E-text prepared by Al Haines
PAROCHIAL AND PLAIN SERMONS
by
JOHN HENRY NEWMAN, B.D.
Formerly Vicar of St. Mary's, Oxford
In Eight Volumes
VOL. VIII.
New Edition
London
Longmans, Green, and Co.
and New York: 15 East 16th Street
1891
CONTENTS.
SERMON I.
Reverence in Worship.
"_Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen
ephod._"--1 Sam. ii. 18
SERMON II.
Divine Calls.
"_And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel,
Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak: for Thy servant heareth._"--1
Sam. iii. 10
SERMON III.
The Trial of Saul.
"_And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace
offerings. And he offered the burnt offering._"--1 Sam. xiii. 9
SERMON IV.
The Call of David.
"_So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a
stone._"--1 Sam. xvii. 50
SERMON V.
Curiosity of Temptation to Sin.
"_Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil
men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away._"--Prov.
iv. 14, 15
SERMON VI.
Miracles no Remedy for Unbelief.
"_And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke Me?
and how long will it be ere they believe Me, for all the signs which I
have showed among them?_"--Num. xiv. 11
SERMON VII.
Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"_Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before
the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and
against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation
and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have
heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto
thy fathers, and thou shall be gathered into thy grave in peace; and
thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this
place._"--2 Kings xxii. 19, 20
SERMON VIII.
Inward Witness to the Truth of the Gospel.
"_I have more understanding than my teachers, for Thy testimonies
are my study; I am wiser than the aged, because I keep Thy
commandments._"--Psalm cxix. 99, 100
SERMON IX.
Jeremiah, a Lesson for the Disappointed.
"_Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee,
saith the Lord._"--Jer. i. 8
SERMON X.
Endurance of the World's Censure.
"_And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them; neither be afraid of
their words, though briars and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell
among scorpions; be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their
looks, though they be a rebellious house._"--Ezek. ii. 6
SERMON XI.
Doing Glory to God in Pursuits of the World.
"_Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to
the glory of God._"--1 Cor. x. 31
SERMON XII.
Vanity of Human Glory.
"_The world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not._"--1 John iii. 1
SERMON XIII.
Truth hidden when not sought after.
"_They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned
unto fables._"--2 Tim. iv. 4
SERMON XIV.
Obedience to God the Way to Faith in Christ.
"_When Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou
art not far from the kingdom of God._"--Mark xii. 34
SERMON XV.
Sudden Conversions.
"_By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed
upon me was not in vain._"--1 Cor. xv. 10
SERMON XVI.
The Shepherd in our Souls.
"_I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd gaveth His life for the
sheep._"--John x. 11
SERMON XVII.
Religious Joy.
"_And the Angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is
born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord._"--Luke ii. 10, 11
SERMON XVIII.
Ignorance of Evil.
"_And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to
know good and evil._"--Gen. iii. 22
SERMON I.
Reverence in Worship.
"_Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen
ephod._"--1 Samuel ii. 18.
Samuel, viewed in his place in sacred history, that is, in the course
of events which connect Moses with Christ, appears as a great ruler and
teacher of his people; this is his prominent character. He was the
first of the prophets; yet, when we read the sacred narrative itself,
in which his life is set before us, I suppose those passages are the
more striking and impressive which represent him, in the office which
belonged to him by birth, as a Levite, or minister of God. He was
taken into God's special service from the first; he lived in His
Temple; nay, while yet a child, he was honoured with the apparel of a
sacred function, as the text tells us, "he ministered before the Lord,
being a child, girded with a linen ephod."
His mother had "given him unto the Lord all the days of his life[1],"
by a solemn vow before his birth; and in him, if in any one, were
fulfilled the words of the Psalmist, "Blessed are they that dwell in
Thy house, they will be always praising Thee[2]."
Such a constant abode in God's house would make common minds only
familiar with holy things, and irreverent; but where God's grace is
present in the heart, the effect is the reverse; which we might be sure
would happen in the case of Samuel. "The Lord was with him," we are
told; and therefore the more the outward signs of that Lord met his
eye, the more reverent he became, not the more presuming. The more he
acquainted himself with God, the greater would be his awe and holy fear.
Thus the first notice we have of his ministering before the Lord,
reminds us of the decency and gravity necessary at all times, and in
all persons, in approaching Him. "He ministered before the Lord, being
a child, girded with a linen ephod." His mother had made him yearly a
little coat for his common use, but in Divine Service he wore, not
this, but a garment which would both express, and impress upon him,
reverence.
And, in like manner, in his old age, when Saul sent to seek David at
Naioth, where Samuel was, his messengers found Samuel and the prophets
under him all in decent order. "They saw the company of prophets
prophesying, and Samuel over them." And this was so impressive a
sight, that it became an instrument of God's supernatural power towards
them, and they prophesied also.
On the other hand, if we would have an example of the want of this
reverence, we have it in Saul himself, the reprobate king, who, when he
was on his way to Naioth, and was visited by God's Holy Spirit, did not
thereupon receive the garment of salvation, nor was clothed in
righteousness, but behaved himself in an unseemly wild way, as one
whose destitution and shame were but detected by the visitation. He
stript off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel, and lay down in
that state all that day and all that night.
This difference we see even at this day:--of persons professing
religion, some are like Samuel, some like Saul; some (as it were) cast
off their garments and prophesy in disorder and extravagance; others
minister before the Lord, "girded with a linen ephod," with "their
loins girt and their lamps burning," like men awfully expecting the
coming of their great and glorious Judge. By the latter, I mean the
true children of the Holy Catholic Church, by the former, I mean
heretics and schismatic.
There have ever been from the first these two kinds of
Christians--those who belonged to the Church, and those who did not.
There never was a time since the Apostles' day, when the Church was
not; and there never was a time but men were to be found who preferred
some other way of worship to the Church's way. These two kinds of
professed Christians ever have been--Church Christians, and Christians
not of the Church; and it is remarkable, I say, that while, on the one
hand, reverence for sacred things has been a characteristic of Church
Christians on the whole, so, want of reverence has been the
characteristic on the whole of Christians not of the Church. The one
have prophesied after the figure of Samuel, the other after the figure
of Saul.
Of course there are many exceptions to this remark in the case of
individuals. Of course I am not speaking of inconsistent persons and
exceptional cases, in the Church, or out of it; but of those who act up
to what they profess. I mean that zealous, earnest, and faithful
members of the Church have generally been reverent; and zealous,
earnest, and faithful members of other religious bodies have generally
been irreverent. Again, after all, there will be real exceptions in
the case of individuals which we cannot account for; but I mean that,
on, the _whole_, it will be found that reverence is one of the marks or
notes of the Church; true though it may be that some particular
individuals, who have kept apart from it, have not been without a
reverential spirit notwithstanding.
Indeed so natural is the connexion between a reverential spirit in
worshipping God, and faith in God, that the wonder only is, how any one
can for a moment imagine he has faith in God, and yet allow himself to
be irreverent towards Him. To believe in God, is to believe the being
and presence of One who is All-holy, and All-powerful, and
All-gracious; how can a man really believe thus of Him, and yet make
free with Him? it is almost a contradiction in terms. Hence even
heathen religions have ever considered faith and reverence identical.
To believe, and not to revere, to worship familiarly, and at one's
ease, is an anomaly and a prodigy unknown even to false religions, to
say nothing of the true one. Not only the Jewish and Christian
religions, which are directly from God, inculcate the spirit of
"reverence and godly fear," but those other religions which have
existed, or exist, whether in the East or the South, inculcate the
same. Worship, forms of worship--such as bowing the knee, taking off
the shoes, keeping silence, a prescribed dress, and the like--are
considered as necessary for a due approach to God. The whole world,
differing about so many things differing in creed and rule of life, yet
agree in this--that God being our Creator, a certain self-abasement of
the whole man is the duty of the creature; that He is in heaven, we
upon earth; that He is All-glorious, and we worms of the earth and
insects of a day.
But those who have separated from the Church of Christ have in this
respect fallen into greater than pagan error. They may be said to form
an exception to the concordant voice of a whole world, always and every
where; they break in upon the unanimous suffrage of mankind, and
determine, at least by their conduct, that reverence and awe are not
primary religious duties. They have considered that in some way or
other, either by God's favour or by their own illumination, they are
brought so near to God that they have no need to fear at all, or to put
any restraint upon their words or thoughts when addressing Him. They
have considered awe to be superstition, and reverence to be slavery.
They have learnt to be familiar and free with sacred things, as it
were, on principle. I think this is really borne out by facts, and
will approve itself to inquirers as true in substance, however one man
will differ from another in the words in which he would express the
fact itself.
Samuel was a little child who had never fallen away from God, but by
His grace had ever served Him. Let us take a very different instance,
the instance of a penitent sinner as set before us in the parable of
the Publican and Pharisee. I need hardly say which of the two was the
most pleasing to God--the Publican; whereas the Pharisee was not
accepted by Him. Now what did the Pharisee do? He did not even go so
far as to behave in an unseemly, extravagant way: he was grave and
solemn, and yet what he did was enough to displease God, because he
took too much upon himself, and made too much of himself. Though grave
and solemn, he was not reverent; he spoke in a haughty, proud way, and
made a long sentence, thanking God that he was not as other men are,
and despising the Publican. Such was the behaviour of the Pharisee;
but the Publican behaved very differently. Observe how he came to
worship God; "he stood afar off; he lift not up so much as his eyes
unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a
sinner[3]." You see his words were few, and almost broken, and his
whole conduct humble and reverent; he felt that God was in heaven, he
upon earth, God All-holy and Almighty, and he a poor sinner.
Now all of us are sinners, all of us have need to come to God as the
Publican did; every one, if he does but search his heart, and watch his
conduct, and try to do his duty, will find himself to be full of sins
which provoke God's wrath. I do not mean to say that all men are
equally sinners; some are wilful sinners, and of them there is no hope,
till they repent; others sin, but they try to avoid sinning, pray to
God to make them better, and come to Church to be made better; but all
men are quite sinners enough to make it their duty to behave as the
Publican. Every one ought to come into Church as the Publican did, to
say in his heart, "Lord, I am not worthy to enter this sacred place; my
only plea for coming is the merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour." When,
then, a man enters Church, as many do, carelessly and familiarly,
thinking of himself, not of God, sits down coldly and at his ease,
either does not say a prayer at all, or merely hides his face for
form's sake, sitting all the while, not standing or kneeling; then
looks about to see who is in the Church, and who is not, and makes
himself easy and comfortable in his seat, and uses the kneeler for no
other purpose than to put his feet upon; in short, comes to Church as a
place, not of meeting God and His holy Angels, but of seeing what is to
be seen with the bodily eyes, and hearing what is to be heard with the
bodily ears, and then goes and gives his judgment about the sermon
freely, and says, "I do not like this or that," or "This is a good
argument, but that is a bad one," or "I do not like this person so much
as that," and so on; I mean when a man acts in all respects as if he
was at home, and not in God's House,--all I can say is, that he
ventures to do in God's presence what neither Cherubim nor Seraphim
venture to do, for they veil their faces, and, as if not daring to
address God, praise Him to each other, in few words, and those
continually repeated, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth.
What I have said has been enough to suggest what it is to serve God
acceptably, viz. "with reverence and godly fear," as St. Paul says. We
must not aim at forms for their own sake, but we must keep in mind
where we are, and then forms will come into our service naturally. We
must in all respects act as if we saw God; that is, if we believe that
God is here, we shall keep silence; we shall not laugh, or talk, or
whisper during the Service, as many young persons do; we shall not gaze
about us. We shall follow the example set us by the Church itself. I
mean, as the words in which we pray in Church are not our own, neither
will our looks, or our postures, or our thoughts, be our own. We
shall, in the prophet's words, not "do our own ways" there, nor "find
our own pleasure," nor "speak our own words;" in imitation of all
Saints before us, including the Holy Apostles, who never spoke their
own words in solemn worship, but either those which Christ taught them,
or which the Holy Ghost taught them, or which the Old Testament taught
them. This is the reason why we always pray from a book in Church; the
Apostles said to Christ, "Lord, teach us to pray," and our Lord
graciously gave them the prayer called the Lord's Prayer. For the same
reason we too use the Lord's Prayer, and we use the Psalms of David and
of other holy men, and hymns which are given us in Scripture, thinking
it better to use the words of inspired Prophets than our own. And for
the same reason we use a number of short petitions, such as "Lord, have
mercy upon us," "O Lord, save the Queen," "O Lord, open Thou our lips,"
and the like, not using many words, or rounding our sentences, or
allowing ourselves to enlarge in prayer.
Thus all we do in Church is done on a principle of _reverence_; it is
done with the thought that we are in God's presence. But irreverent
persons, not understanding this, when they come into Church, and find
nothing there of a striking kind, when they find every thing is read
from a book, and in a calm, quiet way, and still more, when they come a
second and a third time, and find every thing just the same, over and
over again, they are offended and tired. "There is nothing," they say,
"to rouse or interest them." They think God's service dull and
tiresome, if I may use such words; for they do not come to Church to
honour God, but to please themselves. They want something new. They
think the prayers are long, and wish that there was more preaching, and
that in a striking oratorical way, with loud voice and florid style.
And when they observe that the worshippers in Church are serious and
subdued in their manner, and will not look, and speak, and move as much
at their ease as out of doors, or in their own houses, then (if they
are very profane) they ridicule them, as weak and superstitious. Now
is it not plain that those who are thus tired, and wearied, and made
impatient by our sacred services below, would most certainly get tired
and wearied with heaven above? because there the Cherubim and Seraphim
"rest not day and night," saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty." Such as this, too, will be the way of the Saints in glory,
for we are told that there will be a great voice of much people saying,
Alleluia; and again they said Alleluia, and the four-and-twenty elders
said Alleluia, and a voice of many waters and of mighty thunderings
said Alleluia. Such, too, was our Lord's way, when in His agony He
three times repeated the same words, "Thy will, not Mine, be done." It
is the delight of all holy beings, who stand around the Throne, to use
one and the same form of worship; they are not tired, it is ever new
pleasure to them to say the words anew. They are never tired; but
surely all those persons would be soon tired of hearing them, instead
of taking part in their glorious chant, who are weaned of Church now,
and seek for something more attractive and rousing.
Let all persons, then, know for certain, and be assured beforehand,
that if they come to Church to have their hearts put into strange and
new forms, and their feelings moved and agitated, they come for what
they will not find. We wish them to join Saints and Angels in
worshipping God; to say with the Seraphim, "Holy Lord God of Sabaoth,"
to say with the Angels, "Glory to God in the highest, and in earth
peace, good-will towards men," to say after our Lord and Saviour, "Our
Father, which art in heaven," and what follows; to say with St. Mary,
"My soul doth magnify the Lord;" with St. Simeon, "Lord, now lettest
Thou Thy servant depart in peace;" with the Three Children who were
cast into the fiery furnace, "O all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the
Lord, praise Him, and magnify Him for ever," with the Apostles, "I
believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in
Jesus Christ His only Son our Lord; and in the Holy Ghost." We wish to
read to them words of inspired Scripture, and to explain its doctrine
to them soberly after its pattern. This is what we wish them to say,
again and again: "Lord, have mercy;" "We beseech Thee to hear us, O
Lord;" "Good Lord, deliver us;" "Glory be to the Father, and to the
Son, and to the Holy Ghost." All holy creatures are praising God
continually--we hear them not, still they are praising Him and praying
to Him. All the Angels, the glorious company of the Apostles, the
goodly fellowship of the Prophets, the noble army of Martyrs, the Holy
Church universal, all good men all over the earth, all the spirits and
souls of the righteous, all our friends who have died in God's faith
and fear, all are praising and praying to God: we come to Church to
join them; our voices are very feeble, our hearts are very earthly, our
faith is very weak. We do not deserve to come, surely not;--consider
what a great favour it is to be allowed to join in the praises and
prayers of the City of the Living God, we being such sinners;--we
should not be allowed to come at all but for the merits of our Lord and
Saviour. Let us firmly look at the Cross, that is the token of our
salvation. Let us ever remember the sacred Name of Jesus, in which
devils were cast out of old time. These are the thoughts with which we
should come to Church, and if we come a little before the Service
begins, and want something to think about, we may look, not at who are
coming in and when, but at the building itself, which will remind us of
many good things; or we may look into the Prayer Book for such passages
as the 84th Psalm, which runs thus: "O how amiable are Thy dwellings,
Thou Lord of hosts! my soul hath a desire and longing to enter into the
Courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh rejoice in the Living God."
Such will be our conduct and our thoughts in Church, if we be true
Christians; and I have been giving this description of them, not only
for the sake of those who are not reverent, but for the sake of those
who try to be so,--for the sake of all of us who try to come to Church
soberly and quietly, that we may know why we do so, and may have an
answer if any one asks us. Such will be our conduct even when we are
out of Church. I mean, those who come to Church again and again, in
this humble and heavenly way, will find the effect of it, through God's
mercy, in their daily walk. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai,
where he had been forty days and forty nights, his face quite shone and
dazzled the people, so that he was obliged to put a veil over it. Such
is the effect of God's grace on those who come to Church in faith and
love; their mode of acting and talking, their very manner and
behaviour, show they have been in God's presence. They are ever sober,
cheerful, modest, serious, and earnest. They do not disgrace their
profession, they do not take God's Name in vain, they do not use
passionate language, they do not lie, they do not jest in an unseemly
way, they do not use shameful words, they keep their mouth; they have
kept their mouth in Church, and avoided rashness, so they are enabled
to keep it at home. They have bright, smiling, pleasant faces. They
do not wear a mock gravity, and, like the hypocrites whom Christ speaks
of, make themselves sad countenances, but they are easy and natural,
and without meaning it cannot help showing in their look, and voice,
and manner, that they are God's dear children, and have His grace
within them. They are civil and obliging, kind and friendly; not
envious or jealous, not quarrelsome, not spiteful or resentful, not
selfish, not covetous, not niggardly, not lovers of the world, not
afraid of the world, not afraid of what man can do against them.
Such are they who worship God in spirit and in truth in Church; they
love Him and they fear Him. And, besides those who profess to love
without fearing, there are two sorts of persons who fall short; first,
and worst, those who neither fear nor love God; and, secondly, those
who fear Him, but do not love Him. There are, every where, alas! some
bold, proud, discontented persons, who, as far as they dare, speak
against religion altogether; they do not come to Church, or if they
come, come to see about what is going on, not to worship. These are
those who neither love nor fear; but the more common sort of persons
are they who have a sort of fear of God without the love of Him, who
feel and know that some things are right, and others wrong, yet do not
adhere to the right; who are conscious they sin from time to time, and
that wilfully, who have an uneasy conscience, who fear to die; who
have, indeed, a sort of serious feeling about sacred things, who
reverence the Church and its Ordinances, who would be shocked at open
impiety, who do not make a mock at Baptism, much less at the Holy
Communion, but, still, who have not the heart to love and obey God.
This, I fear, my brethren, may be the state of some of you. See to it,
that you are clear from the sin of knowing and confessing what is your
duty, and yet not doing it. If you be such, and make no effort to
become better; if you do not come to Church honestly, for God's grace
to make you better, and seriously strive to be better and to do your
duty more thoroughly, it will profit you nothing to be ever so reverent
in your manner, and ever so regular in coming to Church. God hates the
worship of the mere lips; He requires the worship of the heart. A
person may bow, and kneel, and look religious, but he is not at all the
nearer heaven, unless he tries to obey God in all things, and to do his
duty. But if he does honestly strive to obey God, then his outward
manner will be reverent also; decent forms will become natural to him;
holy ordinances, though coming to him from the Church, will at the same
time come (as it were) from his heart; they will be part of himself,
and he will as little think of dispensing with them as he would
dispense with his ordinary apparel, nay, as he could dispense with
tongue or hand in speaking or doing. This is the true way of doing
devotional service; not to have feelings without acts, or acts without
feelings; but both to do and to feel;--to see that our hearts and
bodies are both sanctified together, and become one; the heart ruling
our limbs, and making the whole man serve Him, who has redeemed the
whole man, body as well as soul.
[1] Sam. i. 11.
[2] Ps. lxxxiv. 4.
[3] Luke xviii. 13.
SERMON II.
Divine Calls.
"_And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel;
Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for Thy servant heareth._"--1
Samuel iii. 10.
In the narrative of which these words form part, we have a remarkable
instance of a Divine call, and the manner in which it is our duty to
meet it. Samuel was from a child brought to the house of the Lord; and
in due time he was called to a sacred office, and made a prophet. He
was called, and he forthwith answered the call. God said, "Samuel,
Samuel." He did not understand at first who called, and what was
meant; but on going to Eli he learned who spoke, and what his answer
should be. So when God called again, he said, "Speak, Lord, for Thy
servant heareth." Here is prompt obedience.
Very different in its circumstances was St. Paul's call, but resembling
Samuel's in this respect, that, when God called, he, too, promptly
obeyed. When St. Paul heard the voice from heaven, he said at once,
trembling and astonished, "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do[1]?"
This same obedient temper of his is stated or implied in the two
accounts which he himself gives of his miraculous conversion. In the
22nd chapter he says, "And I said, What shall I do, Lord?" And in the
26th, after telling King Agrippa what the Divine Speaker said to him,
he adds what comes to the same thing, "Whereupon, O King Agrippa, _I
was not disobedient_ unto the heavenly vision." Such is the account
given us in St. Paul's case of that first step in God's gracious
dealings with him, which ended in his eternal salvation. "Whom He did
foreknow, He also did predestinate[2];"--"whom He did predestinate,
them He also called"--here was the first act which took place in
time--"and whom He called, them He also justified, and whom He
justified, them He also glorified." Such is the Divine series of
mercies; and you see that it was prompt obedience on St. Paul's part
which carried on the first act of Divine grace into the second, which
knit together the first mercy to the second. "Whom He called, them He
also justified." St. Paul was called when Christ appeared to him in
the way; he was justified when Ananias came to baptize him: and it was
prompt obedience which led him from his call to his baptism. "Lord,
what wilt Thou have me to do?" The answer was, "Arise, and go into
Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are
appointed for thee to do[3]." And when he came to Damascus, Ananias
was sent to him by the same Lord who had appeared to him; and he
reminded St. Paul of this when he came to him. The Lord had appeared
for his call; the Lord appeared for his justification.
This, then, is the lesson taught us by St. Paul's conversion, promptly
to obey the call. If we do obey it, to God be the glory, for He it is
works in us. If we do not obey, to ourselves be all the shame, for sin
and unbelief work in us. Such being the state of the case, let us take
care to act accordingly,--being exceedingly alarmed lest we should not
obey God's voice when He calls us, yet not taking praise or credit to
ourselves if we do obey it. This has been the temper of all saints
from the beginning--working out their salvation with fear and
trembling, yet ascribing the work to Him who wrought in them to will
and do of His good pleasure; obeying the call, and giving thanks to Him
who calls, to Him who fulfils in them their calling. So much on the
pattern afforded us by St. Paul.
Very different in its circumstances was Samuel's call, when a child in
the temple, yet resembling St. Paul's in this particular,--that for our
instruction the circumstance of his obedience to it is brought out
prominently even in the words put into his mouth by Eli in the text.
Eli taught him what to say, when called by the Divine voice.
Accordingly, when "the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other
times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak, Lord, for Thy
servant heareth."
Such, again, is the temper of mind expressed by holy David in the 27th
Psalm, "When Thou saidst, Seek ye My face, my heart said unto Thee, Thy
face, Lord, will I seek."
And this temper, which in the above instances is illustrated in words
spoken, is in the case of many other Saints in Scripture shown in word
and deed; and, on the other hand, is illustrated negatively by being
neglected in the case of others therein mentioned, who might have
entered into life, and did not.
For instance, we read of the Apostles, that "Jesus, walking by the sea
of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his
brother, casting a net into the sea, for they were fishers. And He
saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men. _And
they straightway_ left their nets and followed Him[4]." Again; when He
saw James and John with their father Zebedee, "He _called_ them; and
they _immediately left the ship, and their father_, and _followed_
Him." And so of St. Matthew at the receipt of custom, "He said unto
him, Follow Me, and he left all, rose up, and followed Him."
Again, we are told in St. John's Gospel, "Jesus would go forth into
Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto Him, _Follow_ Me." Again,
"Philip findeth Nathanael," and in like manner says to him, "Come and
see." "Jesus saw Nathanael coming unto Him, and saith of him, Behold
an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile."
On the other hand, the young ruler shrunk from the call, and found it a
hard saying, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and
give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come, and
follow Me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away
sorrowful, for he had great possessions[5]." Others who seemed to
waver, or rather who asked for some little delay from human feeling,
were rebuked for want of promptitude in their obedience;--for time
stays for no one; the word of call is spoken and is gone; if we do not
seize the moment, it is lost. Christ was on His road heavenward. He
walked by the sea of Galilee[6]; He "passed forth[7];" He "passed
by[8];" He did not stop; all men must join Him, or He would be calling
on others beyond them[9]. "He said to another, Follow Me. But he
said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Jesus said unto
him, Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom
of God. And another also said, Lord, I will follow Thee: but let me
first go bid them farewell, which are at home at my house. And Jesus
said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking
back, is fit for the kingdom of God[10]."
Not unlike these last instances are the circumstances of the call of
the great prophet Elisha, though he does not seem to have incurred
blame from Elijah for his lingering on the thoughts of what he was
leaving. "He found Elisha, the son of Shaphat, who was ploughing . . .
Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle over him." He did not stay;
he passed on, and Elisha was obliged to run after him. "And he left
the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my
father and my mother, and then I will follow thee." This the prophet
allowed him to do, and after that "he arose and followed Elijah, and
ministered unto him."
Or once more consider the circumstances of the call of Abraham, the
father of all who believe. He was called from his father's house, but
was not told whither. St. Paul was bid go to Damascus, and there he
was to receive further directions. In like manner Abraham left his
home for a land "that I _will_ show thee[11]," says Almighty God.
Accordingly he went out, "not knowing whither he went." "Abram
[Transcriber's note: Abraham?] departed as the Lord had spoken unto
him."
Such are the instances of Divine calls in Scripture, and their
characteristic is this; to require instant obedience, and next to call
us we know not to what; to call us on in the darkness. Faith alone can
obey them. But it may be urged, How does this concern us now? We were
all called to serve God in infancy, before we could obey or disobey; we
found ourselves called when reason began to dawn; we have been called
to a state of salvation, we have been living as God's servants and
children, all through our time of trial, having been brought into it in
infancy through Holy Baptism, by the act of our parents. Calling is
not a thing future with us, but a thing past.
This is true in a very sufficient sense; and yet it is true also that
the passages of Scripture which I have been quoting do apply to us
still,--do concern us, and may warn and guide us in many important
ways; as a few words will show.
For in truth we are not called once only, but many times; all through
our life Christ is calling us. He called us first in Baptism; but
afterwards also; whether we obey His voice or not, He graciously calls
us still. If we fall from our Baptism, He calls us to repent; if we
are striving to fulfil our calling, He calls us on from grace to grace,
and from holiness to holiness, while life is given us. Abraham was
called from his home, Peter from his nets, Matthew from his office,
Elisha from his farm, Nathanael from his retreat; we are all in course
of calling, on and on, from one thing to another, having no
resting-place, but mounting towards our eternal rest, and obeying one
command only to have another put upon us. He calls us again and again,
in order to justify us again and again,--and again and again, and more
and more, to sanctify and glorify us.
It were well if we understood this; but we are slow to master the great
truth, that Christ is, as it were, walking among us, and by His hand,
or eye, or voice, bidding us follow Him. We do not understand that His
call is a thing which takes place now. We think it took place in the
Apostles' days; but we do not believe in it, we do not look out for it
in our own case. We have not eyes to see the Lord; far different from
the beloved Apostle, who knew Christ even when the rest of the
disciples knew Him not. When He stood on the shore after His
resurrection, and bade them cast the net into the sea, "that disciple
whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord[12]."
Now what I mean is this: that they who are living religiously, have
from time to time truths they did not know before, or had no need to
consider, brought before them forcibly; truths which involve duties,
which are in fact precepts, and claim obedience. In this and such-like
ways Christ calls us now. There is nothing miraculous or extraordinary
in His dealings with us. He works through our natural faculties and
circumstances of life. Still what happens to us in providence is in
all essential respects what His voice was to those whom He addressed
when on earth: whether He commands by a visible presence, or by a
voice, or by our consciences, it matters not, so that we feel it to be
a command. If it is a command, it may be obeyed or disobeyed; it may
be accepted as Samuel or St. Paul accepted it, or put aside after the
manner of the young man who had great possessions.
And these Divine calls are commonly, from the nature of the case,
sudden now, and as indefinite and obscure in their consequences as in
former times. The accidents and events of life are, as is obvious, one
special way in which the calls I speak of come to us; and they, as we
all know, are in their very nature, and as the word accident implies,
sudden and unexpected. A man is going on as usual; he comes home one
day, and finds a letter, or a message, or a person, whereby a sudden
trial comes on him, which, if met religiously, will be the means of
advancing him to a higher state of religious excellence, which at
present he as little comprehends as the unspeakable words heard by St.
Paul in paradise. By a trial we commonly mean, a something which if
encountered well, will confirm a man in his present way; but I am
speaking of something more than this; of what will not only confirm
him, but raise him into a high state of knowledge and holiness. Many
persons will find it very striking on looking back on their past lives,
to observe what different notions they entertained at different
periods, of what Divine truth was, what was the way of pleasing God,
and what things were allowable or not, what excellence was, and what
happiness. I do not scruple to say, that these differences may be as
great as that which may be supposed to have existed between St. Peter's
state of mind when quietly fishing on the lake, or Elisha's when
driving his oxen, and that new state of mind of each of them when
called to be Apostle or Prophet. Elisha and St. Peter indeed were also
called to a new mode of life; that I am not speaking of. I am not
speaking of cases when persons change their condition, their place in
society, their pursuit, and the like; I am supposing them to remain
pretty much the same as before in outward circumstances; but I say that
many a man is conscious to himself of having undergone inwardly great
changes of view as to what truth is and what happiness. Nor, again, am
I speaking of changes so great, that a man reverses his former opinions
and conduct. He may be able to see that there is a connexion between
the two; that his former has led to his latter; and yet he may feel
that after all they differ in kind; that he has got into a new world of
thought, and measures things and persons by a different rule.
Nothing, indeed, is more wonderful and strange than the different views
which different persons take of the same subject. Take any single
fact, event, or existing thing which meets us in the world; what
various remarks will be made on it by different persons! For instance,
consider the different lights in which any single action, of a striking
nature, is viewed by different persons; or consider the view of wealth
or a wealthy man, taken by this or that class in the community; what
different feelings does it excite--envy, or respect, or ridicule, or
angry opposition, or indifference, or fear and compassion; here are
states of mind in which different parties may regard it. These are
broad differences; others are quite as real, though more subtle.
Religion, for instance, may be reverenced by the soldier, the man of
literature, the trader, the statesman, and the theologian; yet how very
distinct their modes of reverencing it, and how separate the standard
which each sets up in his mind! Well, all these various modes of
viewing things cannot one and all be the best mode, even were they all
good modes; but this even is not the case. Some are contrary to
others; some are bad. But even of those that are on the whole good,
some are but in part good, some are imperfect, some have much bad mixed
with them; and only one is best. Only one is the truth and the perfect
truth; and which that is, none know but those who are in possession of
it, if even they. But God knows which it is; and towards that one and
only Truth He is leading us forward. He is leading forward His
redeemed, He is training His elect, one and all, to the one perfect
knowledge and obedience of Christ; not, however, without their
co-operation, but by means of calls which they are to obey, and which
if they do not obey, they lose place, and fall behind in their heavenly
course. He leads them forward from strength to strength, and from
glory to glory, up the steps of the ladder whose top reacheth to
heaven. We pass from one state of knowledge to another; we are
introduced into a higher region from a lower, by listening to Christ's
call and obeying it.
Perhaps it may be the loss of some dear friend or relative through
which the call comes to us; which shows us the vanity of things below,
and prompts us to make God our sole stay. We through grace do so in a
way we never did before; and in the course of years, when we look back
on our life, we find that that sad event has brought us into a new
state of faith and judgment, and that we are as though other men from
what we were. We thought, before it took place, that we were serving
God, and so we were in a measure; but we find that, whatever our
present infirmities may be, and however far we be still from the
highest state of illumination, then at least we were serving the world
under the show and the belief of serving God.
Or again, perhaps something occurs to force us to take a part for God
or against Him. The world requires of us some sacrifice which we see
we ought not to grant to it. Some tempting offer is made us; or some
reproach or discredit threatened us; or we have to determine and avow
what is truth and what is error. We are enabled to act as God would
have us act; and we do so in much fear and perplexity. We do not see
our way clearly; we do not see what is to follow from what we have
done, and how it bears upon our general conduct and opinions: yet
perhaps it has the most important bearings. That little deed, suddenly
exacted of us, almost suddenly resolved on and executed, may be as
though a gate into the second or third heaven--an entrance into a
higher state of holiness, and into a truer view of things than we have
hitherto taken.
Or again, we get acquainted with some one whom God employs to bring
before us a number of truths which were closed on us before; and we but
half understand them, and but half approve of them; and yet God seems
to speak in them, and Scripture to confirm them. This is a case which
not unfrequently occurs, and it involves a call "to follow on to know
the Lord[13]."
Or again, we may be in the practice of reading Scripture carefully, and
trying to serve God, and its sense may, as if suddenly, break upon us,
in a way it never did before. Some thought may suggest itself to us,
which is a key to a great deal in Scripture, or which suggests a great
many other thoughts. A new light may be thrown on the precepts of our
Lord and His Apostles. We may be able to enter into the manner of life
of the early Christians, as recorded in Scripture, which before was
hidden from us, and into the simple maxims on which Scripture bases it.
We may be led to understand that it is very different from the life
which men live now. Now knowledge is a call to action: an insight into
the way of perfection is a call to perfection.
Once more, it may so happen that we find ourselves, how or why we
cannot tell, much more able to obey God in certain respects than
heretofore. Our minds are so strangely constituted, it is impossible
to say whether it is from the growth of habit suddenly showing itself,
or from an unusual gift of Divine grace poured into our hearts, but so
it is; let our temptation be to sloth, or irresolution, or worldly
anxiety, or pride, or to other more base and miserable sins, we may
suddenly find ourselves possessed of a power of self-command which we
had not before. Or again, we may have a resolution grow on us to serve
God more strictly in His house and in private than heretofore. This is
a call to higher things; let us beware lest we receive the grace of God
in vain. Let us beware of lapsing back; let us avoid temptation. Let
us strive by quietness and caution to cherish the feeble flame, and
shelter it from the storms of this world. God may be bringing us into
a higher world of religious truth, let us work with Him.
To conclude. Nothing is more certain in matter of fact, than that some
men do feel themselves called to high duties and works, to which others
are not called. Why this is we do not know, whether it be that those
who are not called, forfeit the call from having failed in former
trials, or have been called and have not followed, or that though God
gives baptismal grace to all, yet He really does call some men by His
free grace to higher things than others; but so it is; this man sees
sights which that man does not see, has a larger faith, a more ardent
love, and a more spiritual understanding. No one has any leave to take
another's lower standard of holiness for his own. It is nothing to us
what others are. If God calls us to greater renunciation of the world,
and exacts a sacrifice of our hopes and fears, this is our gain, this
is a mark of His love for us, this is a thing to be rejoiced in. Such
thoughts, when properly entertained, have no tendency to puff us up;
for if the prospect is noble, yet the risk is more fearful. While we
pursue high excellence, we walk among precipices, and a fall is easy.
Hence the Apostle says, "Work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling, for it is God that worketh in you[14]." Again, the more men
aim at high things, the more sensitive perception they have of their
own shortcomings; and this again is adapted to humble them especially.
We need not fear spiritual pride then, in following Christ's call, if
we follow it as men in earnest. Earnestness has no time to compare
itself with the state of other men; earnestness has too vivid a feeling
of its own infirmities to be elated at itself. Earnestness is simply
set on doing God's will. It simply says, "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant
heareth," "Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?" Oh that we had more of
this spirit! Oh that we could take that simple view of things, as to
feel that the one thing which lies before us is to please God! What
gain is it to please the world, to please the great, nay, even to
please those whom we love, compared with this? What gain is it to be
applauded, admired, courted, followed, compared with this one aim, of
not being disobedient to a heavenly vision? What can this world offer
comparable with that insight into spiritual things, that keen faith,
that heavenly peace, that high sanctity, that everlasting
righteousness, that hope of glory, which they have who in sincerity
love and follow our Lord Jesus Christ?
Let us beg and pray Him day by day to reveal Himself to our souls more
fully, to quicken our senses; to give us sight and hearing, taste and
touch of the world to come, so to work within us that we may sincerely
say, "Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and after that receive me
to glory. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon earth
that I desire in comparison of Thee: my flesh and my heart faileth; but
God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."
[1] Acts ix. 6.
[2] Rom. viii. 29.
[3] Acts xxii. 10.
[4] Matt. iv. 18-20.
[5] Matt. xix. 21, 22.
[6] Matt. iv. 18.
[7] Matt. ix. 9.
[8] Mark 11. 14.
[9] Matt. xx. 6, 7.
[10] Luke ix. 59-62.
[11] Gen. xii. 1.
[12] John xxi. 7.
[13] Hosea vi. 3.
SERMON III.
The Trial of Saul.
"_And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace
offerings. And he offered the burnt offering._"--1 Samuel xiii. 9.
We are all on our trial. Every one who lives is on his trial, whether
he will serve God or not. And we read in Scripture of many instances
of the trials upon which Almighty God puts us His creatures. In the
beginning, Adam, when he was first created, was put upon his trial. He
was placed in a beautiful garden, he had every thing given him for his
pleasure and comfort; he was created innocent and upright, and he had
the great gift of the Holy Spirit given him to enable him to please
God, and to attain to heaven. One thing alone he was forbidden--to eat
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; this was his trial. If
he did not eat of the fruit, he was to live, if he did, he was to die.
Alas, he did eat of the fruit, and he did die. He was tried and found
wanting; he fell; such was the end of _his_ trial.