Part 12
III. The duty of becoming mighty in the Scriptures.
1. It is our duty to obtain all the kinds of knowledge of Scripture above mentioned, especially committing it to memory, so as to be able to quote it abundantly, correctly and appropriately.
2. To acquire the ability to use that knowledge. This is partly a mental discipline, partly a spiritual exercise, and partly an art—the art of effective public speaking.
CXCIII. Prayer as a means of Grace
[September 18th, 1859.]
I. What is prayer?
It is not simply petition, but converse with God, including, therefore, 1. The expression of our feelings in view of his greatness and glory, i.e., adoration. 2. The expression of our feelings in view of his goodness, i.e., thanksgiving. 3. The expression of our feelings in view of our sins and sinfulness, i.e., confession. 4. The expression of our feelings in view of our wants, i.e., supplication. Of course this converse with God may be,
1st. Solemn and formal, in the use of articulate words and on set occasions, in the closet, family, or sanctuary.
2d. Occasional and ejaculatory, and thus constant, as the bubbling of a spring of living water.
3d. Or in the unuttered aspirations and longings of the soul after God, like the constant ascent of the flame towards heaven.
II. Prayer, or this converse with God, is a means of grace.
1. It is not merely a means of spiritual improvement, nor a means of securing divine blessings, but one of the appointed means of supernatural, divine communications to the soul from God.
2. This, therefore, is not due to a law of nature, according to which we are assimilated to those with whom we converse, but to the fact that in prayer God communicates himself, reveals his glory and his love to the soul.
3. The Holy Ghost is the Spirit of prayer, in the sense, (a.) That he reveals those objects which call forth spiritual affections, viz., the glory of God, his love, the glory and love of Christ, the inexhaustible riches of the divine promises, our own sinfulness and necessities. (b.) That he not only presents these objects, but also awakens the appropriate feelings. (c.) That he leads us to clothe those feelings, those adoring, penitential, grateful or craving feelings, in appropriate language, or in groanings which cannot be uttered. Thus he maketh intercession for us. Thus he is our παράκλητος, (advocate). Prayer thus inspired is not only always answered in some way, and that the best, but it is also a means of grace. It is the occasion and the channel of infusing new measures of divine life into the soul. It is not therefore prayer as the mere uttering of words, nor prayer as the uttering of natural desires of affection, as when one prays for his own life or the life of those dear to him; but it is prayer as the real intercourse of the soul with God, by the Holy Ghost, that is, the Holy Ghost revealing truth, exciting feeling, and giving appropriate utterance.
III. Our duty in the premises is,
1. To remember that this intercourse with God is optional. We can gain access to him only when he pleases to admit us.
2. That as it is the life of the soul, we should most earnestly desire and diligently seek it.
3. That we must seek it in his appointed way, that is, through Christ and the Spirit.
4. That we must seek it on the occasions on which he is wont to grant it, in the closet, the family, and the sanctuary.
5. That we must not wait for it, so as to pray only when we feel the spirit of prayer. We must go to his courts, knock at his door, bow before the oracle, and expect him in the use of his appointed means.
CXCIV. Prayer
[Jan. 27th, 1856.]
I. General idea.
1. Prayer is converse with and to God. It is not merely petition, nor confession, nor thanksgiving, nor adoration, but all the intercourse of the soul by address to God. It is distinguished, by being address, from contemplation and meditation. This address may be, (1.) Oral or mental. (2.) Occasional or constant. (3.) Formal, in the good sense of the word, and ejaculatory.
2. It is therefore a form of spiritual activity, as essential to spiritual life as the pulsation of the heart is to natural life. (1.) Because it is the evidence and exercise of life. (2.) Because it is necessary to its continuance. A prayerless Christian and a pulseless man are alike impossible. The pulse is the great criterion or index of the health of the body; so prayer is of the health of the soul.
II. The attributes of acceptable prayer.
They are such as flow from the state of mind produced by the Spirit. For the Spirit is the author of all genuine prayer, as it is by the Spirit that we have access unto God. Those feelings and graces which the Spirit calls into exercise, and which find their expression in prayer,
are, 1. Those of admiration and reverence, giving rise to praise and adoration. 2. Those of penitence, giving rise to confession. 3. Those of faith, (1.) In God as the hearer of prayer. (2.) In Christ as our mediator and intercessor. (3.) In God's ability and willingness to answer. (4.) In his actual promise to answer our prayer. 4. Those of gratitude, giving rise to thanksgiving. 5. Those of longing desire after spiritual blessings, and for other things needful for ourselves and others. 6. Those of patience and submission, manifested in perseverance and humble importunity.
III. The efficacy of prayer.
1. As it regards ourselves. It calls into exercise and strengthens all the graces of the Spirit. 2. It is an appointed means to an end, and has the same relation in the moral government of God that other second causes have to their effects. It is an antecedent sine qua non. The objection that God has determined either to give or not give those blessings for which we pray, and that his purpose cannot be changed by our prayers, has no more force than in any other case where means are connected with an end. The objection that it is derogatory to God to be pleased with our praises and thanks has no force, if it is right to praise and thank him. God is pleased with what is right. The objection confounds God with man. Because it is unseemly to praise a creature, it is assumed to be unseemly to adore God.
IV. The importance of cultivating the gift and habit of prayer. To improve in this gift, 1. It is necessary to cherish the right feelings, otherwise all prayer is offense. 2. To cultivate the mind for public prayer, an intellectual exercise. This is as much incumbent on us in prayer as in preaching, especially as others join with us. We lead them; they say what we say. We should not, therefore, make them say what is revolting or unsuitable. 3. The careful, devout reading of the Scriptures, and storing the mind with Scriptural expressions, is necessary. These are the forms in which the Holy Ghost has given utterance to the thoughts and feelings which we desire to express. 4. Premeditation is as necessary here as in preaching. The design is, (1.)
To collect and arrange our thoughts. (2). To call into exercise the proper feelings. (3.) To adapt our prayer to the occasion. The want of this adaptation is a serious evil. 5. Devotional composition is another means much practiced by many devout men, who have attained excellence in this part of social and public service.
This is a very important object, both as regards our own improvement and the edification and honor of the Church.
CXCV. The Prayer of Faith
[April 9th, 1854.]
The passages relating to this subject are Mark 11:23; Matt. 6:7; John 14:13, 14; 15:7; 16:23; James 1:5, 6.
Such passages may be divided into three classes. 1. Those relating to the faith of miracles, and to those only who have the gift of miracles 2. Those which relate to the officers of the church in the discharge of their duties. 3. Those which relate to believers generally.
I. A false doctrine has been deduced from these passages, viz.: that every specific request made with the assurance of its being granted, shall be granted. This cannot be true.
1. Because it would be to submit the divine government to the erring wisdom of men.
2. Because it would lead to undesirable or disastrous consequences. Men might pray for things which would be their own ruin and the ruin of others.
3. It is contrary to all experience.
4. It is contrary to the desire of every pious heart, as every Christian would rather that God's will than his own should be done.
5. The doctrine rests on a false principle of interpretation of the divine promises. The principles which should determine the interpretation of such promises are, (1). The analogy of Scripture, of other promises, (a.) As to parents in regard to their children. (b.) To the Jews. (c.) To the Church. (2.) The nature of the case, or the nature of the thing promised. (3.) The actual dispensations of God. We find that he does not answer always. All these prove that these promises cannot be understood absolutely. Those that are general declare a general principle of God's administration; as "The hand of the diligent maketh rich;" "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it;" the seed of the righteous shall not beg their bread, etc. These do not apply to every case, but assert the general course of providence. And this is enough for encouragement and direction.
Again, all promises of this kind are conditional. The promise of grace to the children of the pious is conditioned on the fidelity of the latter, etc. These promises are conditioned, of course, on the assumption, (1.) That the thing asked for is right. (2.) That it would be for the glory of God, and the good of those who make the request. All true prayer is the fruit of the Spirit, and he can ask for those things only which are according to the mind of God.
II. The true doctrine concerning the prayer of faith is, that the only kind of prayer to which the promise of any favorable answer is given, is such as is offered in faith. This faith includes,
1. Belief that God is.
2. That he is the hearer of prayer; that prayer is not superstitious, fanatical, or inefficacious, but a divine appointment, a means connected with the attainment of the end desired.
3. Faith in Christ, or praying in his name. This includes, (a). Trust in Christ as the medium of access to God, and (b). Reliance on his merit and intercession, as the ground on which we hope to be heard.
4. Faith that we shall receive what we ask, provided it be for the best. It implies that filial confidence manifested by a child in coming to a father in whose ability, affection and wisdom he has full confidence. Every such child knows that his request will be granted provided it meets with the approbation of his father.
Faith stands opposed to distrust; distrust of God's power, of his love, of the sufficiency of Christ, or of his actually interceding for us; distrust of God's disposition to grant what we ask, even though it would be for the best. This is is illustrated often by the disposition of children who lack confidence in their parents.
The relation of prayer, therefore, to the end is not, (1.) that of an efficacious, nor (2.) of a meritorious, nor (3.) of an instrumental, nor (4.) of an occasional cause; but (5.) of a condition antecedent, e.g., the case of Hannah, (1 Sam. 1:10, etc.), or of the blind and deaf in the time of Christ.
III. The importance of this doctrine concerning the prayer of faith.
1. As a preservative against the false presumptuous spirit before referred to.
2. As a ground of consolation and assurance. That we have access to the ear of our heavenly Father, who has promised to hear all our prayers when they are according to his will, is the greatest possible ground of comfort.
3. It should lead us to cultivate faith, as an element of Christian life, and as the source of our power with God.
CXCVI. Intercessory Prayer
[Nov. 26th, 1865.]
I. To intercede, in the Scriptures, is to approach a person for another. In this sense Christ intercedes for his people, and we intercede for each other. Our intercession is simply approaching God in prayer in behalf of others.
1. This is a commanded duty. "I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men." (1 Tim. 2:1.) James says, "Pray one for another." Our Lord commands us to pray for our enemies, to bless those who curse us.
2. It is often exemplified in the Scriptures. Abraham intercedes for the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, Moses often for the people, Elijah for the Israelites of his day, and Daniel and Nehemiah for those of their time.
3. Such prayers being authorized and commanded, are peculiarly effectual, as in the cases above mentioned. In Jeremiah 15:1, God says, "Though Moses and Samuel stood before me, yet my mind could not be toward this people." Paul expected the prayers of believers to be heard on his behalf. James says of intercessory prayer, that the prayer of faith avails much, and illustrates its efficacy by a reference to the case of Elijah.
II. It is the exercise of a priestly function.
1. Such is the union of believers with Christ that they share his offices.
2. Hence they are prophets. The Spirit of Christ is the Spirit of prophecy; that is, those in whom the Spirit dwells become prophets or spokesmen. Hence they are called Christ's witnesses, and those who hear them hear Christ. The Church is Christ's messenger to teach all nations, to act the part of prophets to them. As Christ executes the office of a prophet by revealing to us the will of God, so we execute that office by making known that revelation in his name and by his authority, to our fellow-men.
3. They are kings. They share his authority. (a). To them are committed the keys of the kingdom of heaven. They are invested with authority from him to rule in the Church. (b.) They are to rule over all the earth. The kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." (Dan. 7:27.) The saints shall judge the world. (c.) Hereafter they are to sit with Christ on his throne.
4. They are priests. A priest is one authorized to approach God for others. This is confined by the Romanists to the clergy, or to those who in heaven (angels and the canonized) have liberty of access. The priesthood of believers consists, 1st. In their being permitted to draw near to God. 2d. In their offering to him prayers and praises. 3d. In interceding for others. This is especially a priestly function. The High Priest interceded for the Jews. Christ intercedes for his people. We intercede for one another. Hence intercessory prayer is (a.) Commanded. (b.) Often exemplified. (c.) Available or efficacious.
This then is a great duty, a great privilege, and a great source of consolation; one too often neglected and undervalued.
CXCVII. Prayer for Colleges
[February 26th, 1857.]
I. The observance of a day of this kind has the sanction of the word of God. Numerous examples of the people meeting for prayer are recorded, as among the exiles in Babylon, on their return to the holy city, among the apostles. Numerous exhortations and commands to observe such meetings are found in the Law and in the Prophets. What the word of God sanctions, our nature dictates. When a common necessity presses, or a common desire impels, men will unite; parents for children, children for parents; the family, the college, the Church, the whole body of the faithful. The law of our social nature demands communion in religion as in other things. The
sanction of God's dispensations, as well as of his word and of our nature, shows the value of such seasons of special prayer.
II. But these days may be abused. If they do not do good, they do harm. We know how it is when we draw near to God only with our lips; and we know, I trust, what it is when we are really admitted to his presence. When we behold his glory, are assured of his love, and receive the communications of his Spirit, then our strength is renewed, the intellect is enlightened, the heart enlarged, faith and every grace enthroned, and a holy peace and elevation above the world fill the mind. These are the subjective effects; but they never come alone. If God revives his people, it is that he may communicate life through them to others. It is of vast importance, therefore, to ourselves and others, that we should really draw near to God in an effectual manner.
III. How is this to be done? What are the requisites?
1. Humility. We cannot be filled with God, unless emptied of ourselves. We must come with the conviction of sin and unworthiness, with the conviction also of our helplessness, our complete and absolute dependence on God; and, still further, with the conviction that it would be perfectly just in him to refuse us access to himself or to grant our requests.
2. Faith. This includes a great deal.
1st. Faith in the efficacy of prayer. The reasons why men doubt it are various. But we have proof of its efficacy from Scripture, from the constitution of our nature, and from experience. 2d. Faith in God as reconciled and willing to hear prayer. 3d. Faith in his promise to give what we ask in accordance with his will, that is, what is right, is for his glory and our good. 4th. Faith in Christ as the Son of God, as High Priest, as having passed into heaven, and as effectually interceding for us.
3. Desire for the blessings sought. This includes, 1st. A sense of their importance. 2d. A longing for them which leads to importunity and constancy, which takes no denial.
In the present case these blessings are the conversion of our youth, and their preparation for usefulness. On this depends under God, (a.) Their salvation as individuals. (b.) The interests of the institutions with which they are connected. (c.) The interests of the Church. (d.) The interests of the world; the accomplishment, in short, of the work of redemption.
4. The purpose to live in accordance with our prayers; that is, to live as if we felt the importance of the blessings sought, so that we shall continue to pray for them, and also to labor for them.
CXCVIII. Meditation as a Means of Grace
[Oct. 28th, 1855.]
I. What is meditation?
It is the serious, prolonged, devout contemplation of divine things. 1. This is distinguished from mere intellectual examination or consideration. It has a different object. The object of the one is to understand, of the other to experience the power. 2. It is distinguished from casual devout thought and aspiration.
II. It is a means of grace. By means of grace is meant a divinely appointed instrumentality for promoting holiness in the soul. That meditation is such a means is proved, 1. From its being frequently enjoined in Scripture for this end. 2. From the example of the saints as recorded in Scripture. 3. From the experience of the people of God in all ages.
III. Why is it thus salutary?
1. Because God has appointed his truth as the great means of sanctification.
2. Because the truth, to produce its effect, must be present to the mind. "God is not in all his thoughts," it is said of the wicked. "Estranged from God," is the description of the ungodly.
3. The intimate relation between knowledge and feeling, between the cognition and recognition, the γνῶσις (knowing), and the ἐπίγνωσις (acknowledgment) of divine truth.
4. Because all unholy feelings are subdued in the presence of God, unsound principles are corrected in the light of divine truth. We become conformed to the things with which we are familiar.
IV. Subjects on which we should meditate, are, God,—his law,—his Son,—the plan of salvation,—our own state as sinners,—heaven, etc.
V. Difficulties in the way of this duty.
1. The difficulty of continuous thought. 2. Preoccupation with other things. 3. Indisposition to holding communion with God. 4. Want of method and purpose.
VI. Directions for the performance of the duty.
1. Form the purpose to be faithful in its discharge, from a sense of duty and conviction of its importance.
2. Have a time and place sacred to the duty.
3. Connect it with prayer, not only in the formal sense of the word, but also as meaning converse with God. 4. Connect it with the reading of the Scriptures. Meditate on the word. Read it slowly, with self-application, and pondering its import. 5. Cultivate the habit of controlling your thoughts. Do not let them be governed by accident or fortuitous association. Keep the rudder always in your hand. 6. Do
not be discouraged by frequent failure; and do not suppose that the excitement of feeling is the measure of advantage. There may be much learned, and much strength gained when there is little emotion. 7. Consecrate the hours especially of social and public worship to this work. Let the mind be filled with God while in his house.
CXCIX. Meditation
[Jan. 3d, 1859.]
I. There is a relation of truth to the human mind, analogous to that of light to vision, or of sensible objects to the senses. This applies to truth in general, and to religious truth, or things of the Spirit; to the spiritual understanding, i.e., to the understanding when illuminated by the Spirit.
1. There is the power of perception. Light is powerless for the purpose of vision when there is no organ of vision. The same is true of sound. So without reason there is no apprehension of truth, and without spiritual understanding, no perception of the things of the Spirit.
2. But where there are the organs, there is no sight or hearing, unless there is light or sound. So there is no exercise of the understanding and none of the religious life without truth. Nothing can be substituted for light or sound, and nothing can be substituted for truth.
3. The same visible object, or the same sound affects different persons differently. So the same truth affects different minds differently. The cause in both cases is subjective.
4. Where the percipient is the same the effect depends on the character of the light or sound; so the effect of error, on any given man, is different from the effect of truth.
5. The same object of sense may be the object of attention under different aspects and for different purposes. If we look on a picture to criticise it, to decide on the accuracy of the drawing, or the style of the coloring, or the disposition of the lights and shades, then we experience no æsthetic effect. So if truth is contemplated with the eye of a critic or philosopher, it produces no religious impression. Meditation is not, therefore, simply continuous attention.
6. The senses can be indefinitely improved by cultivation. So the faculty of spiritual discernment and the consequent spirituality of mind is increased by meditation.
7. The effect produced by sensible objects is either from oftenrepeated acts of perception, or by long-continued contemplation. So in spiritual things, the thoughts of God, of Christ, of eternity, which are constantly floating through the mind produce a constant effect, but this is no adequate substitute for long-continued meditation.
8. Although the cases are thus analogous, yet the one is natural and the other is supernatural. For the knowledge which we seek and need is of the nature of a revelation. Paul prays that the Father of glory would give the Ephesians the spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of himself. (1:17.) From this two important inferences follow. First, that meditation is a waiting for the manifestation of the truth. We cannot force ourselves by any act of attention into the discovery of its divine glory. We must humbly, prayerfully wait for the revelation. Second, this revelation being to the spiritual sense, through the understanding, it never takes place except when the truth is before the mind. That is, the supernatural supervenes on the natural, and in the use of the natural means. Hence it is vain to expect these spiritual disclosures unless we meditate.
II. The importance of this subject is manifest, 1. From the nature of the case, as presented above. 2. From the example of the people of God in all ages.
III. The difficulties in the way are, 1. Natural. 1st. The difficulty of fixing the mind on any subject. 2d. The difficulty of discarding other objects from the mind. These difficulties are to be counteracted by natural means, i.e., by practice and by the aids to continued thought, such as articulate utterances, reading, prayer. 2. Spiritual. 1st. Disinclination arising from worldliness and sin. 2d. The weakness of our faith or principle of spiritual life. There is a great difference between meditative, recluse Christians, and active Christians. There should be a combination of the two elements as in Paul.
CC. The Sabbath
[March 11th, 1866.]
I. All the institutions of the Old Testament had a special foundation. They were divided into three classes.
1. Those which have a foundation in the common necessities of men, and the common relation of men to God. These were not peculiar to the Jews, but were incorporated into their system because they were men. To this class belong all moral precepts, and the institution of the Sabbath.
2. To the second class belong those institutions and ordinances which had respect to the peculiar circumstances of the Jews; such as the distinction between clean and unclean meats, circumcision, and many of their judicial and political exactments. These bound the Jews as Jews, and only as Jews.
3. The third class includes all that was designed to be typical of the Messiah, his work, and kingdom. These were mostly incorporations of prior institutions with the Mosaic Law.
II. That the Sabbath belongs to the class of universal laws, binding all men and all ages, is evident, 1. Because it was instituted before the giving of the Law. 2. Because the ground of its observance was a
general ground, one in which all nations were concerned. 3. Because it was predicted that it would be observed under the reign of the Messiah. 4. Because its observance has been in fact continued, by divine injunction, by the whole Christian Church. 5. It is incorporated in the decalogue.
III. The reasons for the institution of the Sabbath are either specific or general. The first class includes the reasons why the seventh day was first selected, and then why the first day was appointed. The other class relates to the reasons why one day in seven should be devoted to God.
IV. Special reasons.
1. The reason why the seventh day was originally appointed was that it was to commemorate the work of creation. This is the foundation of all religion, and it is therefore of fundamental and universal importance that it should be remembered. 2. The special reason for the observance of the first day was the commemoration of the resurrection of Christ, on which rested the truth of the gospel. If Christ rose, then the gospel is true. If the world was created, then there is a personal God, the maker, preserver and ruler of the universe. No one, therefore, can overestimate the importance of the observance of the Sabbath. It is analogous to that of the observance of the Lord's Supper.
V. Reasons why one day in seven should be observed, are—
1. The physiological reason; the necessity of rest for man and beast; rest for the mind, and for the body. Whether one day in eight, nine, or ten would have answered as well, it is idle to inquire. Probably it would not. As the daily rest is needed, and cannot be less than daily, so the weekly rest is needed, and cannot safely be made more or less. All history and experience show this. Excess either way is injurious. 2. To afford time for public worship. 1st. This is essential for the preservation of truth and for its diffusion. It is a day of instruction
for the people, without which they would sink into ignorance. 2d. It is necessary as a means of conversion, as it is by the preaching of the gospel that men are saved. 3d. As a means of edification, as public and social worship are essential to keeping alive the piety of the heart, when attendance is not impossible. Hence a Sabbath-breaking or Sabbath-neglecting people are notoriously irreligious. 4th. It is necessary as giving the only opportunity of rendering that public worship, thanksgiving and prayer to God, which is the duty of every community as such, as much as of every individual. 3. To arrest the tide of worldliness; to cause men to stop and remember that this world is not all, and is not the greatest. Without this we should not be aware of our progress toward eternity.
VI. The mode of observance is determined by the object of the day. First, it includes rest from all worldly avocations and amusements. Second, the cultivation of a religious spirit, and the discharge of religious duties. The Pharisaical way of observing it is one extreme, the latitudinarian is another. The latter is the tendency now. The European way is worse still. The lessons of experience on the subject confirm the principles before stated, and are very conclusive.
CCI. The Sabbath was made for man, and
not man for the Sabbath.—Mark 2:27
[Sept. 23d, 1866.]
The principle which underlies this passage is, that the end is more important than the means, and should not be sacrificed to it. The application of this principle to the Sabbath is plain. The Sabbath was designed to promote the best interests of man and beast. When an enlightened regard to those interests required a violation of the Sabbath, such violation was proper and obligatory. The Pharisees acted on that principle in relation to their animals. They led them away to watering; they extricated them from a pit into which they had fallen. Christ only acted on the same principle when he healed
the sick on the Sabbath; when he allowed the disciples to pluck the ears of corn. We, therefore, may act on the same principle. It is the foundation of the exposition given as to the rule of observing the Sabbath, viz., that works of necessity and mercy are lawful on that day. The same principle is recognized in the Old Testament. Hosea says, "I will have mercy and not sacrifice;" that is, moral duties are of higher obligation than positive commands. God had commanded sacrifices, but he had also commanded the exercise of mercy. When the two came into conflict, so that the one must yield to the other, it was the positive that was to give way.
The soundness of the principle and its incalculable importance are plain from the innumerable evils which have resulted from its violation. 1. The whole apostacy of Judaism into formality and ritualism was simply the result of carrying out the idea that the outward was more important than the inward; that rites and ceremonies, observance of fasts and festivals, tithing mint, anise, &c., were more important than the weightier matters of the law. The Pharisees considered themselves holy, because they observed all these external prescriptions, although they were morally depraved in heart and life. 2. In like manner the Papal apostacy is the same subordination of the end to the means; what is positive, to what is moral. If a man conforms to the Church, he is saved; if he neglects these externals, he is lost. No matter how holy a man may be, he is rejected if he fails in these externals. Hence the utter perversion of religion in Papal countries. 3. The same is true of High-Churchmen of every class. If a man conforms to ecclesiastical rites and observances, he is allowed great latitude in more important matters. Thus a ceremonial and ritual religion takes the place of true godliness. 4. The same evil often manifests itself even among true Protestants. Some exalt baptism above religion; some, the use of a particular form of hymnology; some, the strict observance of the Sabbath, &c. It is of great importance, therefore, that we adhere to the principle which our Lord inculcated. This is the principle which governs the interpretation of the moral law. The opposite extreme, however, is to be guarded against. Because the end is more
important than the means, we are not to infer, 1. That the means are not obligatory. Christ did not teach that the obligation to observe the Sabbath had ceased. Nor are we to infer from what he says that any divinely appointed means is not binding. "These ought ye to have done, and not to have left the others undone." 2. The means are not to be neglected. They are not only obligatory as matters of duty, but they are important, and as a general rule greatly subservient of the end. It was well to keep the Sabbath, to offer sacrifices, to tithe mint and anise, and the wilful and uncalled-for neglect of these divine appointments was followed by the loss of the end proposed. So we are bound to use the word, the Sabbath, the ordinances of God's house, and their neglect is fatal. This passage suggests that the rule for the observance of the Christian Sabbath is not the Jewish law, especially not that law as perverted by the Pharisees; but the design of its institution, whatever it may be, is to furnish the rule. "THEREFORE the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath;" i.e., because the Sabbath is subservient to his cause and subject to his will. The Son of man is Christ. He is the Lord of the Sabbath, that is, has supreme control over it; can abrogate it, or lay down the rule for its observance.
CCII. Praise
[Sept. 30th, 1866.]
I. Praise is the ascription of anything commendable to its object.
Since it includes, 1. The ascription of commendable attributes. 2. Of praiseworthy acts, that is, of acts which evince excellence. 3. Of benefits, which reveal the power and the disposition to do good. Hence in Scripture men and all rational creatures are called upon and required to praise God.
1. For all his divine perfections, natural and moral, his infinite greatness; for his wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and
truth.
2. For his wonderful works, of creation, of providence, of redemption.
3. For all his blessings, of creation, providence and redemption. These are inexhaustible topics of praise, for all creatures and for all eternity.
II. Praise is a natural and proper exercise.
1. Because it is due to God. It is objected that God does not delight in hearing his goodness and greatness recounted. This is one of the mistakes arising from reasoning from man to God. Because adulation and laudation may be inappropriate or offensive to men, it is argued that it must be to God. But it is inappropriate and offensive when addressed to men. 1st. Because creatures are not in themselves worthy; and 2d. Because the exercise of such feelings and their expression are not healthful. But in the case of God, these reasons do not apply. God is infinitely worthy, and the expression of the sentiments and feelings in view of his perfections, is in the highest measure beneficial.
2. Therefore the second reason is, that praise is as it were involuntary. It is forced from us by the exhibition of beauty, excellence and goodness, and especially of that goodness as exercised toward ourselves.
3. It is not only thus natural; it is also healthful. It raises the soul measurably into sympathy and fellowship with the excellence commended. It is therefore an indispensable part of worship.
4. Because the Scriptures command us to praise God; they are filled with examples of that part of worship.
5. Heaven is represented as a state and place in which this vocation is uninterrupted. It is therefore the expression of blessedness, and
productive of it.
III. The mode of praising God.
1. It must be in the heart and with the understanding. If these do not concur, it is an offensive and injurious mockery.
2. In silent contemplation, when the soul is filled with admiring views of God, Christ, the glory of God in himself, in his works, and in his benefits to us. This may be special and occasional, or it may be habitual and constant, as the incense never ceased and the lights were never extinguished.
3. In our prayers, and in every other form of utterance, in our intercourse, or address to our fellow-men.
4. In singing. That it is proper is plain, 1st. Because it is natural. 2d. Because it tends to exalt the feelings of admiration and gratitude. 3d. Because it is commanded in Scripture, and practiced by divine appointment in the Church.
5. The singing or music of the Church should be conducted on the following principles. 1st. On the principle that it is a means and not an end. Whenever the singing or music is so elaborate as to distract attention from God to itself, it is subversive of the end designed, and productive of evil. This is a common evil in the Greek, Latin, and often in Protestant churches. 2d. It should be as excellent, with the limitations specified, as possible, because it answers its end in proportion to its excellence, and exalts and refines the people. 3d. It should be appropriate, i.e., not martial nor festive, but devotional music. 4th. It should be so conducted as to secure the co-operation of the people. This is their right, and it is a great good to them. In prayer there must be one to lead, and others join in silence, because a multitude praying together would produce confusion even when having the same form of prayer; but in praise, no such confusion is occasioned, but the highest end of singing is thus secured.
The happiest, holiest, and most useful Christians, those most heavenly in their disposition and state, are those who praise God most and best.
CCIII. The Unity of the Church
[Jan. 13th, 1866.]
The Church is one, not in the monarchical sense, as Romanists believe; not in the sense of historical descent of an external organization, as Prelatists teach, but in the sense of a mystical body united to Christ their common head. The consequences of the union with Christ are,
I. Our Justification. We become partakers of his righteousness because that righteousness was vicarious, wrought out not for himself, but in the name and behalf of his people. It becomes theirs not in virtue of its being wrought for them, nor in virtue of the spiritual union between them and him, but because it is imputed to them. And it is imputed to them, if adults, as soon as they believe, and to infants as soon as they are united to Christ by the renewing of the Holy Ghost.
I. This righteousness is by covenant truly and properly ours. It avails for us as completely as though it had been wrought out by ourselves. 2. This righteousness is infinitely meritorious, because it is the righteousness of God. There is no more probability of a sinner's being condemned, if this righteousness is imputed to him, than that Christ himself should be condemned. It renders the believer, therefore, absolutely and forever secure. 3. It secures not merely exemption from the penalty of transgression, but title to all the blessings of redemption. That God shall bestow on those who are justified eternal life and all that it implies, is as certain as that Adam would have lived had he not sinned. This is certain because demanded by the justice and fidelity of God.
II. The second effect of this union to Christ, which is common to all believers and tends to make them one body, is their sanctification. They become partakers of the divine life. They are raised from spiritual death, and the principle of life communicated to them is sustained and developed, 1. By the nourishment derived from the word and ordinances. 2. By fellowship with Christ; intercourse with him in acts of adoration, praise, prayer, confession and intercession. 3. By the intercommunion of the saints. As one member of the body is sustained and grows in virtue of the ministration of all the other members, so it is with the mystical body of Christ. 4. This supposes organic unity, and diversity of gifts; some apostles, some teachers; some have one gift, and some another. With regard to these Paul teaches, 1st. That this diversity is essential. 2d. That the position of each member is assigned by God, and not by himself or by the body. Hence, we infer, (a.) That each should be content. (b.) That all should sympathize, one with the others, and, (c.) That all should cordially co-operate. It is thus that the work of sanctification is carried on, not in the isolated individual, but in the soul as partaker of a common life, and a member of an organic whole. So in regard to the state, what would individual gifts and attainments be to a man isolated in an uninhabited land.
III. The third effect of this union to Christ, which pertains to the individual believer and to the Church as a whole, is security. No man can pluck them out of the hand of Christ. All given to him shall come to him, and he will raise them up at the last day. The gates of hell can never prevail against the Church. This security rests, 1. On the promise and covenant of God. 2. On the fact that Christ lives, and his life secures the life of the believer and of the Church. 3. On the fact that he has power in heaven and earth. 4. On the fact that he has a covenant right to the co-operation of the Holy Spirit, and because he has conquered sin and Satan.
IV. The fourth effect is the glorification of the believer and of the Church. This includes, 1. The resurrection of the body. 2. The full perfection of nature granted to all. 3. Exaltation to great dignity and
power. 4. The external circumstances of their being. 5. Participation in the glory of Christ.
V. Evidences of union with Christ. These are the fruits of the Spirit.
VI. Duties to our fellow-believers as flowing from this union with Christ. 1. Love. 2. Sympathy. 3. Assistance. 4. Joy in their success. 5. Abstaining from envy or depreciation.
CCIV. Aggressive Character of
Christianity
[April 19th, 1863.]
There is a great difference between the knowledge given in consciousness and that attained by the logical understanding. For example, all men know from consciousness what beauty is; but if the question be asked, What is beauty? and the answer be sought from the logical understanding, there is the greatest perplexity and diversity. Dissertation after dissertation, and volume after volume have been written in answer to that question. So we all know what Christianity is; but when the question is asked, What is Christianity? the answers become uncertain and divergent. It might seem useless to ask the question if we know without asking, and cease to know when asked. But the difficulty is men will ask, and will give wrong answers; answers not merely incorrect, but fatally injurious. Of all the theological questions of our day, especially in Germany and among English and American theologians addicted to German modes of thinking, none has been more debated, and none is more vitally important than the question, What is Christianity? If we are to think or speak intelligently of the aggressive character of Christianity, we must know what Christianity is. It has been defined, 1. As a form of knowledge, i.e., the system of divine truth revealed in the Scriptures. 2. As that modus Deum cognoscendi et colendi introduced by Christ. 3. As simply and exclusively a life. By this some
mean a form or state of the religious consciousness, while others intend by that expression the theanthropic life of Christ as communicated to his people, humanity restored in him, as it was corrupted in Adam. The objection to these answers is that they are too limited. (The last, as explained by mysticism, is false). Christianity is a form of knowledge; it is a religion; it is a life. It is not exclusively the one or the other, but it is all. The best way to determine what Christianity is, is to ask what makes a man a Christian in the true and proper sense of the term. A Christian is one who knows and receives as true what Christ has revealed in his word, whose inward state (religious consciousness) is determined by that knowledge, and whose life is devoted to the obedience and service of Christ. Christianity is therefore a system of doctrine, it is an inward life, and it is a rule of action. When, therefore, we speak of the aggressive character of Christianity, we may mean the antagonism of truth to error, the expansive power of the principles of spiritual life, or, the opposition of good to evil, of holiness to sin, in the outward life; or we may include all these, as they are all included in the religion of Christ. Or, as the Scriptures call it, the kingdom of God; we may mean by the aggressive character of Christianity, its inherent force, by which it tends to gain more and more the complete control of the individual man and of human society, by controlling all the forms of human thought, the inward character of men and their outward conduct.
I. Christianity is thus aggressive. It does tend and strive to subdue. 1. This is variously taught in the Scriptures. It is compared to a stone cut out of a mountain, which gradually fills the whole earth; to a tree whose branches extend over all lands; to leaven hid in a measure of meal; to a great temple in the process of erection; to the sun in its course through the heavens, and from tropic to tropic.
2. It is deducible from its nature. Truth is necessarily antagonistic to error, and holiness to sin. The one must strive to overcome the other both in the individual and in the world. Besides, being a religion suited to the necessities of all men, and absolutely essential to their
well-being here and hereafter, it cannot be embraced by the individual man without the consciousness on his part of the obligation to uphold and extend it. A Christian, from the nature of the case, is fired with zeal for the glory of Christ, and with love for his fellow-men. His Christianity makes him an advocate of the truth and a proselyter.
3. It is further proved and illustrated by the history of the Church. The original promise that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head has expanded into the full system of Christian doctrine. The one hundred and twenty disciples in Jerusalem in the age of the apostles occupied Syria, Egypt, Greece, Italy; and since then Christianity has gained the civilized world. It has banished polytheism and idolatry, it has elevated woman, exalted man, and moulded human society.
4. It is proved in the experience of every Christian. His inward life is a progress. He passes from infancy to maturity; from a νήπιος (infant) to a τἐλειος (grown), and from a τἐλειος to the full measure of the stature of Christ. The truth becomes better known and more firmly believed. Indwelling sin becomes weaker, and grace stronger; and the outward life is made more and more consistent with the gospel. When this is not true, there is no true life.
II. To what is the aggressive power of Christianity due?
1. It is not due to anything in itself as a system of truth. If revealed to the lost in the other world, it would be powerless. If revealed to fallen man, sent in books or by living teachers to the heathen, it would, if left to itself, be universally rejected. The opposition of Satan and of the evil heart would be too much for it.
2. It is not due to the subjective effect on the hearts of those who are led to embrace it. If nothing were done ab extra but to induce the reception of the gospel, the inward effect and the outward efficiency would fade away.
3. But it is supernatural in its character. It is due to the purpose of God and the co-operation of the Spirit. When a woman puts leaven into a measure of meal, she is sure that the whole will be leavened, because the effect is due to the operation of invariable physical laws. But when the gospel is introduced into a community or a nation, whether it will take root and extend or not, depends on an ab extra sovereign working of divine power. Hence a sense of dependence is to be acknowledged and cultivated. It is because Christianity is the life of God (i.e., of a present Christ), that it must prevail.
4. Although the gospel is thus dependent upon supernatural agency for its preservation and extension, yet human co-operation is ordained as the means. Faith and love are the powers which we are to wield, depending on the Spirit of God.
CCV. Call to the Ministry
[September 28th, 1856.]
I. The doctrine of the Church, its officers, as well as its attributes and prerogatives, is evolved from the radical idea that it is the Body of Christ. Hence,
1. It consists of those in whom his Spirit dwells.
2. Hence the community thus animated has the unity and holiness, the perpetuity and universality which belong to the mystical body of Christ.
3. Hence it has the authority to teach, and to bind and loose.
4. Hence the diversity of gifts and offices of its members. To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit.
The illustration of the human body is used by the apostle: to one organ the Spirit gives the power of vision, to another the power of
hearing, etc. So it is in the spiritual body; one has one gift, and one another.
II. From this it follows, 1. That no one can be called to any office in the Church but he who is in the Church. This excludes not only magistrates, as such, but also the unconverted. 2. It follows that no one in the Church can assume any office of his own will any more than any part of the body can make itself an eye or hand. 3. It follows that the body itself cannot confer office, any more than the hands and feet can vote some other portion to be an eye or tongue. Much less can those out of the Church have a right to appoint to office in the Church. 4. It follows that the only legitimate call is from the Holy Ghost. The only legitimate vocation of the eye, hand or ear, is from him who constitutes and animates the body. So only the Spirit who constitutes and animates the Church, can call to office in the Church. 5. It follows that the whole business of him who receives the call and of the Church, is to determine the question whether or not a man is called, and if satisfied of that fact to publicly declare it. 6. It follows that every office in the Church supposes gifts. The right to teach supposes the ability to teach, as much as an eye supposes the power of vision.
7. This same analogy leads to the conclusion that the only evidence of a call to any office is the possession of the qualifications. But these qualifications are various. 1st. Regeneration, which is presupposed. 2d. Intellectual qualifications, including ability, knowledge, and orthodoxy. 3d. The spiritual qualifications, including, (a.) High appreciation of the importance of the office. (b.) A strong desire for it from proper motives. (c.) A willingness to go anywhere and to submit to everything in the discharge of its duties. (d.) A sense of responsibility or obligation, so that we can say, "Woe is me if I preach not the gospel!" 4th. Bodily qualifications; good health and the necessary gifts of utterance.
If these views of the matter be correct, what is to be thought of the multitudes who are in the ministry without this call of the Spirit?
Just what is thought of those who are in the Church without regeneration They are to be recognized as Church members, and their acts as such are valid; but they are not what they pretend to be, and have no right to be where they are.
Another inference is, that it is a fearful thing to be mistaken in this matter, both for the individual and for the Church. If the blind lead the blind both will be destroyed.
CCVI. Woe is unto me if I preach not the
Gospel. 1 Cor. 9:16
[April 22d, 1866.]
The gospel is God's message of mercy to mankind. It contains an exhibition of the plan, and the only plan, of salvation. It sets forth the person, the work, and the offices of Christ, and urges all men to whom it comes, to accept of Christ as their God and Saviour, and to devote themselves to his worship and service; and it assures those who do so that they shall never perish, but have eternal life.
In one sense it is every man's duty, provided he has received the knowledge of the gospel, to preach it, i.e., to make it known to others. The commission and command; Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, was given not to the apostles exclusively, nor to the ministry exclusively, but to the whole Church and to all its members. Every member has the right and is under obligation to make known this great salvation to his fellow-men. This is a right which has always been recognized and exercised by Christians. But there is an official preaching of the gospel. There is a class of men set apart according to Christ's command, to devote themselves to this work. It is to this the apostle here refers, for in the same connection he says that they who preach the gospel shall live by the gospel. This is true only of official preachers. And it was of himself as a minister that he said, "Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel!" No man
takes this honor on himself. He must be called of God. The call is by the Spirit. The office of the church is simply to authenticate that call. When a man has been thus called, licensed, or ordained to the work of the ministry, then he will be overwhelmed with woe, with the wrath of God, if he does not preach the gospel. This includes two things, the one affirmed, the other evidently implied and elsewhere directly asserted.
I. Woe will be to the minister who neglects his work, who fails to preach, who turns off his mind and devotes his time to other avocations, unless subsidiary to his great work.
II. The truth implied is, that woe will be to the man who in preaching preaches anything else than the gospel; who preaches another gospel.
I. Men who enter the ministry should count the cost.
They should understand what are the responsibilities which they assume, and the vows which they make. Let this then be graven on the palms of your hands. You must preach. You cannot turn back; you cannot turn aside to any other work; you cannot rightfully engage in anything which does not subserve the preaching of the gospel.
The reason for which woe is denounced on ministers who fail to preach the gospel is that men cannot be saved without it. All men are exposed to eternal death. There is but one way of deliverance from that death, and woe to him who, although officially called and dedicated to the work, fails to make that way known. If any man know of a certain preventive of or specific for the cholera, which now threatens our land, he would be a murderer if he did not make it known. So the blood of souls, the Scriptures assure us, will be required of those watchmen who fail to warn their fellow-men of their danger. It will not be a cold, heartless, perfunctory performance of this duty, which will satisfy conscience, clear our skirts, or secure
the approbation of God. Our preaching must be earnest, assiduous, instructive and pointed or personal.
II. A still heavier woe is denounced on those who when called to preach the gospel, preach something else. If what they preach be another gospel, another method of salvation, then what Paul said must befall them. "Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach another gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." It need not, however, be entirely another gospel. If the truth is perverted, sublimated, rendered unintelligible or unadapted to the end of convincing and converting sinners and edifying the people of God, it will bring us woe in some form and at some time. Brethren enter on your work,
1. With the firm purpose to preach the gospel; to devote yourselves to that work, and to it faithfully.
2. With the purpose of preaching nothing else; preaching only what the Bible teaches.
3. Go with the assurance that Christ will be with you, and aid and support you.
4. Be concerned only about your devotion and fidelity.
5. Your reward will not be in proportion to your talents, your popularity, or even your success, but in proportion to your devotion and fidelity.
6. Be of good courage; your labor will be short, your reward eternal.
CCVII. Proper views and motives in
seeking the gospel ministry
[Sept. 5th, 1852.]
The views and feelings proper for any work are determined by its design; by the means of accomplishing its end; and by its importance.
1. The design of the ministry is the salvation of men. 1. As salvation implies the happiness of those saved, it follows that benevolence or philanthropy is indispensable. This is often regarded as the sole or all-comprehending motive; but this might be found in a Jew or Mohammedan. There might be benevolence, though there were no God, or no Christ, or though we knew nothing of them.
2. The design of the gospel is more specific. It is the holiness of men, their reconciliation to God. Hence holiness is necessary in the minister; a sense of its value; a sincere, predominant desire to promote acquiescence to it, to bring men to forsake all sin, and to be reconciled to God.
3. But the holiness contemplated, though essentially the same with that of angels, is still peculiar. 1st. Involving penitence. 2d. Consisting specially in the love of Christ, and conformity to him. Hence the specific design of the ministry is to bring men to know, love, worship and obey the Lord Jesus. Hence it is essential that the minister should have, (a.) A due sense of the dignity of the Lord Jesus. (b.) Supreme love for him. (c.) Desire to see his kingdom everywhere prevail. "Lovest thou me?" is the one question which Christ asked of those who would feed his flock or gather his sheep.
II. The proper state of mind is determined by the means by which this great end is to be accomplished. It is not by fire and sword; not by coercion; not by intellectual power, as men would propagate a philosophy; not by subjection to a church, or the administration of magic rites as men would extend a mystery or a fraternity; but it is by preaching Christ. Hence there is essential, 1. A determination to use no other means.
2. A sense of our own insufficiency to render even this means effectual, and therefore a constant sense of dependence.
3. Conviction of its being indispensable, and therefore a purpose to use it diligently, and to prepare now to do so with effect.
III. The magnitude of the work. Nothing can be compared to it in importance. Men who are looking forward to the most important work in the world should be, 1. Grave. 2. Single-minded, having but one object in view. 3. Unembarrassed by the world. 4. Constantly exercising themselves for the work, as those preparing to run a race.
IV. Difficulties of living under right motives. They arise, 1. From sin and worldliness. 2. From sloth. 3. From the allurements of wealth, honor and power, or when connected with the ministry.
V. Importance of right views. An unconverted worldly ministry is the greatest curse to the Church and to the world; a spiritual and devoted ministry, the greatest blessing.
CCVIII. A savor of life unto life, or of
death unto death. 2 Cor. 2:14–16
[October 14th, 1855.]
Exposition of the passage.
The apostle had been greatly cast down, but was comforted. He therefore thanked God who always caused him to triumph, and made him instrumental in diffusing the knowledge of Christ, which as a sweet savor was acceptable to God. The apostle himself, therefore, was acceptable to God, whether the result of his labors was the life or death of those to whom he preached. The doctrines here taught are,
I. That the knowledge of Christ is acceptable or pleasing to God. It is as an incense. It is pleasing to God that men should know Christ, i.e.,
recognize him as the Son of God, and worship, trust and obey him as such. This is the end of the preaching of the gospel, and this is the end which it will ultimately accomplish. This incense shall ascend from every altar, from every dwelling, and from every heart.
II. That ministers of the gospel are acceptable to God. He takes delight in them, as in a sweet savor. They are peculiarly his servants. Their work is a work which he approves and delights in. This is not true in a like sense or to the same degree of any other class of men, or of any other kind of service. It is only indirectly that others, such as men of other vocations or professions, or office, diffuse the knowledge of Christ, and are therefore a sweet savor unto God.
III. Christ himself—the knowledge of Christ, and, therefore also his ministers, are the means of life to some and of death to others. He was set for the fall and the rise of many in Israel. He came unto judgment, that those who see not might see, and those who see might be made blind. He was the corner-stone, and also a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence. What is true of him is true of his gospel, and of ministers. Wherever the gospel goes, or wherever ministers go, they bring life to some and death to others. This truth should weigh upon our minds and produce seriousness, anxiety, solicitude lest we should be the means only of death.
IV. The acceptableness of Christ, of the gospel and of ministers in the sight of God, does not depend on the effect produced. It is not only when men are saved by them, that they are agreeable to God, but also when men perish for neglecting the truth. Christ when mocked, scourged and crucified, was as acceptable to God as when enthroned. The gospel is as glorious and excellent when men reject it to their own condemnation, as when they believe. And ministers, if faithful, are as well-pleasing to God when unsuccessful as when successful. This should comfort and sustain them under all their trials. The missionary who labors for years without a convert is still as incense in the estimation of God. Men do not so view the matter. Ministers through unbelief often regard themselves as rejected and disowned
when no visible effects follow their labors. But God views the matter in a different light. Successful or unsuccessful, the faithful minister is equally acceptable to God.
V. To be thus acceptable to God it is necessary,
1. That we should not huckster the word of God. That is, 1st. We should not make gain of it, use it for our own advantage, make it a means of our own honor or profit. 2d. We should not adulterate it. It is only the pure gospel that is an ὸσμὴ εὐωδίας (odor of a sweet smell), and therefore only those who offer or diffuse the pure gospel. Adulterated truth and those who diffuse it are an offense, and as smoke in the nostrils of God.
2. We must be sincere, pure-minded, acting from pure motives.
3. We must be actuated by God, governed by his Spirit.
4. We must act as in his presence.
5. We must speak in Christ, as true Christian men and ministers, united to him and deriving all things from him.
CCIX. Ministerial Responsibility
[Feb. 25th, 1855.]
I. Ministers are officers.
1. They are not self-called. 2. They are not commissioned by the people. 3. They are called of God. This is proved, 1st. From their titles. 2d. From the declarations of Scripture. 3d. From the actual appointment by Christ and the apostles.
II. Their responsibility is, therefore, ultimately to God. Not only have they a personal, but they have also an official responsibility resting
upon them.
III. They are responsible not for the results of their labors. Though Israel be not gathered, yet they may be glorious in the eyes of the Lord. But they are responsible, 1. For their doctrine. They are bound to preach the truth simply and clearly. They fail in this regard, 1st. When they teach error. 2d. When they do present the truth clearly, but adulterate or dilute it with the wisdom of men, the σοφἴα τοῦ λόγου. 3d. When for any reason they fail to teach. They may exhort or excite, but if they fail to teach, they are unfaithful to their great vocation. As the truth is essential to holiness, the responsibility of ministers in regard to it is exceeding great.
2. They are responsible for fidelity. 1st. As to declaring the whole counsel of God, and not keeping back the truth through fear or favor. 2d. As to reproving sin. 3d. As to correcting the erring. 4th. As to guiding the inquiring.
3. They are responsible for their diligence. 1st. In study. 2d. In the discharge of all their official duties.
4. They are responsible for their spirit and example.
IV. This responsibility is the greater, 1. From the importance of the truth. It is the mysteries of God.
2. Because the honor of Christ, the interest of his kingdom, and the salvation of souls are at stake.
3. From the consequences to the minister's own soul. The ministerial office is therefore to be dreaded, and not assumed without a distinct and well-authenticated call from God. Woe to those who seek the ministry for a piece of bread, or for ease or honor.
CCX. Preaching Christ
[May 16th, 1852.]
Paul frequently declares that this was his great vocation. It includes,
I. The subject. II. The object of his preaching.
I. Christ is the proper subject of preaching. What does this mean?
It means, 1. That the subject of preaching was not the wisdom of the world.
2. That it was the revelation concerning Christ. 1st. The nature of his person. 2d. The character of his work in all his offices. 3d. The method of salvation through him; what we must do to obtain an interest in his salvation. 4th. The duties which we owe to him.
II. Christ as the object of preaching.
The objects which men have are various; some of these are selfish and degrading. Some preach Christ of strife and envy. Others have objects which are legitimate, but subordinate, as the temporal wellbeing of men, or their eternal well-being. The true, specific and appropriate object is the exaltation and glory of Christ; that he may be known, worshiped and obeyed.
III. Reasons why we should preach Christ.
1. Because he is our God and Saviour. 2. Because this is requisite to men becoming Christians. 3. Because to make men Christians is the best means of glorifying God, and the only means of promoting the happiness, holiness and salvation of men.
IV. To preach Christ is a grace.
The reasons why it is so great a favor, are, 1. Because it is the highest service of God and Christ. 2. Because to be permitted to serve him is
the highest honor and blessedness. 3. Because it is the greatest source of happiness.
Therefore, brethren, as ye go hence, go to preach Christ. Let that be your theme and that your object. If faithful, you will receive a crown of righteousness. If unfaithful, it would have been better had you never been born.
CCXI. For it is not ye that speak, but the
Spirit of your Father which speaketh in
you. Matt. 10:20
[May 7th, 1854.]
(Last conference of the session.)
I. Christ's address to his messengers, as applied to ministers at present.
1. They are to go, not as the apostles at first, solely to the Jews, but into all the world; not to this or that nation only. 2. They are to preach. 3. They are to do all the good they can. 4. They are to rely on their work for their support. 5. They are to go with the consciousness of a divine mission. 6. They are to be wise and harmless. 7. They are to speak as the organs of the Holy Ghost. 8. They must expect persecution, and be prepared to bear it. 9. They may be assured of divine protection. 10. The test of discipleship and the conditions of salvation for teacher and taught are confession and devotion. 11. God will bless those who bless them.
II. The special topic for consideration is the 20th verse. Ministers are to speak as the organs of the Holy Ghost.
It is a sound principle of interpretation that a comprehensive declaration or promise is to be understood in different senses, or
with various degrees of latitude, according to the class of persons to whom it is applied. The same declaration may be a promise of inspiration, to the apostles, of spiritual knowledge and ability to teach, to ministers, and of spiritual illumination, to believers.
1. The sense in which the apostles were the organs of the Holy Ghost. 1st. They received their knowledge by his suggestion and revelation. 2d. They spake in words which he taught. Therefore they were to speak without premeditation.