stroke. Your delinquency calls for chastisement. Your forgetfulness of
eternity requires the stern admonitions of death. The creature that has
usurped the Creator's place must be removed. The heart that has grown
fast to the world must be torn away. The tree that has struck its roots
so deep into the soil must be loosened before it can be transplanted.
And it is a skilful touch. The musician is familiar with all the keys
and powers of his instrument. The physician is well acquainted with the
character of the disease and the qualities of the application. God's
understanding is infinite, and his wisdom is infallible. He knoweth
perfectly, when, and where, and how, and by what special means, most
effectually to touch the human heart.
"Learn to lie passive in his hand,
And trust his heavenly skill."
And it is a tender touch. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend." "Like
as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear
him; for he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust." "A
bruised reed will he not break, and the smoking flax will he not
quench." The wound must be probed, but the surgeon will do it gently,
and soothe the pain with cordials. "He doth not afflict willingly, nor
grieve the children of men;" but "for your profit, that ye may be
partakers of his holiness." He correcteth his people with
loving-kindness,
"Most merciful when most severe."
And oh! is it not a blessed touch? It is the touch of a sword, which
subdues the rebel will; the touch of a hammer, which breaks the stony
heart; the touch of a fire, which separates the dross from the gold;
the touch of a light, which illuminates the darkness within; the touch
of a key, which opens the royal palace to the king; the touch of a
fountain, which washes away sin and uncleanness; the touch of a
sceptre, which assures of the monarch's gracious acceptance; the touch
of a master, who asserts his claim and takes his property; the touch of
a Saviour, rescuing the soul which he hath ransomed with his blood; the
touch of a lapidary, polishing an immortal gem for Emmanuel's crown!
God's dealings are mysterious but merciful. "Clouds and darkness are
round about him; righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his
throne." He saith to us, as he once said to Simon, "What I do thou
knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter."
"A bruised reed he will not break;
Affliction all his children feel;
He smites them for his mercy's sake;
He wounds to heal."
The Christian, like the Captain of his salvation, is made perfect
through sufferings. His present griefs are the pledges of future joys.
The gloomy night shall soon give place to an eternal day.
Such are the ways of God. And shall my ignorance impeach his perfect
knowledge, and my folly arraign his infinite wisdom, and my evil
complain of his transcendent goodness, and my weakness refuse the aid
of his almighty arm? "The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore
will I hope in him." Strange were it indeed to hear one say: "Alas! I
am undone, for I have nothing left but God." But is not this
practically the language of the believer who sinks into a state of
despondency under providential bereavements? He that has God for his
portion could not be enriched by the bequest of a kingdom, by the
inheritance of a world. The heir of God is heir of all things.
Zeno, who lost his whole fortune in a shipwreck, afterwards declared
that it was the best voyage he ever made, because it led him to the
study of philosophy and virtue. Happy for you, my friends, if your
afflictions lead you to Christ! Happy, if, losing a friend, you find a
Saviour! Receive, I beseech you, this chastisement as a new proof of
your heavenly Father's love. Learn something from heathen Seneca, who
said he enjoyed his friends as one who was soon to lose them, and lost
them as if he had them still. Nay, learn rather from Him who bore your
griefs and carried your sorrows; who, with the burden of all our
accumulated woes pressing upon a sinless heart, exclaimed--"Father, not
my will, but thine, be done!" Thus shall your loss disclose to you the
pearl of great price, and enrich you with the imperishable wealth of
the kingdom of God!
[1] Preached at a funeral, 1862.
X.
WISDOM AND WEAPONS.[1]
Wisdom is better than weapons of war.--Eccles. ix. 18.
We glory in the excellence of our arms. We boast of our superiority in
this respect to the ancients. We attach great importance to such
advantages, and rely upon them for the success of our campaigns. It is
well. Let these things be properly estimated. But are we not in danger
of overlooking what is much more essential to our prosperity? Is there
nothing better than guns and bayonets? The royal Preacher gives the
preference to wisdom. Wisdom is the right use of knowledge, the pursuit
of worthy ends by proper means; and if we take the word in this its
ordinary sense, the truth of the text will be obvious to all. But in
the writings of King Solomon, as often in other parts of the Holy
Scriptures, wisdom has another and higher meaning--piety, practical
religion, conformity of heart and life to the law of God; and attaching
this signification to the term, who can question the statement of the
wisest of monarchs, "Wisdom is better than weapons of war"?
We will begin with some simple illustrations of this proposition in its
lower application to secular affairs, and thus prepare the way for more
copious discourse concerning its higher application to spiritual
matters. And may God mercifully grant me persuasive words, and you "a
wise and understanding heart"!
"Wisdom is better than weapons of war," because it gains its advantages
at less expense. Weapons of war are very costly, and millions of money
are required to insure their success. But wisdom wants no gold. "More
precious than rubies," it is "without money and without price."
"Wisdom is better than weapons of war," because it wins its victories
without sacrificing human life. Weapons of war strew the field with
mangled and ghastly corpses, and fill the land with widows and orphans
and broken hearts. But wisdom sheds no blood. Its tendency is to
preserve life, and not to destroy. It resorts to counsel instead of
appealing to the sword, and subdues its enemies without endangering its
friends.
"Wisdom is better than weapons of war," because it leaves no wrecks or
ruins as the landmarks of its progress. Weapons of war spread
desolation and destruction on all sides; and buildings burned, and
plantations devastated, and wealth scattered to the wind, everywhere
attest the evils of international contention. But wisdom wastes no
property. It accomplishes its beneficent purposes without injuring any
man's estate. It turns no fruitful field into a wilderness, and
disfigures the landscape with no smouldering heaps of demolished
habitations.
"Wisdom is better than weapons of war," because it gives no
encouragement to the malevolent and wicked passions. Weapons of war
produce hatred, contempt, revenge, a thirst for blood; converting men
into fiends, and rendering earth the counterpart of hell. But wisdom
makes no enemies. It conciliates. It attracts love, inspires
confidence, and binds communities and nations together in fraternal
amity. It breathes something of the spirit of Christ's evangel, and
echoes the angelic proclamation--"Peace on earth, good-will toward men."
"Wisdom is better than weapons of war," because its achievements are
always of a much more valuable character. Weapons of war may overcome
brute force, breaking the power of armies, subverting the thrones of
monarchs, and arresting the course of incipient revolutions; while the
mind remains unconvinced, the will unsubdued, and the heart still
strong in its enmity. But wisdom eradicates the principle of hostility.
It blasts the bitter fruit in the bud. It disarms enemies by making
them friends. It occupies the mind, subjugates the will, and leads
captive the heart. Therefore it is said, "He that winneth souls is
wise."
These illustrations of the text in its lower application must suffice.
Proceed we now to the higher. Wisdom is true religion, evangelical
godliness; and this, whatever view we take of it, will be found
superior to weapons of war.
We see its superiority in the excellence of its nature. Weapons are
material: wisdom is spiritual. Weapons are terrestrial; wisdom is
celestial. Weapons are worn upon the person: wisdom is seated in the
soul. Weapons are wielded by the warrior: wisdom controls its
possessor. Weapons are of earthly origin, human invention, Satanic
suggestion: wisdom, like "every good and perfect gift, is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights." It is a beam divine, by
which we see the invisible. It is the breath of God, inspiring a new
life, and imparting a new nature. It is an influence from the Infinite
Spirit, quickening the dead conscience, and purifying the polluted
heart. It is a gracious power, which subjugates, exterminates all that
is hostile to holiness within, "bringing every thought into captivity
to the obedience of Christ," and nerving every faculty to the conquest
of the mighty host of spiritual foes that "beleaguer the human soul."
We read its superiority in the importance of its objects. Weapons are
employed both for aggressive and for defensive purposes: so is wisdom,
but in a very different way. Are weapons used to gain freedom? So is
wisdom, but it is the freedom of the soul. To acquire riches? So is
wisdom, but they are the "durable riches of righteousness." To augment
power? So is wisdom, but it is power over the passions and the habits.
To repel invasion? So is wisdom, but it is the invasion of the Prince
of darkness. To expel enemies? So is wisdom, but they are the enemies
intrenched within us. To extend dominion? So is wisdom, but it is the
dominion of the world's Redeemer. To subjugate nations? So is wisdom,
but they are the nations fighting against God. To liberate captives? So
is wisdom, but they are the captives of sin and Satan. To gratify
revenge? So is wisdom, but it is revenge against the destroyers of our
race. To secure commendation? So is wisdom, but it is the commendation
of the Eternal Judge of quick and dead. To achieve glory and honor? So
is wisdom, but it is the glory of a heavenly inheritance and the honor
of an imperishable kingdom. These are objects worthy of angelic
enterprise, and illustrative of the transcendent excellence of wisdom.
We observe its superiority in the purity of its principles. Weapons
foster and encourage evil passions in the human heart, and stimulate
all its corrupt and vicious propensities; while wisdom eradicates them,
originates the opposite virtues, and cultivates in all their "beauty of
holiness" the gracious "fruits of the Spirit." On the one side we see
pride; on the other, humility. On the one side, contempt; on the other,
courteous respect. On the one side, distrust; on the other, ingenuous
confidence. On the one side, restless ambition; on the other, tranquil
contentment. On the one side, grasping avarice; on the other,
open-handed beneficence. On the one side, bitter emulation; on the
other, mutual aid and sympathy. On the one side, injustice and
oppression; on the other, due regard for the rights of all. On the one
side, deceit and wily treachery; on the other, unswerving truth and
uncompromising fidelity. On the one side, turbulence, confusion and
anarchy; on the other, the reign of divine law and angelic order. On
the one side, savage brutality and diabolical cruelty; on the other,
tears for all woes and help for all needs. On the one side, bitter and
implacable malignity; on the other, the spontaneous flow of brotherly
kindness and charity. On the one side, the desperate wrath and fury of
revenge; on the other, meekness, gentleness, oblivion of injuries, and
all the mind of Jesus. On the one side, an impious disregard of the
Almighty's government; on the other, a profound reverence for his holy
name, with an earnest desire to know and a settled purpose to do his
blessed will. On the one side, an exemplification of the spirit and
temper of hell; on the other, a practical illustration of those pure
affections and hallowed influences which make men resemble the angels,
and render our life "as the days of heaven upon earth." These are the
ennobling principles of wisdom.
We perceive its superiority in the grandeur of its alliances. Weapons
may secure an alliance with the governments of the world, with its
wealth and power, its learning and eloquence, its useful and decorative
arts, the glory of its monarchs, the policy of its statesmen, the
influence of its sages, and the splendid renown of its conquerors. But
wisdom boasts of loftier alliances with "the saints that are in the
earth, and the excellent in whom is all its delight;" "a holy nation, a
royal priesthood, a peculiar people;" the _elite_ of the universe,
the "sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty," "whose names are in the
book of life," whose robes of light, and harps of gold, and thrones of
power, and crowns of glory, and palms of victory, await them in the
city of "many mansions," the "house not made with hands, eternal, in
the heavens." It connects itself by invisible but indissoluble ties
with the redeemed denizens of the "city of God," the purest and noblest
men that ever lived and died, patriarchs and prophets, apostles and
martyrs, philanthropists and reformers, "the salt of the earth," and
"the light of the world,"
"Doers of illimitable good,
Gainers of inestimable glory."
It claims community with the cherubim and the seraphim, spirits of
light and love, the unshorn strength and unsullied purity of heaven. It
lays hold upon the throne of God, and establishes an everlasting
covenant with the Almighty, and interests the Ruler and Proprietor of
the universe in its cause. Such an alliance secures divine sympathy,
heavenly recognition, efficient co-operation, help for all needs,
succor in all troubles, defence against all dangers, deliverance from
all enemies, the triumphant success of all enterprises, and the
enjoyment of "all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ
Jesus." And with this magnificent endowment of privileges, unknown to
the hero of the battle-field, Wisdom, strong in her weakness, rich in
her poverty, happy in her misfortunes, tranquil amidst popular
commotions, and fearless of ten thousand foes, sits singing in the
house of her pilgrimage--
"Not from the dust my joys or sorrows spring;
Let all the baleful planets shed
Their mingled curses round my head,
Their mingled curses I despise,
If but the great Eternal King
Look through the clouds and bless me with his eyes."
We confess its superiority in the character of its achievements. With
arms men conquer inferiors or equals: through wisdom they overcome
beings vastly greater than themselves--greater in number, in nature, in
knowledge, in cunning, in courage, in energy, in endurance, in all the
facilities and resources of warfare, except such as are furnished by
the grace of God. With arms we vanquish human enemies: through wisdom,
superhuman. With arms we vanquish external enemies: through wisdom,
internal. With arms we vanquish visible enemies: through wisdom,
invisible. With arms we vanquish mortal enemies: through wisdom,
immortal. With arms we vanquish earthly enemies: through wisdom,
heavenly principalities and powers dethroned and doomed. With arms we
subdue provinces and subvert empires: through wisdom, overcome self,
and bring our own rebellious nature under the government of God; and he
who accomplishes this, saith Solomon, "is better than the mighty--than
he that taketh a city." Alexander is said to have conquered the world.
Vain boast! The world was not half conquered. But "he that is born of
God," St. John tells us, "overcometh the world; and this is the victory
that overcometh the world, even our faith." Faith is the theological
synonyme of wisdom. Faith is the foundation of all true religion.
Faith, wisdom, is real heroism. And it was through this the holy men of
old achieved their splendid triumphs and won their immortal honors. And
it is through this that the Christian still overcomes the world;
overcomes its spirit; its false philosophy; its evil customs and
fashions; its cunning strategy, and its open violence; the shallow
sophistry of its unbelief, and the affected valor of its impiety; the
fascination of its soft seductions and all the fury of its fierce
revenge. Faith, with Hope and Charity for its allies, sprinkled with
"the blood of the Lamb," and bold in "the word of its testimony," with
the eagle's eye and the lion's courage, goes forth to the holy
conflict; and all the missiles of malice, ridicule and infidelity--as
cannon-balls by cotton-bales--are effectually repelled by the meekness
and gentleness of its spirit; and the enemy at length succumbs to the
virtue that he finds invincible. This is real victory! This is the
sublime triumph of wisdom!
We behold its superiority in the measures and motives of its warfare.
Here is a perfect contrast. Arms triumph by physical force and energy:
wisdom prevails by the persuasiveness of truth, the gentleness of
charity, the beauty of holiness, and the spirit of the Lord. The
soldier seeks the aid of science and strategy: wisdom adheres to the
simplicity of the gospel, repudiating all art, concealment,
disingenuous trickery, such as false colors, masked batteries,
treacherous ambuscades, and challenges its enemies with an honest front
upon the open field. The military hero is cheered on by the voice of
popular applause: wisdom has no admiring multitudes, seeks no
encouragement from the world, but pursues its spiritual warfare in
silence and in secret,
"All unnoticed and unknown,
Loved and prized by God alone."
There is much in "the pomp and circumstance of glorious war" to
stimulate the combatants: wisdom has all the stern reality of the
conflict, without any of its inspiring accompaniments--the martial
strain, the glittering ranks, the floating banners, the roar of
artillery, the shout of charging squadrons, and the clash of resounding
steel. The mailed knight of the battle-field may gather strength from
emulation: wisdom knows no emulation but that of love and good
works--no fierce competition or contentious rivalry--striving only to
excel in kindness of heart, sweetness of temper, and the moral likeness
of the Son of God. You may be encouraged to the conflict by the hope of
gain: wisdom has no expectation of earthly profit--no spoils to be won,
no cities to be sacked, no mansions to be robbed, no bank-vaults to be
rifled; but it forsakes all to follow Christ, and is content to
practise his daily self-denial. You may look forward to worldly
distinctions and honors: wisdom seeks no promotion short of the kingdom
of heaven--no fame of heroism, no record in history, no celebration in
song, no decoration of stars and wreaths, no triumphal arches, nor
monumental pillars, nor statues in the temples of the gods. Nay, the
times have been when those noble heroes who through faith subdued
kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths
of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword,
out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to
flight the armies of the aliens, though the world was unworthy of them,
were deemed unworthy of the world; had trial of cruel mocking and
scourging, of bonds and imprisonments; were tortured, not accepting
deliverance; were tempted, stoned, burned, beheaded, crucified, sawn
asunder; wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, and concealed
themselves in dens and caves of the earth; being destitute, afflicted,
tormented. "But wisdom is justified of her children."
We discover its superiority in the certainty of its final success. Arms
may fail for want of discipline and skill: wisdom has drilled her
soldiers, teaching their hands to war and their fingers to fight. Arms
may fail for want of strength to wield them: wisdom girdeth us with
strength unto the battle; and nerved by her influence, the feeblest in
our ranks can run through a troop and leap over a wall. Arms may fail
for want of competent officers: wisdom rejoices in the "Captain of the
Lord's host," "the Lion of the tribe of Judah," with his eyes of flame,
his vesture dipped in blood, many crowns upon his head, and a sharp
two-edged sword proceeding out of his mouth, followed by the armies of
Heaven, going forth conquering and to conquer. Arms may fail for want
of sufficient defences: wisdom is environed with "a wall of fire," a
living circumvallation of seraphim and cherubim; and "the name of
Jehovah is a strong tower, into which the righteous runneth and is
safe." Arms may fail for want of timely re-enforcements: wisdom can
call to her aid at any moment "twelve legions of angels;" and, could we
see their splendid array, the mountain is continually aflame with the
artillery and cavalry of God. Arms may be rendered useless by the
overwhelming forces of the foe: wisdom leads "a great multitude that no
man can number;" any one of whom can chase a thousand, and two can put
ten thousand to flight; as Gideon, with his three hundred, routed and
destroyed the myriads of Midian. You may be unsuccessful in battle from
a variety of inevitable accidents: wisdom never breaks her blade, nor
bursts her musket, nor loses her bayonet, nor dismounts her artillery,
nor drops a chance match into the magazine; and her batteries can never
be stormed, nor her forces flanked, nor her trains captured, nor her
ammunition exhausted, nor her officers out-generalled and circumvented
by superior strategy. Your troops may lack the proper support of the
government: Jehovah has pledged all his infinite resources to the aid
of wisdom in "the good fight of faith;" and his word shall not fail
till heaven and earth pass away. Your hopes may perish upon the very
verge of victory: what soldier of wisdom ever left the field without
the spoils of a vanquished foe? "Yea, in all these things we are more
than conquerors through him that hath loved us." Success, therefore, is
certain. "The victory is the Lord's, and he giveth it to whomsoever it
pleaseth him." Let the enemy boast, and rage, and threaten! "Who hath
hardened himself against the Lord and prospered?" The sea shall drown
them; the earth shall devour them; the fire of heaven shall consume
them; the stars in their courses shall fight against them; or they
shall perish at the blast of an angel's breath under the very walls of
the city of God! However the line of battle may waver for a season,
however the fortunes of the field may vacillate between victory and
defeat, the word of God is sure, and wisdom shall triumph at the last.