, in praying ‘that
the love wherewith Thou hast loved me may be in them.’ What a
subject! The highest that even our Lord Jesus reached in His noblest
prayer. Again with groanings my heart cries, Holy Spirit, help!
“I. First, THE FOOD OF LOVE TO GOD: What is it? _It is knowledge._
‘I have made known unto them Thy name, and will make it known.’ We
cannot love a God whom we do not know; a measure of knowledge is
needful to affection. However lovely God may be, a man blind of soul
cannot perceive Him, and therefore is not touched by His loveliness.
Only when the eyes are opened to behold the loveliness of God will
the heart go out toward God, who is so desirable an object for the
affections. Brethren, we must know in order to believe; we must know
in order to hope; and we must especially know in order to love.
Hence the great desirableness that you should know the Lord and His
great love which passeth knowledge. You cannot reciprocate love
which you have never known, even as a man cannot derive strength
from food which he has not eaten. Till first of all the love of God
has come into your heart, and you have been made a partaker of it,
you cannot rejoice in it or return it. Therefore our Lord took care
to feed His disciples’ hearts upon the Father’s name. He labored to
make the Father known to them. This is one of His great efforts with
them, and He is grieved when He sees their ignorance and has to say
to one of them, ‘Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast
thou not known me, Philip? He that hath seen me hath seen the
Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?’ Study much,
then, the word of God: be diligent in turning the pages of Scripture
and in hearing God’s true ministers, that the flame of love within
your hearts may be revived by the fuel of holy knowledge which you
place upon it. Pile on the logs of sandal wood, and let the perfumed
fires burn before the Lord. Heap on the handfuls of frankincense and
sweet odors of sacred knowledge, that on the altar of your heart
there may always be burning the sacred flame of love to God in
Christ Jesus.
“The knowledge here spoken of is _a knowledge which Jesus gave
them_. ‘I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent
me. And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it.’ O
beloved! it is not knowledge that you and I pick up as a matter of
book-learning that will ever bring out our love to the Father: it is
knowledge given us by Christ through His Spirit. It is not knowledge
communicated by the preacher alone which will bless you; for,
however much he may be taught of God himself, he cannot preach to
the heart unless the blessed Spirit of God comes and takes of the
things that are spoken, and reveals them and makes them manifest to
each individual heart, so that in consequence it knows the Lord.
Jesus said, ‘O righteous Father! the world hath not known Thee!’ and
you and I would have been in the same condition, strangers to God,
without God and without hope in the world, if the Spirit of God had
not taken of divine things and applied them to our souls so that we
are made to know them. Every living word of knowledge is the work of
the living God. If you only know what you have found out for
yourself, or picked up by your own industry apart from Jesus, you
know nothing aright: it must be by the direct and distinct teaching
of God the Holy Ghost that you must learn to profit. Jesus Christ
alone can reveal the Father. He Himself said: ‘No man cometh unto
the Father but by me.’ He that knows not Christ knows not the
Father, but when Jesus Christ reveals Him, ah! then we do know Him
after a special, personal, peculiar, inward knowledge. This
knowledge brings with it a life and a love with which the soul is
not puffed up, but built up. By such knowledge we grow up into Him
in all things who is our head, being taught of the Son of God.
“This knowledge, dear friends, _comes to us gradually_. The text
indicates this: ‘I have declared unto them Thy name, and will
declare it.’ As if, though they knew the Father, there was far more
to know and the Lord Jesus was resolved to teach them more. Are you
growing in knowledge, my brothers and sisters? My labor is lost if
you are not growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ. I hope you know much more of God than you did
twenty years ago when first you came to Him. That little knowledge
which you received by grace when you found ‘life in a look at the
Crucified One’ has saved you; but in these after years you have
added to your faith knowledge, and to your knowledge experience; you
have gone on to know more deeply what you knew before, and to know
the details of what you seemed to know in the gross and the lump at
first. You have come to look _into_ things as well as _upon_
things—a look at Christ saves, but oh! it is the look _into_ Christ
that wins the heart’s love and holds it last and binds us to Him as
with fetters of gold. We ought every day to be adding something to
this inestimably precious store, that as we are known of God so we
may know God, and become thereby transformed from glory unto glory
through His Spirit.
“Are you not thankful for this blessed word of the Lord Jesus: ‘I
will declare it,’ ‘I will make it known’? He did do so at His
resurrection, when He taught His people things they knew not before;
but He did so much more after He had ascended up on high when the
Spirit of God was given. ‘He shall teach you all things, and bring
all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.’
And now to-day in the hearts of His people He is daily teaching us
something that we do not know. All our experience tends that way.
When the Spirit of God blesses an affliction to us, it is one of the
Saviour’s illuminated books out of which we learn something more of
the Father’s name, and consequently come to love Him better: for
that is the thing Christ aims at. He would so make known the Father,
that the love wherewith the Father had loved Him may be in us, and
that He Himself may be in us.
“_This knowledge distinguishes us from the world._ It is the mark by
which the elect are made manifest. In the sixth verse of this
chapter our Lord says: ‘I have manifested Thy name unto the men
which Thou gavest me out of the world. Thine they were, and Thou
gavest them me; and they have kept Thy word.’ The world does not
know the Father, and cannot know Him, for it abides in the darkness
and death of sin. Judge yourselves, therefore, by this sure test,
and let the love which grows out of gracious knowledge be a token
for good unto you.
* * * * *
“III. Thirdly, here is _THE COMPANION OF LOVE_. ‘I in them.’ Look at
the text a minute and just catch those two words. Here is ‘love’ and
‘I’—love and Christ come together. O blessed guests! ‘Love and I,’
says Christ; as if He felt He never had a companion that suited Him
better. ‘Love’ and ‘I:’ Jesus is ever at home where love is
reigning. When love lives in His people’s hearts, Jesus lives there
too. Does Jesus, then, live in the hearts of His people? Yes,
wherever there is the love of the Father shed abroad in them He must
be there. We have His own word for it, and we are sure that Jesus
knows where He is.
“We are sure that He is where love is; for, first, where there is
love there is _life_, and where there is life there is Christ, for
He Himself says, ‘I am the life.’ There is no true life in the
believer’s soul that is divided from Christ. We are sure of that; so
that where there is love there is life, and where there is life
there is Christ. Again, where there is the love of God in the heart
there is _the Holy Spirit_; but wherever the Holy Spirit is, there
is Christ, for the Holy Spirit is Christ’s representative; and it is
in that sense that He tells us, ‘Lo, I am with you alway,’ namely,
because the Spirit is come to be always with us. So where there is
love, there is the Spirit of God; and where there is the Spirit of
God, there is Christ. So it is always, ‘Love and I.’
“Furthermore, where there is love there is _faith_, for faith
worketh by love, and there never was true love to Christ apart from
faith; but where there is faith there is always Christ, for if there
is faith in Him He has been received into the soul. Jesus is ever
near to that faith which has Himself for its foundation and resting
place. Where there is love there is faith, where there is faith
there is Christ, and so it is ‘Love and I.’
“Ay, but where there is the Father’s love toward Christ in the heart
_God_ Himself is there. I am sure of that, for God is love. So if
there is love within us there must be God, and where God is there
Christ is, for He saith, ‘I and my Father are one.’ So you see where
there is love there must be Jesus Christ, for these reasons and for
many others besides.
“’I in them.’ Yes, if I were commanded to preach for seven years
from these three words only, I should never exhaust the text, I am
quite certain. I might exhaust you by my dullness, and exhaust
myself by labor to tell out the sacred secret, but I should never
exhaust the text. ‘I in them.’ It is the most blessed word I know
of. You, beloved, need not go abroad to find the Lord Jesus Christ.
Where does He live? He lives within you. ‘I in them.’ As soon as
ever you pray you are sure He hears you, because He is within you.
He is not knocking at your door; He has entered into you, and there
He dwells, and will go no more out forever.
“What a blessed sense of power this gives to us. ‘I in them.’ Then
it is no more ‘I’ in weakness, but, since Jesus dwells in me, ‘I can
do all things through Christ that strengthened me.’ ‘I in them.’ It
is the glory of the believer that Christ dwells in him. ‘Unto you
that believe He is precious.’
“Hence we gather the security of the believer. Brother, if Christ be
in me, and I am overcome, Christ is conquered too, for He is in me.
‘I in them.’ I cannot comprehend the doctrine of believers falling
from grace. If Christ has once entered into them, will He not abide
with them? Paul saith, ‘I am persuaded that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall
be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord.’ To that persuasion I set my hand and seal. Well, then, if
Christ is in us, whatever happens to us will happen to Him. We shall
be losers if we do not get to Heaven; but so will He be, for He is
in us, and so is a partaker of our condition. If it is an
indissoluble union—and so He declares it is—‘I in them,’ then His
destiny and ours are linked together; and if He wins the victory we
conquer in Him: If He sits at the right hand of God we shall sit at
the right hand of God with Him, for He is in us.
“I know not what more to say, not because I have nothing more, but
because I do not know which to bring forward out of a thousand
precious things; but I leave the subject with you. Go home and live
in the power of this blessed text. Go home and be as happy as you
can be to live, and if you get a little happier that will not hurt
you, for then you will be in Heaven. Keep up unbroken joy in the
Lord. It is not ‘I in them’ for Sundays, and away on Mondays; ‘I in
them’ when they sit in the Tabernacle, and out of them when they
reach home. No, ‘I in them’ and that forever and forever. Go and
rejoice. Show this blind world that you have a happiness which as
much outshines theirs as the sun outshines the sparks which fly from
the chimney and expire. Go forth with joy and be led forth with
peace; let the mountains and the hills break forth before you into
singing:
‘All that remains for me
Is but to love and sing,
And wait until the angels come,
To bear me to the King.’
“’Oh! but I have my troubles.’ I know you have your troubles, but
they are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be
revealed in you, nor even with your present glory. I feel as if I
could not think about troubles, nor sins, nor anything else when I
once behold the love of God to me. When I feel my love to Christ,
which is but God’s love to Christ, burning within my soul, then I
glory in tribulation, for the power of God shall be through these
afflictions made manifest in me. ‘I in them.’ God bless you with the
knowledge of this mystery, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.”
Our third example is the outline of that grand inaugural discourse of
the Christian religion found in the 5th, 6th, and 7th chapters of St.
Matthew. The Sermon on the Mount is too familiar to need reproduction
here, but the outline will show how regular it is in structure, and how
closely it conforms to the laws which govern discourses.
The _subject_ is the distinction between the Spiritual Kingdom Christ
then set up, and the Jewish State, of which His hearers were still
members.
The _object_ is to induce His hearers to enter immediately into this new
and better Kingdom.
PLAN OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
INTRODUCTION.—1. Who the blessed (happy) ones really are; v, 2–12.
2. The position of the blessed; v, 13–16.
3. The Old Kingdom not to be destroyed by the New; v, 17–20.
I. CONTRASTS BETWEEN THE OLD AND NEW KINGDOMS CONCERNING THINGS
FORBIDDEN.
1. The law against Killing; v, 21–26.
2. The law against Adultery; v, 27–32.
3. The law against Profanity; v, 33–37.
4. The law against Injuries; v, 38–48.
II. CONTRASTS CONCERNING PRACTICAL DUTIES.
1. Almsgiving; vi, 2–4.
2. Prayer; vi, 5–15. [Example—the Lord’s Prayer.]
3. Fasting; vi, 16–18.
4. Treasure-gathering; vi, 19–34.
III. HOW SUBJECTS OF THE NEW KINGDOM SHOULD REGARD OTHER PERSONS.
1. With charity in word and action; vii, 1–12.
2. But with caution; influence of numbers and of false teachers
deprecated; vii, 13–23.
CONCLUSION.—The whole subject illustrated by the evil consequences
of building a house upon a foundation of sand, and the good
consequences of building it upon a rock.