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Dr Henry Cooke DD LL.D
Joshua commanding the sun to stand
still
MORNING WORSHIP
O GOD, the King of Glory, who hast exalted thy Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph into the kingdom of heaven, grant, we beseech
thee, that we by faith may also in heart and mind thither
ascend, and with Him continually dwell, who liveth and reigneth
with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.
HYMN, or Psalm cxlix. 1-4.
PRAISE the Lord, ye heavens, adore him;
Praise him, angels, in the height;
Sun and moon, rejoice before him;
Praise him, all ye stars of light.
Praise the Lord, for he hath spoken;
Worlds his mighty voice obeyed;
Laws that never shall be broken,
For their guidance he hath made.
Praise the Lord, for he is glorious:
Never shall his promise fail.
God hath made his saints victorious:
Sin and death shall not prevail.
Praise the God of our salvation,
Hosts on high his power proclaim;
Heaven and earth, and all creation,
Laud and magnify his name.
EXODUS XXXIII. 7-19.
AND Moses took the tabernacle, and pitched it without the camp,
afar off from the camp, and called it the Tabernacle of the
congregation, which was without the camp. 8. And it came to
pass, when Moses went out unto the tabernacle, that all the
people rose up, and stood every man at his tent door, and looked
after Moses, until he was gone into the tabernacle. 9. And it
came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy
pillar descended and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and
the Lord talked with Moses. 10. And all the people saw the
cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people
rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. 11. And the
Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh to his
friend. 12. And Moses said unto the Lord, See thou sayest unto
me, Bring up this people: and thou hast not let me know whom
thou wilt send with me. Yet thou hast said, I know thee by name,
and thou hast also found grace in my sight. 13. Now therefore, I
pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy
way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in the sight:
and consider that this nation is thy people. 14. And he said, My
presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. 15. And
he said unto him, If thy presence go not with me, carry us not
up hence. 16. For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy
people have found grace in thy sight? Is it not in that thou
goest with us? So shall we be separated, I and thy people, from
all the people that are upon the face of the earth. 17. And the
Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that thou hast
spoken: for thou hast found grace in my sight, and I know thee
by name. 18. And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. 19.
And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I
will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee; and will be
gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom
I will shew mercy.
EXODUS XXXIV. 29-35.
AND it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with
the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down
from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face
shone while he talked with him. 30. And when Aaron and all the
children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face
shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. 31. And Moses
called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the
congregation returned unto him: and Moses talked with them. 32.
And afterward all the children of Israel came nigh: and he gave
them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in
mount Sinai. 33. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he
put a vail on his face. 34. But when Moses went in before the
Lord to speak with him he took the vail off, until he came out.
And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that
which he was commanded. 35. And the children of Israel saw the
face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone; and Moses put
the vail upon his face again, until he went in to speak with
him.
ROMANS XI. 1-18.
I SAY then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I
also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of
Benjamin. 2. God hath not cast away his people which he
foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he
maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying, 3. Lord, they
have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am
left alone, and they seek my life. 4. But what saith the answer
of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men,
who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. 5. Even so
then at this present time also there is a remnant according to
the election of grace. 6. And if by grace, then is it no more of
works; otherwise grace is no more grace; but if it be of works,
then is it no more grace; otherwise, work is no more work. 7.
What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for;
but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8.
(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of
slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they
should not hear) unto this day. 9. And David saith, Let their
table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling block, and a
recompence unto them: 10. Let their eyes be darkened, that they
may not see, and bow down their back alway. 11. I say then, Have
they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather
through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to
provoke them to jealousy. 12. Now, if the fall of them be the
riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of
the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? 13. For I speak to
you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I
magnify mine office: 14. If by any means I may provoke to
emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.
15. For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the
world, what shall he receiving of them be, but life from the
dead? 16. For if the first-fruit be holy, the lump is also holy;
and if the root be holy, so are the branches. 17. And if some of
the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive-tree,
wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root
and fatness of the olive tree; 18. Boast not against the
branches: but if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the
root thee.
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Prayer.
O GOD, our voice shalt Thou hear in the morning: in the morning
will we direct our prayer unto Thee, and will look up. We offer
unto Thee, as is most meet, the sacrifice of thanksgiving, even
the fruit of our lips, giving praise unto Thy name for all the
varied and gracious benefits which day by day we receive from
Thee. If we would declare and speak of thee, they are more than
can be numbered, embracing in their range every moment of our
being, and every circumstance in our lives. We are ashamed, and
blush to lift up our eyes to Thee our God, when we think of the
way in which we have requited Thine unwearied and fatherly
kindness. Too often has Thy goodness, which should lead us to
repentance, been perverted by us into an encouragement to shut
Thee out from the counsels of our hearts, and to follow our own
evil devices. When we reflect on what we have been and on what
we have done, the memory of the past overwhelms us with shame
and self-loathing: How then shall we stand before Thee, who art
of purer eyes than to behold evil, and who canst not look upon
sin? For anything we can do our ruin is inevitable, nor could we
charge Thee with dealing hardly or unjustly with us, wert Thou
to subject us to the indignation and wrath, tribulation and
anguish, which are the allotted portion of all who obey not the
truth, but obey unrighteousness. Yet, O God of grace, suffer us
not to add to our guilt and to deepen our condemnation by
mistrusting the testimony of of Thy word regarding Thine ability
to save to the uttermost all that come unto Thee through Christ.
Relying on Thy grace as flowing out through Him even to the
chief of sinners, humbly yet hopefully we lift up our hearts
with our hands unto Thee in the heavens, beseeching Thee to be
merciful unto us, O God, be merciful unto us; for our souls
trust in Thee.
Thou, O Lord, who searchest the heart and triest the reins of
the children of men, knowest, that, however we may attempt to
disguise it from ourselves, our sole aim in prayer too often is
that we may be freed from the guilt of sin, and so escape the
punishment which is its due. The abominable thing which Thou
hatest appears not to us in the hideous and revolting light in
which Thy pure and holy eye sees it; and at best we do not
regard it with that utter abhorrence which its inherent and
unutterable vileness is fitted to inspire. Do Thou, O God, who
art light, and in whom is no darkness at all, pour in upon our
minds that true light which will enable us to see sin as being
in every form and degree exceeding sinful; that in its very
nature it is the death of the soul; that we cannot rise to life
or be partakers of salvation but by its utter destruction within
us, and by the infusion into our minds of that knowledge and
righteousness and true holiness in which Thine image consists.
It hath pleased Thee in Thy good providence to give us to see
another day of the Son of man. May we receive from him grace to
keep the sabbath from polluting it, and to take hold of Thy
covenant. May we be brought unto Thy holy mountain, and made
joyful in Thy house of prayer, and may our burnt-offerings and
our sacrifices be accepted on Thine altar. Far from us be the
counsel of the wicked, who say of the Sabbath, What a weariness
is it! And who, through the pride of their countenance, call not
upon God. May the Holy Spirit help our infirmities, and by His
mighty and gracious influence so disengage us from the world and
its vanities, that we shall devote all the energies of our
nature to Thy service. May Thy presence be felt by us to be an
awful yet blessed reality. May we see the power and the glory of
our God in the sanctuary; and while those who have their portion
in this life urge the vain and godless inquiry, Who will show us
any good? let the earnest longing of our hearts be, Lord, lift
Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us. May the Spirit of
grace be poured out from on high upon all flesh, that all in man
that is opposed to Thy holy nature, may disappear from the
earth, and righteousness, and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost
universally prevail. Grant, O God of love, these our prayers,
for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
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THE CHURCH IN THE HOUSE.
O LORD, give us to know Thy Son Jesus Christ as the true God,
who took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the
likeness of men, and who being found in fashion as a man,
humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death
of the cross, for our salvation. Grant us for His sake the
forgiveness of all our sins, and into His image may our minds be
transformed. May we hear His voice saying unto us, Be watchful,
and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die,
and may His Spirit so enlighten us, and enlarge our views of
Christian doctrine and duty, as to save us from the fatal error
of resting in a name to live, while we are dead. Amen.
HYMN, or Psalm xl. 7-10.
BEHOLD my servant! See him rise
Exalted in my might!
Him have I chosen, and in him
I place my supreme delight.
On him, in rich effusion pour’d
My spirit shall descend;
My truths and judgments he shall show
To earth’s remotest end.
Gentle and still shall be his voice;
No threats from him proceed;
The smoking flax he shall not quench,
Nor break the bruised reed.
The feeble spark to flames he’ll raise;
The weak will not despise;
Judgment he shall bring forth to truth,
And make the fallen rise.
DEUTERONOMY XVIII. 15-22.
THE Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the
midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall
hearken; 16. According to all that thou desiredst of the Lord
thy God in Horeb, in the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not
hear again the voice of the Lord my God, neither let me see this
great fire any more, that I die not. 17. And the Lord said unto
me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken. 18. I
will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like
unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall
speak unto them all that I shall command him. 19. And the word
of the Lord came unto Jeremiah, saying, 20. Thus saith the Lord,
If ye can break my covenant of the day, and my covenant of the
night, and that there should not be day and night in their
season; 21. Then may also my covenant be broken with David my
servant, that he should not have a son to reign upon his throne;
and with the Levites the priests, my ministers. 22. As the host
of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea
measured; so will I multiply the seed of David my servant, and
the Levites that minister unto me.
I. JOHN IV. 1-8.
BELOVED, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether
they are of God; because many false prophets are gone out into
the world. 2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit
that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of
God: 3. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of
antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even
now already is it in the world. 4. Ye are of God, little
children, and have overcome them because greater is he that is
in you, than he that is in the world. 5. They are of the world;
therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.
6. We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not
of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and
the spirit of error. 7. Beloved, let us love one another: for
love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and
knoweth God. 8. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is
love.
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SERMON XXXII.
“THOU HAST A NAME THAT THOU LIVEST, AND ART DEAD.” --Rev. iii.
1.
BETWEEN the diseases of the body and the sins of the soul there
are many features of a striking and instructive resemblance.
They originated together in rebellion against God; they advance
together in the production of suffering and misery; and if
unremedied, they terminate together in temporal and eternal
death. But in no circumstance is the resemblance more striking
than in that fatal self-deception with which they are so often
accompanied. It is owing to this self-deception that, though man
can never become insensible to pain, nor hope to evade the
universal sentence of death, it is yet by no means uncommon to
find him acting as if perfectly unconscious of the progress of
years or the ravages of disease, and resting in the confident
anticipation of long life and enjoyment and success; while to
every eye but his own he appears under the most manifest
symptoms of approaching dissolution. And just so is it with the
sinner. He acknowledges the the general charge that he is,
indeed, guilty before God; he admits the general belief that he
must appear before the judgment seat of Christ; yet, voluntarily
ignorant of the demands of the law; unacquainted with the
determined alienation of his heart from God; forgetting the
conversion and renovation which the gospel requires -- he is
supported by the baseless hope of an undiscriminating mercy, and
rests contented with the name and profession of an outward
religion, though unaccompanied with one single movement of the
life of God in the soul.
The text, which forms part of our Lord’s address to the church
at Sardis, suggests the inquiry when it may be said to a church,
“Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” In answer to
this inquiry, we remark --
I. That a church may be said to have a name to live while she is
dead, when she has the name of Christian, without the doctrines
of the gospel.
1. The most important discovery in the word of God is that of
redemption, by the Lord Jesus Christ, from sin, and death, and
misery. One of the most vital doctrines must therefore be what
relates to the person of the Redeemer. On this subject we may
view the opinions of professing churches under three heads. By
some the Redeemer is considered a mere man, in all respects, as
to nature, like ourselves. By others he is held to be the Word
that was with God and was God -- “God manifest in the flesh.”
With respect to the first: if the Redeemer were a mere man, in
all points like ourselves, subject to prejudice, error,
weakness, sin, then may we say of our faith, “Surely we have
preached in vain, and you have believed in vain! we are yet in
our sins.” If we know our own hearts, we must feel that a
Saviour no better, or only a little better, than ourselves, can
never be a fit object for the faith, the hope, the dependence of
sinners, nor give movement or life to the church of God. But
should the Redeemer be of a more elevated nature; should he rank
among angels, as one of those spirits who, during the unnumbered
ages that have elapsed since the commencement of creation, have
been advancing in wisdom, and holiness, and power; still, though
the Saviour were an angel, man is but a little lower than the
angels, and would therefore have to depend on an arm little
stronger than his own. Nay, as all but God himself is liable to
change; as he is declared to have even charged his angels with
folly; this Saviour, this Redeemer, might fall from God, and be
banished into that misery from which the gospel, by him,
proposes to rescue sinful man.
The power of a creature, however exalted, can never give life to
the church, There is, in the awakened conscience of a sinner, a
fear that can find no repose but in the bosom of the Eternal,
and can put no confidence in any redemption but that which is
effected by the arm of Omnipotence. The first movement of the
life of hope in the penitent sinner, and consequently the life
of hope in the church, originates from receiving Christ as “God
manifest in the flesh.”
The life of the soul is to know God with feelings of love and
conformity to his image. Now were we even to admit, what the
Scriptures will by no means warrant us, that the works of nature
afforded to man, at his creation, a perfect revelation of the
being, attributes, and will of God; still this revelation could
serve no longer than man continued to hold his original and
natural relation to his Creator. Should it then appear that man
by sin has fallen into a new and unnatural relation to the
Creator, there is required a new manifestation of God that man
may again be enabled to know God, and again have spiritual life
in the knowledge of God. Philosophers have darkened our eyes
with the discoveries and stunned our ears with the praises of
“natural religion;” but, alas! of what avail to man is “natural
religion,” since the condition of man himself is “unnatural?”
His natural state was innocence and immortality; his unnatural
state is sin and death. While obedient to God, man knew God
loved him; but where has God told him he will love him through
an enemy? While in innocence, he felt God’s protection; but
where has God told him he will save him though guilty? And even
if God can love and pardon the guilty sinner, where shall the
sinner look for the evidence of that love and pardon? If the
solution of these questions be not furnished by creation, we
have internal evidence that, in order to his restoration to
spiritual life, another manifestation of God was necessary to
sinful man. Let us then examine creation, that we may find
whether, as the source of “natural religion,” it affords to the
sinner any manifestation of God as ready to pardon his
iniquities.
Ascend we with astronomy to the sun, the moon, and the stars; in
all their pages of light and of glory we read not a record of
pardon. Descend we to the earth, the scene of our sin, our
misery, and our death; and neither in the sea, the land, the
mountain, the plain, the qualities of plants, or the nature of
animals, do we find one evidence how or whether God will pardon.
Or enter we into the secret recesses of our souls: conscience
has there recorded our sins; but, instead of revealing to us
whether God will pardon, her eye wanders unsatisfied for a ray
of reviving hope, and to every visitant it is her earnest but
unsatisfied inquiry, “What shall I do to be saved?” Here, then,
there is internal evidence, that there was required a new
manifestation of God to meet the new situation to which man was
reduced by sin; to supply to the awakened conscience the
deficiency of nature, which did only reveal the Creator, but not
“the sin-pardoning God;” and to save him from ignorance, and
sin, and misery, and death, by restoring him to the knowledge
and love of God, wherein consisteth his spiritual life.
Let us then hold steadily in view, that the object of God was to
reveal himself to man in a character not discoverable in nature
-- that of the “sin-pardoning God;” and let us turn an attentive
eye to the record of revelation for the description of the
person who proclaims the pardon.
The evidence of this record has been variously arranged. It may
be divided into four stages: -- The evidence of prophecy, before
the Redeemer was manifested in the flesh; the evidence of the
Redeemer himself, during his manifestation; the evidence of his
inspired evangelists or apostles, who spoke under the infallible
teaching of the Holy Ghost; the evidence of our Lord himself,
after he had ascended up into glory. I shall then briefly advert
to the harmony of the scriptures upon the assumption that the
Saviour was “God manifest in the flesh,” and the want of that
harmony, on the assumption of his being a man or a created
angel.
Before proceeding to examine the evidence in detail, it may be
observed, that as the object of the New Testament dispensation
was to explain and fulfil the types and prophecies of the Old
Testament, so, we are naturally and necessarily led to the New
for the explanation of what is dark or difficult in the
revelation or phraseology of the Old. This observation premised,
let us proceed to examine the first stage of the evidence -- the
prophets who foretold the coming of our Saviour.
In Isaiah, vii. 14, explained by Matt. i. 23. The Saviour is
announced by the name of “Immanuel,” “God with us.” In Isaiah,
ix. 6, the prophet declares, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a
son is given; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor,
the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace.” In
these words he is foretold “a child born,” and by this character
we perceive his human nature. He is also announced as the
“mighty God;” and by this description we discover his divine
nature. He is also styled the “Prince of peace;” and by this
description we recognize him as uniting both natures in one
person, and so becoming the mediator of peace between God and
man. In Isaiah, xliv. 6, “thus saith the Lord, the King of
Israel, and his Redeemer the Lord of Hosts; I am the first, and
I am the last; and beside me there is no God.” Let this portion
of scripture be explained by Rev. ii. 8 -- where Jesus, who was
dead and is alive, declares himself to be the first and the last
-- and it necessarily follows that he is the Lord, besides whom
there is no God. Thus did the prophets speak of our Saviour,
when they beheld his day and his glory afar off. But speaking as
they were moved by the Holy Ghost, they testified that he should
be “God manifest in the flesh.”
In the second stage of the evidence let us hear our Saviour
himself. John v. 17, 18, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I
work. Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he
not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his
Father, making himself equal with God.” If the phrase, “Son of
God,” by which our Saviour is generally distinguished, be a
Hebrew idiom, we have at least the advantage of a Hebrew
interpretation, and the Jews understood by it equality with God.
John x. 30, our Saviour says, “I and my Father are one.” On this
the Jews took up stones “to kill him;” alleging, in
justification of their violence, “because that thou, being a
man, makest thyself a God.”
In the answer of our Saviour in the 38th verse, instead of the
refutation of an error, if into one they had fallen, he appeals
to his works, and draws this conclusion, “that ye may know and
believe that the Father is in me, and I in him.” Had the Jews
been in error when they affirmed that our Saviour asserted his
divinity, would he not have corrected or avoided such equivocal
phraseology? Observe, on the contrary, how firmly he adheres to
it, even at the hour of death. When questioned, Mark xiv. 61,
“Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” by which it is
evident the Jews understood “equality with God,” Jesus answered,
“I am.”
In the third stage of the evidence we examine inspired apostles,
who wrote of our Saviour after his ascension. John i. 1, 14, “In
the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God. And the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us.” Acts xx. 28, “Take heed
therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which the
Holy Ghost hath made you overseers--to feed the church of God,
which he hath purchased with his own blood.” Rom. ix. 5, “Whose
are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh, Christ
came; who is over all, God blessed for ever.” 1 Tim. iii. 16,
“Now without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness; God
was manifested in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of
angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world,
received up into glory.”
In the fourth stage of the evidence we have our Saviour’s own
testimony, when exalted to glory. Rev. xxii. 20, “He which
testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even
so, come, Lord Jesus.” Here we perceive, as the first step of
the illustration, that the person coming quickly is the Lord
Jesus. At the 12th and 13th verses we find him declaring,
“Behold, I come quickly. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the end, the first and the last.” Here we perceive, as the
second step of the illustration, that the Lord Jesus is the
Alpha and Omega. Let us now turn to Rev. xxi. 6, 7: He that sat
upon the throne, said, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which
is to come, the Almighty.” Rev. iv. 8, The four beasts,
(literally, living creatures) rest not day nor night, saying,
“Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which is, and which was,
and which is to come.”
We have thus adduced the testimony of prophets of old, of our
Saviour on earth, of his apostles who spoke by the Holy Ghost,
and of our Saviour himself, ascended into glory. They have all
testified that Jesus was “God manifest in the flesh;” and whilst
men vainly cavil and argue against it on earth, we hear the
testimony repeated by angels in the adorations of the highest
heaven.
For the supreme deity of our Saviour farther or higher evidence
can neither be expected or demanded. Upon no other principle
than that of his supreme deity can we account for the love of
Christ” being the prominent object and the governing motive
through all the New Testament. “God so loved the world that he
gave his only begotten Son”: “Herein is love, not that we loved
God, but that he loved us, and gave his Son to be the
propitiation for our sins:” “The love of Christ constraineth us
thus to judge, that we should live unto him who died for us, and
rose again.” Now if Christ were a man like ourselves, or a
created being of any possible order, where do you find this
mighty love? Were he either man or angel, will not the love of
some of his apostles vie with his own as a motive to our love
and obedience? Let us compare, for example, the love of Christ
and that of Paul. The one labours in teaching about the space of
three years, during which he is sometimes in danger, but not
injured. He confines his labours to the narrow boundaries of
Judea, a land that may be traversed from Dan to Beersheba in the
space of a few days; performs, indeed, many wonderful works, but
the benefit of which is confined to a comparative few of the
Jewish nation; with apparent difficulty works a miracle of
kindness for the Sidonian woman, because an alien from the
family of Israel, lastly he dies a grievous death, but without
any peculiar visible circumstances to distinguish his love to
mankind from that of many who had devoted themselves for their
friends or for the country. Now, with this history compare the
conduct of Paul. No sooner does he receive the commission of the
gospel, than Judea becomes too narrow for his labours of love.
He carries it to Arabia. He returns to Jerusalem to testify the
gospel. He traverses Asia, preaching salvation through all its
cities. During this time he is tried with hunger, and thirst,
and nakedness; with perils by land, and perils by sea; with
perils by robbers; and, a trial still harder to be borne, with
perils from his own hard-hearted and ungrateful countrymen. In
preaching the gospel he endures such a continued and complicated
affliction, that he protests unto God he died daily; yet under
this pressure of trials, love to the Saviour sustains and impels
him in his course. Asia becomes to narrow for his labours of
love. He passes into Europe. He preaches the gospel through its
cities, and states, and kingdoms, His heart bleeds for his
kindred according to the flesh, and he returns to Judea that he
may testify to them the gospel of salvation. He is committed to
prison; appeals to Caesar; preaches the gospel while a prisoner
of Rome, a pattern of indomitable patience in suffering, and of
zeal the most ardent in the activities of benevolence. He
finally closes his mortal journey by shedding his blood in
confirmation of his sincerity. Now, if love is to be estimated
by energy of character, by the extent of labours, the intensity
of suffering for the object of affection; or finally, by laying
down our life in defence of our cause -- then I do not hesitate
to say, that the love of Paul would fairly come into competition
with that of Christ, or outweigh it in the balance of public
estimation. Yet after all this, the Scripture is silent about
the love of Paul, and filled in every page of the New Testament
with the argument of the “love of Christ.” This fact can only be
accounted for on the principle, that the humiliation of Christ
was God’s stooping to man; that the love of Christ was the love
of God to man; and in this God commendeth to us his love, that
“God being manifest in the flesh,” Jesus laid down his life for
the purchase of our salvation.
2. The second doctrine upon which depends the life of the
church, is the atonement of sacrifice which Christ our Lord has
offered for sin. The supreme deity of our Saviour demonstrates
this his power to save if he would. The sacrifice he has offered
exhibits the power exerted and salvation accomplished. The
humble and cordial and efficient acceptance of the doctrine of
Christ’s atonement, is the very life-pulse of the church.
The evidence of this important doctrine may be considered as
exhibited during six different stages: -- It may be viewed as
figured in the sacrifices of the law. From the days of Abel, who
offered the firstlings of his flock, till the days of Christ,
who offered himself without spot to God, the sacrifices bear
testimony that “without shedding of blood there is no remission
of sin.” We have the same doctrine declared by John the Baptist,
when he came in the spirit of Elias to prepare the way of the
Lord. John was our Saviour’s witness, that all men might
believe; and pointing to him with the finger to direct the
people’s faith -- “Behold,” saith he, “the Lamb of God, that
taketh away the sin of the world.” We may consider the doctrine
as taught by our Saviour himself: “This is my blood of the new
testament, which is shed for the remission of the sins of many.”
We have it as explained by the inspired apostles of our Lord:
“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins.” We have the doctrine explained as understood by saints
in glory, who had already entered into their everlasting rest.
Now, though all men on earth should have expected salvation by
inadequate means, or to arrive at glory by an erroneous road;
there can be no hesitation in believing, that those who had
already attained to heaven must have known the means of their
success, and the road they had travelled. Let us listen to them:
-- “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the
four beasts and in the midst of the throne and of the four
beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had
been slain. When he had taken the book, the four beasts and four
and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb. And they sung a new
song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the
seals thereof: for thou was slain and hast redeemed us unto God
by thy blood.” Let any man examine this series of evidence. It
commences nearly coeval with creation; it is exhibited in the
legal sacrifices; it is foretold by prophets; it is announced by
the Baptist in our Saviour’s presence; it is recorded by our
Saviour himself a few hours before his death; it is preached by
apostles to Jews and Gentiles: it is the theme of saints in the
kingdom of their rest; it runs uninterrupted and unvarying along
the stream of four thousand years, till the testimony is sealed
and revelation completed: let all this be examined, and must we
not then conclude that the doctrine of the atonement is a
necessary principle to the life of the church? The believer
lives, because Jesus died for him. “He bare our sins in his own
body on the tree, that we, being dead to sin, should live unto
righteousness.”
3. The third doctrine upon which depends the life of the church,
is that which relates to the Holy Spirit and his influences. The
doctrine of his existence and energy is revealed in the very
commencement of the word of God. “In the beginning God created
the heavens and the earth. And the Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the waters.” That this Spirit is the moving power in
restraining from sin, in exciting to faith, repentance, love,
and obedience, is manifested in the historical record of Noah:
“My Spirit shall not always strive with man” Of this Spirit our
Saviour promises, “Your heavenly Father will give his Holy
Spirit to them who ask.” And of this Spirit the apostle declares
he makes the heart of the believer his temple and witnesseth
with our spirits that we are the children of God. The supreme
deity of the Holy Spirit is manifest from the following
scriptures: -- “Why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie unto
the Holy Ghost? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God:” “The
things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God:” “Know ye
not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you? If any man defile that temple, him will God
destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are:”
and, “Ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I
will dwell in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be
my people;” “Ye are the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in
you.” The entire efficacy of religion is, by our Saviour,
ascribed to the Holy Spirit: “Verily I say unto you, Except a
man be born of water and of the Spirit, he shall in no wise
enter into the kingdom of heaven.”
Having convinced the soul of sin, of righteousness, and of
judgment, it is the office of the Holy Spirit to take of the
things of Christ and show them unto the believer. These doings
of Christ are -- his glorious nature, yet lowly humiliation; the
atonement of Christ, whereby the sinner beholds his iniquities
forgiven and his transgressions blotted out; the gift of the
Spirit in the hand of Christ, whereby the polluted soul becomes
acquainted with sufficient means of purification, and the
saddest and weakest heart finds comfort and strength; and
finally, the glory that shall hereafter be revealed in all them
that love God. These are the things of Christ which the Holy
Spirit witnesseth to the mind, and by the living impress of
which upon the understanding and the conscience the soul of the
sinner is sealed unto the day of redemption.
4. In the sum of these doctrines we discover the fourth
principle upon the influence of which the life of the church
depends -- the doctrine of free grace. The practical reception
of this doctrine in the church lies at the foundation of a
religion for sinners. How do you expect to be pardoned? is the
first question in such a religion. The common answer returned
is, “If I repent and amend my ways God will pardon me.” I am
aware thus runs the full current of popular and inconsiderate
theology. As no man can be saved without repentance, it is
therefore concluded that men are saved on account of their
repentance. But if men are saved on account of their repentance,
then is salvation of works, not of grace. Now the scriptures
assure us that we “are justified freely by grace, through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus;” and that “by grace we are
saved through faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift
of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” As we live in
a philosophical age, perhaps it may be of some importance to
show that the principles of the soundest philosophy can be
exhibited in strict subservience to this testimony of scripture.
It is then a principle of the soundest philosophy, that “we are
not to assign to any effect more causes than are adequate to its
production.” In scripture, then, the pardon of sin is ascribed
to one cause, “the blood of Christ;” why then ascribe it to
another, the sinner’s own repentance? The simple fact is, the
pardon of sin is not the effect, but the cause, of repentance.
The love of God in sending his Son into the world, the free
grace of God in pardoning sin, are the motives that work upon
the sinner’s soul. He loves because he was first loved; and
sincerely repents because he is freely pardoned.
These are the doctrines by whose mighty energies the church of
God arises to life and glory. These were the doctrines that gave
life to the labours of Paul, and of Peter, and of John, and the
noble army of martyrs and confessors of the truth. These are the
principles -- obscured during a long night of mental darkness,
or entombed through ages of spiritual death -- which again
sprang to life in the morning of the Reformation, and propelled
the life-pulse of their divinity through the renovated churches.
These are the living doctrines, which warmed the hearts and
guided the pens and gave eloquence to the tongues of Luther and
Calvin and Zuinglius and Melanchthon and Knox. These are the
doctrines which, in more modern times, stirred within the souls
of Wesley and of Whitfield, when they burst irresistibly over
those barriers of formality within which a cold and lifeless and
almost heathenish theology had entrenched herself. These are the
doctrines by which they stirred up the life of God in the cold
hearts of multitudes sleeping in sin and the shadow of death.
These are the doctrines which sent an Elliot and a Brainerd and
a Swartz and a Vanderkemp and a Martyn to the Indian, the
Hottentot, the Hindoo, and the Persian. These are the doctrines
which wafted life around the globe to our antipodes in the South
Seas, and made the scattered islands to blossom as the gardens
of God. These are the doctrines by which the church shall live,
unchanged by time, and which shall hail the Redeemer in her
hymns, and her sermons, and her prayers, when he shall come the
second time without sin unto salvation.
II. The Church may have a name to live, and be in reality dead,
when orthodoxy in opinion is substituted for morality in
practice.
Our Saviour has attributed sanctification to the belief of the
truth; yet the word of God has denounced deserved wrath against
those who hold or imprison the truth in unrighteousness. The
life of the church must be seen in the fruits of the Spirit
growing from the seed of the truth. For as bodily life is not a
principle that we understand by its own nature, but is merely
seen and acknowledged in its outward effects; so the spiritual
life is not to be evidenced by a mere mental possession of the
doctrines of truth from which it springs, but by a visible
exhibition of their fruit unto holiness. The fruit of the Spirit
is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness,
faith, meekness, temperance; and they that are Christ’s have
crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in
the Spirit, we must also walk in the Spirit.
III. The Church may have a name to live, while in reality dead,
from an external morality, without humility and piety.
It is a favourite object with those called philosophical
Christians, to discard all importance from the belief of the
truth, and to attach every thing valuable to moral conduct. And,
indeed, could it be proved that genuine morality, having equally
the love of God and man for its motive and its object, could
exist without the belief of the truth, then might it be granted
that the doctrines we believe are of little importance. But so
long as practice must arise from principle, the value of our
outward conduct must be estimated by the nature of the inward
principles from which it springs. The fact is, that whenever men
begin to extol morality, and depreciate doctrinal truth, they
are generally found to be equally strangers to both. They have a
name to live in some partial and conventional virtues -- virtues
founded in pride and self-love and which therefore are
frequently the parents of the most revolting crimes. Of this we
have a remarkable instance in the case of the Pharisees. They
prided themselves upon the unimpeachable correctness of their
outward morality; yet our Saviour tells them, “I know you that
ye have not the love of God in you.” And the fruit of their
morality was awfully exhibited in their prosecution and
crucifixion of the Lord of life and glory. The life of the
church, produced by the Spirit of God, is truth in the
understanding, the love of God in the heart, humility because of
our unworthiness, watchfulness unto prayer, and holiness in all
our conversation.
In conclusion, the text discovers to us the danger of
substituting the name for the life of religion. When we reflect
on the life of our Redeemer, and when we perceive how little the
churches are conformed to his image, then the bearing and
application of the epistle in the text should fall heavy upon
every ear, and sink deep into every heart. The various
conditions of the churches of Asia may be viewed as so many
prophetic pictures of all the churches upon the face of the
earth; and the epistles of Jesus to these several churches, as
impressive declarations of that providential government which he
exercises over them to the end of the world. Let us, then, be
“watchful and strengthen the things that remain that are ready
to die.” Should the church ever forsake the Rock of ages the
fabric will crumble into ruin; but so long as she rests on the
foundation, Christ Jesus the Lord, “God manifest in the flesh,”
she shall remain, through the changes and injuries of time, a
temple unprofaned by the foot of the enemy -- a building of God
amidst the ruins of the universe.
Now unto Him that is able to keep us from falling, and to
present us faultless before the presence of his glory, to the
only wise God, our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and
power, both now and ever. Amen.
-- HENRY COOK, D.D.
----------------
THE CHILDREN’S SERVICE.
ONE night when Paul had come to a town of the name of Troas, on
the eastern shore of the narrow sea which separates Asia and
Europe on the south, he had a vision which was sent to him by
God. He had been led to Troas against his own mind, and the
vision explained the reason to him. The Holy Spirit wanted to
lead him into Greece, to preach the gospel there. So when he had
been brought to the sea-port town I have named, he had a vision
in the night. There seemed to stand by the side of his bed a man
whom he knew to be a Macedonian, and as he stood he said, Come
over and help us. When Paul rose up and thought on what he had
seen and heard, he saw why he had not been allowed to go into
Bithynia, which he had wished to visit, and felt quite sure that
God wished him to cross the sea, and to preach the gospel to the
Greek peoples in Europe. He did not stay an hour longer than he
could help at Troas; but finding a ship he crossed the sea to a
place called Neapolis -- you might say Naples. He was now in
Europe. But he did not stop there, but pushed on to Phillipi; a
chief town, indeed the capital, of that part of Macedonia which
he had reached, and what was then known as a Roman Colony. Here
he stayed for some days, and then the things happened of which I
am now to tell you.
The sabbath day observed by the Jews came round; and Paul,
learning that there was a place of prayer by the river side,
thought he would go and talk with the people who might gather
themselves together. He went, accordingly, and sat down and
spoke to the worshippers. They were chiefly, perhaps wholly,
women; they do so often go more to prayer than men. Now, among
the rest there was one whose name has become very well known, in
consequence of what happened that day. She was called Lydia; she
was not a native of Philippi; she belonged to Thyatira, a town
in Asia; but she had crossed the sea, I suppose, to carry on her
merchandise, and was living in the Macedonian town when Paul
came to it. She was a seller of purple cloths or dyes. She was
not a Jewess; but she had learned to fear and love the God of
Israel, and had become a proselyte. She did not know anything as
yet about Jesus being the Messiah promised of God. But when she
heard Paul speak of him, she listened with great attention, and
became convinced that he had spoken the truth, and brought to
her good news of great joy. God had, by his Spirit, opened her
heart to attend and believe. So, as soon as she was quite
persuaded that Jesus was the Saviour, she wanted to confess him,
and both herself and her household were baptized. Then she said
to Paul, If you think me a true Christian, come and stay in my
house; and she would not hear of his saying no. So he went and
staid there.
Some days after, Paul was going to the place of prayer with his
Christian companions. As he was on his way, a poor girl
possessed by an evil spirit -- who had been used by persons who
owned her as a slave to tell fortunes to silly people, and so to
bring her masters a great deal of money -- came after him crying
out, These are the servants of the Most High God, come to show
us how to be saved! Paul did not at first seem to heed her. But
she kept following him whenever he appeared with his friends,
and crying out as before. So at last he saw that Satan wanted to
bring a bad name on him and the rest, as if they were in compact
with the fortune-tellers; and he was sorry also for the poor
slave, oppressed of the devil. So he turned round, and said, In
the name of Jesus Christ, I order you, bad spirits, to come out
of this damsel. He had no sooner said it than the girl became
quite sane and well, and she molested Paul no more.
But her masters were very angry. They could not use their slave
any more to delude the people, and get money for telling them
what they pretended only those possessed by the gods could know.
They got hold therefore of Paul and his friend Silas, and
dragged them into the public market-place, where the magistrates
held their court. They took them before the rulers, and said,
Here are Jews who have come over from Asia, and they are causing
great trouble in our city, telling the people to do things which
Romans, as we in Philippi are, should not observe. They are in
fact, turning the place upside down, and destroying our customs.
Then there was a great hubbub. The crowd, hearing that Paul and
his companions were against their Roman privileges, made a great
noise, and the magistrates thought something really dangerous
and frightful was about to happen. Up they rose and said to the
officers of the court, Go, strip these men’s clothes off, and
beat them. The officers were called lictors, and they did as
they were bidden. So Paul and Silas were taken and were very
severely scourged, and then they were carried away to prison,
and strict charges were given to the jailer to take care and
keep them safely. So he put them into the inner room of the
prison, out of which they could not get except by coming through
the outer room; and to make matters surer still, he put their
feet into stocks, and locked them fast.
Here, then, were these two men, sore, bleeding with the stripes
they had received, and fastened by the feet in a cold, shocking
place. But they were not unhappy. They had borne all this for
Christ’s sake, and he had not forsaken them. What do you think
they did in the prison? Why, as if it had been a palace, and the
best thing possible had happened to them, they began to sing.
They recollected some psalms and changed them together. The
prisoners in the outer cell were quite astonished. They had
heard plenty of oaths and curses in prison, but never sounds
like these before. So they passed as near the door as their
bonds would allow, to listen. It was by this time twelve o’clock
at night. There was another, besides the prisoners, hearkening
to Paul and Silas. God heard their praises and prayers, and
answered them. In a moment a great earthquake shook the place
the whole prison. Every door opened, every chain fell from the
prisoners’ arms and feet, and they might all have fled if they
had liked. But not one of them moved. The jailer had gone to
sleep, but the earthquake waked him. So, as soon as he saw all
the doors open, he supposed every prisoner would be gone; and
knowing that he must answer for their safe-keeping with his
life, he thought he might as well kill himself at once, and took
a sword out of its sheath to stab himself. But Paul knew what he
was going to do, and cried out, We are all here; don’t hurt
yourself. Then a change came over the poor heathen’s spirit. He
saw that the men he had treated so harshly the night before,
must be sent from the Great God. He began to think about words
he had heard them speak. He felt himself a sinner, and he did
not know what to do to get quit of his fears about God’s anger.
So he called for a light, and rushed in to where Paul and Silas
were, and said, O tell me how I may be saved.
You may be sure Paul was very glad to hear him ask about
salvation. He told him at once about Jesus, and said to him that
if he would trust Him, he and his whole house would be saved.
Then a most singular congregation gathered around the apostle.
Prisoners, jailer, servants, children, all hearkened, while Paul
told the story of Christ and the cross. The jailer heard the
glad news with eagerness and joy. He believed, and was baptized,
and all his house with him. Then he took the prisoners he had
thrust before into the worst cell, and washed their wounds and
gave them food, and did not know how to make enough of them. I
suppose never was such a night in a prison before or since,
though many of Christ’s servants have preached him in prisons,
and seen wonderful things there. But in the Philippian jail we
may suppose that for the first time, at least, jailer and
prisoners praised and prayed together, happier than many kings
that were that night in their palaces.
The earthquake startled the whole city, and the magistrates must
have thought it had come to teach them that they had been too
rash and had done wrong; for they sent in the morning to the
prison, and said, Let these men go. Paul have them another
fright: for he sent back word, We are Romans, and you have broke
the law by beating and imprisoning us; you must come yourselves
and take us out. Glad were they to do it; and to ask them as a
favour to leave the city. They went to Lydia’s house, and bade
their friends farewell, and passed on to preach the gospel
elsewhere.
----------------
QUESTIONS ON THE BIBLE STORY.
1. Do you remember a remarkable miracle which was wrought at
Troas by the apostle Paul?
2. Can you describe an instance in which it appeared, after a
time, that God had allowed a crime to be committed, to bring
much good about by the person who suffered by it?
3. Who was it that prayed by night on a mountain?
4. Can you give an account in which wicked spirits bore witness
to Christ’s being the Son of God?
5. What did some of Christ’s enemies allege to be the secret of
his power to cast out devils?
6. What parties in another town were very angry because Paul’s
preaching led people away from worshipping idols, and so hurt
their trade?
7. On what other occasion did Paul’s Roman citizenship stand him
in good stead?
8. Can you think of a psalm that would have been suitable for
Paul and Silas to sing in the prison?
9. Where have we an account of a great many anxious inquirers
about the way of being saved?
ANSWERS to the foregoing questions will be easily found
by consulting the following chapters: -- Acts xx.; Gen. l.;
Matt. xiv.; Mark v.; Mark iii.; Acts xix.; Acts xxii.; Ps. xlvi;
Acts ii.
----------------
Prayer.
O LORD God of providence, Thou leadest all that trust Thee in a
right way. They often do not see their road clearly; but when
they ask Thee to guide them, they are not left to err. May we
always be willing to take Thy way, and to go and do as Thou
shalt show us Thy will. O God, the heathen nations are crying
still for help; pour out Thy Spirit on all the churches that
they may pray more, and give more, and send more, to save the
perishing. And O, wherever the gospel is preached, open hearts
to receive it in faith and love. May ours always be open to it.
We ask all for Christ’s sake. Amen.
----------------
EVENING WORSHIP.
O ETERNAL God, who, according to Thy faithful promise, didst
send the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, grant us by the
same Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore
to rejoice in His holy comfort, through the merits of Christ
Jesus our Saviour, who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the
unity of the same Spirit, world without end. Amen.
HYMN, or Psalm l. 9-15.
TO our Redeemer’s glorious name
Awake the sacred song!
O may his love (immortal flame!)
Tune every heart and tongue.
His love what mortal thought can reach?
What mortal tongue display?
Imagination’s utmost stretch
In wonder dies away!
Let wonder still with love unite,
And gratitude and joy,
Jesus be our supreme delight,
His praise our best employ!
LUKE II. 26-38.
IT was revealed unto Simeon by the Holy Ghost that he should not
see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27. And he came
by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in
the child Jesus, to do for him after the customs of the law, 28.
Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29.
Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to
thy word: 30. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31. Which
thou hast prepared before the face of all people; 32. A light to
lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. 33.
And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were
spoken of him. 34. And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary
his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising
again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken
against; 35. (Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul
also) that the thoughts of many hearts shall be revealed. 36.
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel,
of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with
an husband seven years from her virginity; 37. And she was a
widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from
the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers day and
night. 38. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise
unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for the
redemption in Jerusalem.
----------------
Prayer.
ETERNAL Son of the Eternal Father, begotten of the Father before
all worlds, and before all time; Thou art in the Father, and the
Father in Thee; Thou and the Father are one. What things soever
the Father doeth, O Eternal Son, these also Thou doest. All
things were made by Thee, and without Thee was not anything made
that was made; Thou art the Life; Thou art the Light; Thou art
the Word; Thou art God.
Thou wast made flesh, and didst dwell among us, and we beheld
Thy glory -- the glory as of the only begotten Son of the
Father, full of grace and truth: O blessed Son, Thy essence,
infinite, absolute, eternal, was inclosed in the narrow limits
of a temporal and finite humanity. Thou didst leave the heavens;
Thou wast born of a virgin by the power of the Holy Ghost; wast
a child, and didst become a man -- a man without sin, and yet a
true man; Thou didst hunger and thirst; Thou hast, like us,
known want and sorrow, O Eternal Son of the Eternal Father, Thou
wast tempted; Thou hast striven; Thou didst obey; Thou hast
suffered; Thou becamest man to save man, by Thy life, by Thy
death, making atonement by the blood for his iniquity.
O Eternal Son of the Eternal Father, Thy Father hath given Thee
power over all flesh, that Thou shouldest give life eternal to
as many as He hath given Thee. Thou art to us the most precious
gift of His, for in Thee we find all in abundance. If we abide
in Thee, and Thou in us, we shall have no want. Thou art the
true bread of life, of which if we eat, our souls shall never
hunger more. Thou art our light; in Thee we shall never be in
darkness. Thou art our joy; we shall not be in sorrow. Thou art
our truth; we shall not be in error. Thou art the door; who
shall hinder our entering? Thou art our righteousness; who can
then condemn? Thou art our peace; who can trouble us?
And yet, O Eternal Son of the Eternal Father, we are often
without light, without joy, without peace, without the bread and
water of life, without a throne of grace. Wherefore? Because we
do not come to Thee; because we do not dwell in the riches that
Thou hast vouchsafed to us, we are often poor, and wretched, and
miserable, and blind, and naked. Notwithstanding Thy eternal
strength, we are liable to stumble every day, every moment. Thou
hast given us Thy holy commandments; we have transgressed them
Thou hast given us Thy Holy Spirit, and we have grieved it. We
are prodigal sons, who have wasted their inheritance.
Pardon our sins, O Lord. Have mercy, have mercy upon us. O by
Thy precious blood, which speaketh better things than the blood
of Abel, speak for us. We are humbled; we are ashamed before
Thee; we make no excuse; our only hope for our broken spirit is
to find salvation by Thy cross. Help us, O Lord, for of
ourselves we can do nothing. The end is too high for us; we
cannot attain unto it.
O Almighty Son of the Almighty Father, since we cannot come to
Thee, do Thou come to us, and save us. Enter the door of our
hearts; knock, and do Thou Thyself open it. Rouse us from all
false security, from idleness, from the lusts of the flesh, from
the love of the world, from all vanity. Enable us to come to
Thee, and us let not be like Lot’s wife, who looked back to old
sins.
Eternal Son, come and be in truth our Saviour. Govern entirely
our whole being, according to Thy word. Grant that heavenly life
may be communicated to us, and abound in us. Come; our souls
wait for thee, O Lord, as the bride waiteth for the bridegroom.
And when thou art come, take up thine abode in us.
O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Thou whom the heavens cannot
contain, let us be for ever Thine abode on earth, in heaven, and
for all eternity. Amen.
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MORNING AND EVENING MEDITATIONS.
MONDAY.
Morning.
We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we
love the brethren: he that loveth not his brother abideth in
death.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no
murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him.
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man
have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also
do ye.
Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which
ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.
1 John iii. 14, 15. Exod. xxii. 21. Col. iii. 13. 2 Thess. ii.
15.
Evening.
The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow,
to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay such as be of
upright conversation.
They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hid
themselves together.
Remember this, and shew yourselves men; bring it again to mind,
O ye transgressors.
O Lord, thou has seen my wrong; judge thou my cause.
Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor
sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
Ps. xxxvii. 14. Job xxiv. 4. Isa. xlvi. 8. Lam. iii. 59. Ps. i.
5.
TUESDAY.
Morning.
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to
confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things which are mighty.
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance
of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh,
the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted
above measure.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in
necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake;
for when I am weak, then am I strong.
I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me; for I
ought to have been commended of you.
1 Cor. i. 27. 2 Cor. xii. 7, 10, 11.
Evening.
Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before
a fall.
Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to
divide the spoil with the proud.
That ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect
will of God.
For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is
among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to
think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to
every man the measure of faith.
For as we have many members in one body, and all members have
not the same office;
So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members
one of another.
Prov. xvi. 18, 19. Rom. xii. 2, 3, 4, 5.
WEDNESDAY.
Morning.
My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth
me.
Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; for the Lord hath
heard the voice of my weeping.
Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord; let thy
loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
For innumerable evils have compassed me about; mine iniquities
have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up: they
are more than the hairs of mine head; therefore my heart faileth
me.
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me: O Lord, make haste to help
me.
Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let
such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be
magnified.
Ps. vi. 3, 8. Ps. xl. 11, 12, 13, 16.
Evening.
I will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and
daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out
of Egypt.
Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married
unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a
family, and I will bring you to Zion:
And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall
feed you with knowledge and understanding.
Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son,
then an heir of God through Christ.
2 Cor. vi. 18. Hos. xi. 1. Jer. iii. 14, 15. Gal. iv. 7.
THURSDAY.
Morning.
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine hand
upon me.
Behold, thou hast made my days as an hand-breadth, and mine age
is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is
altogether vanity.
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it
is past, and as a watch in the night.
Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as a sleep: in
the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
In the morning it flourisheth, and groweth up; in the evening it
is cut down, and withereth.
Ps. cxxxix. 5. Ps. xxxix. 5. Ps. xc. 4, 5, 6.
Evening.
For I will set mine eyes upon them for good, and I will bring
them again to this land: and I will build them, and not pull
them down; and I will plant them, and not pluck them up.
Give ear, O ye heavens, and I will speak, and hear, O earth, the
words of my mouth.
My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as
the dew; as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the
showers upon the grass.
For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his
inheritance.
Jer. xxiv. 6. Deut. xxxii. 1, 2, 9.
FRIDAY.
Morning.
He that soweth to his flesh, shall of the flesh reap
corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit, shall of the
Spirit reap life everlasting.
He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth
the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of
riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
But he that received seed into the good ground is he that
heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth
fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundred-fold, some sixty,
some thirty.
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving
your own selves.
Gal.vi. 8. Matt. xiii. 22, 23. James i. 17, 22.
Evening.
The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into
the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth
for much fruit.
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his
life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there
shall also my servant be; if any man serve me, him will my
Father honour.
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me
from this hour; but for this cause came I unto this hour.
Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven,
saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
John xii. 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28.
SATURDAY.
Morning.
Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.
Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give
my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me
nothing.
He that covereth a transgression seeketh love; but he that
repeateth a matter separateth very friends.
Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it;
if a man would give all the substance of his house for love, it
would utterly be contemned.
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin
not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father,
Jesus Christ the righteous.
Prov. x. 12. 1 Cor. xiii. 3. Prov. xvii. 9. Canticle (Song of
Solomon). viii. 7. 1 John ii. 1.
Evening.
But as touching brotherly love, ye need not that I should
write unto you; for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one
another.
And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all
Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more
and more.
Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort
the feeble-minded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.
See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow
that which is good, both among yourselves and to all men.
1 Thess. iv. 9, 10. 1 Thess. v. 14, 15.
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