Part 1

Transcribed from the 1860 William Skeffington edition by David Price. Many thanks to the British Library for making their copy available.

PLAIN SERMONS

PREACHED AT

ARCHBISHOP TENISON’S CHAPEL,

REGENT STREET.

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BY

JAMES GALLOWAY COWAN,

MINISTER.

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Second Series.

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LONDON:

WILLIAM SKEFFINGTON, 163, PICCADILLY

1860.

_BY THE SAME AUTHOR_—_FIRST SERIES_.

Plain Sermons, preached at Archbishop Tenison’s Chapel, Regent Street. Fcap. cloth, price 3s. 6d.

CONTENTS.

PAGE SERMON I. DEPENDENCE UPON GOD.

Philippians, iv., 5, 6. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in 1 everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto GOD SERMON II. JUDGMENT HERE AND HEREAFTER.

Malachi, ii., 17. Where is the God of Judgment? 16 SERMON III. THE WORLDLING REPROVED.

St. James, iv., 13, 14, 15. Go to now, ye that say, To-day or to-morrow we will go into 32 such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. For that ye ought to say, If the LORD will, we shall live, and do this, or that. SERMON IV. THE UNKNOWN GOD.

Acts, xvii., 22, 23. Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too 48 superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you. SERMON V. FAITH AND ITS BLESSEDNESS.

St. John, xx., 29. Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: 66 blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. SERMON VI. FAULTLESSNESS BEFORE GOD. (INNOCENTS’ DAY.)

Revelation, xiv., 5. They are without fault before the throne of GOD. 76 SERMON VII. PAST MERCIES REVIEWED. (NEW YEAR’S EVE.)

Genesis, xxxii., 10. I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all 92 the truth, which thou hast showed unto Thy servant; for with my staff I passed over this Jordan; and now I am become two bands. SERMON VIII. WORKING FOR GOD.

St. John, ix., 4. I must work the works of Him that sent me, while it is day: 108 the night cometh, when no man can work. SERMON IX. CHRIST’S TRUEST MANIFESTATION.

St. John, xiv., 22. LORD, how is it that Thou will manifest Thyself unto us, 126 and not unto the world. SERMON X. BLESSING ACCORDING TO PRAYER.

St. Matthew, viii., 13. And JESUS said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou 146 hast believed, so be it done unto thee. SERMON XI. CHRIST STILLING THE STORM.

St. Matthew, viii., 26. And He saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little 161 faith? Then He arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. SERMON XII. UNITY WITH PEACE.

Ephesians, iv., 1, 2, 3. I, therefore, the prisoner of the LORD, beseech you that ye 179 walk worthy of the calling wherewith ye are called, With all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. SERMON XIII. THE LAW IN THE GOSPEL.

St. Luke x., 25. What shall I do to inherit eternal life? 193 SERMON XIV. PRESENT SALVATION.

II. Corinthians, vi., 2. Behold, now is the day of salvation. 211 SERMON XV. CHRIST TOUCHED.

St. Mark, v., 30. And JESUS, immediately knowing in Himself that virtue had 228 gone out of Him, turned Him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes? SERMON XVI. PREACHING PARABLES.

Ezekiel, xx., 49. Ah LORD GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables? 245 SERMON XVII. LIVING AND DYING UNTO GOD.

II. Corinthians, v., 8, 9. We are confident and willing rather to be absent from the 264 body, and to be present with the LORD. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. SERMON XVIII. RELIGIOUS ZEAL.

II. Kings, x., 16. Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. 276 SERMON XIX. CHRIST’S COMING DESIRED.

Revelation, xxii., 20. Even so, come, LORD JESUS. 289 SERMON XX. TRUE PROSPERITY.

Genesis, xxxix., 2. The LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man. 305

SERMON I. DEPENDENCE UPON GOD.

PHILIPPIANS, IV., 5, 6.

_The Lord is at hand_. _Be careful for nothing_; _but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto_ God.

“THE Lord is at hand.” It is doubtful whether this admonition is designed to recommend the foregoing precept, “Let your moderation be known unto all men,” or whether it introduces and enforces the injunction, “Be careful for nothing.” It may well do both: on the one hand, exhorting the disciples to lead (and that manifestly) an unworldly life, seeing they were so shortly to be taken out of the world; and, on the other hand, cheering them in their sorrows, suppressing their anxieties and quickening their faith, by the remembrance, that comfort, and peace, and perfect bliss would soon be theirs—“The LORD is at hand.”

The second advent of our LORD was always in the mind of the apostles. It is thought that they even counted upon its literal occurrence in their lifetime, as though the prophecies of it were among the things to be fulfilled before that generation passed away. Without subscribing to this view, against which many objections may be taken, it may be readily admitted that, as they were uncertain how soon it might happen, as they had no ground for concluding that it would _not_ be in their time, so they rightly laboured to impress upon the disciples its _possible_, if you will its _probable_ nearness. Besides, they knew that, virtually, it would be soon: for if CHRIST came not speedily in the flesh, speedily they would be called out of the flesh to Him, and then would cease the pleasures and cares of this world, and then would begin the possession and enjoyment of things eternal. How necessary then, that they who were but pilgrims and strangers here, living a life that was soon to be ended and accounted for, should be warned against excess of worldliness, against building houses where they were but permitted to pitch tents, against turning aside out of the path of pilgrimage, and wasting or abusing the time for journeying! How cheering, too, for those who were perplexed, or burthened, or afflicted, to be reminded that perplexity, and toil, and grief were only passing clouds, and mere inconveniences by the way—that soon they should be rid of them altogether, and should only be allowed to remember them to magnify their appreciation of attained rest and glory! And here let me observe, that the admonition “Be careful for nothing,” is not in this place a reproof of the worldling, coming across him in the path of mammon worship, of earthly aggrandisement, of forgetfulness of eternity, of GOD, of heaven, but is rather a consolation, an encouragement, for those, who while walking, or endeavouring to walk, in the right way, are depressed and hindered by trials, and perplexities, and afflictions. There are cares which man makes for himself, for which he is to be blamed, whereof he deserves to eat the bitter fruit. There are other cares which he suffers involuntarily, which GOD imposes upon him as discipline, which Satan thrusts upon him as temptations. With regard to the last, the Christian’s cares, St. Paul offers advice and consolation, saying in effect—Sink not beneath them, poor pilgrim; groan not on account of them; let them not distract your aims and desires from the right object of solicitude and hope. Weigh them in the right scales against the glories that are coming, and they will surely be found light. Measure them beside the joys of eternity, and they will be seen to be brief and transitory. “The LORD is at hand” to relieve you of them all, at His second advent, by the unclothing of death, by carrying you to Paradise. Be comforted, rejoice, rouse ye, and, without distraction, pursue your hopeful course. “Be careful for nothing.”

We know the force of such an exhortation in earthly things. We know by experience how light is the labour which leads to rest, how possible it is to smile through present tears at the prospect of coming joy; what pains, and self-denials, and dangers, and encounters, are readily embraced by those whom ambition prompts, and approval cheers, and reward awaits. Nothing is too hard to bear, nothing too dear to relinquish, nothing too formidable to meet, nothing too much to do; the hands that hung down are lifted up, the sorrow is banished, the toil becomes pleasure, we rush to the fight, we delight in the race, forgetting the past, disregarding the present, hastening onward to the future, the rest, the victory, the prize, the glory. It is easy, then—not altogether, but comparatively—to obey the precept, “Be careful for nothing” in view of the prospect, “The LORD is at hand.”

But, after all, I cannot but think that something better than a prospect is hinted at in the text. The apostle goes on to urge, “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto GOD.” He does not say, “Make light of present cases, on account of coming consolation.” He does not bid the downcast lift up their eyes to the hills, whence by and by cometh their help. It is not “Bear, endure, encounter in hope,” but, “Get rid of what burthens you, by laying it upon Him, Who is near, by your side now, to take it. Be careful for nothing; put every care upon GOD (the LORD who is at hand to take it), by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.” I say this is something better than a prospect; better, because of its superior influence, and better, because of the immediate relief. The teaching of Advent, all important as it is, too often affects but little such poor creatures of the present as we are. We are exhorted to look back to the first coming of CHRIST, to see what He suffered and did for us, what a foundation He laid for us to build on. We are exhorted to look forward to the second advent, to consider what CHRIST will do, to anticipate the glorious completion of us in Him as the building of GOD. We obey, and we are moved to faint gratitude for the one, to faint hope of the other. The retrospect and the prospect considered, we both see from what rock we were hewn, and into how beautiful a fabric we shall be fashioned; and, unless we are very incapable of feeling, in the view of past and future, we strive to accept thankfully and to sanctify duly the present. But, oh! how little constraining is the influence of a Saviour who _once_ visited the earth, of a Judge who shall _by and by_ visit it! How dim is the remembrance of long past mercies! how distant is the prospect of heavenly consolations! Earth is now present with all its attractions and rewards. The world, the flesh, and the devil are now assailing and afflicting us with their many temptations. How can we resist the seen, and heard, and felt fascinations? How can we fill up the present void, and lull the present pain, and endure the pressing trial, by proposing to ourselves the hopes of the future? Does the promise of food to-morrow fill the hungry to-day? Does the sight of the physician’s prescription on the instant stay the pain and progress of inflammation? Will a drowning man float till by and by a rope is brought and thrown to him? Will a discomfited army rally and conquer, because reinforcements at some future time will reach the field? In each of these cases, the prospect will have _some_ influence, but will it be adequate to the occasion? Must not the present be met by the present? Do we not need, besides a Saviour of the past, and a Judge of the future, a LORD of the present? Yes, verily, and we are assured that we have Him in the words, “The LORD is at hand,” and advised how to avail ourselves of Him in what follows, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto GOD.”

We are too apt to have but a religion of the future; to forget that there is _at hand_ a LORD and Helper; to act as though the first opportunity of serving GOD were in the hour of death, as though the blessings of reward and favour were only to be had in heaven; to treat GOD, in short, as if He were only the GOD of a future world. Such teaching as that of the text reproves and corrects us. As other passages of Holy Writ instruct us to make GOD the aim of this present life, using life as an apprentice-time to the profession of Christianity, as a season wherein to prove ourselves and be proved, and to set forth His glory; “Whether we live, we live unto the LORD.” “Whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of GOD;” so the text bids us make GOD the guide and supporter of this life. “In everything by prayer, with supplication, and thanksgiving, let your requests be made known as to GOD. And the peace of GOD, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through CHRIST JESUS.”

This is what we want to feel and act upon, that GOD is a GOD at hand, and not a GOD afar off; that we may _now_ cast all our care upon Him, knowing that He careth for us; that if we lay our burthen upon the LORD, He will _now_ sustain us: that if we commit our way unto Him, He will bring it to pass; that He waits to be gracious, not till this life is over, but only till we make known our requests, till we pray and supplicate, and give thanks. In proportion as we do not realise and act upon these assurances, we are blind to many of the charms, and insensible to many of the helps and comforts of our holy religion: we frustrate, too, the fulfilment in ourselves of the truth, that godliness has the promise of the life that now is: we run the risk of becoming earthly-minded, of being swallowed up of overmuch sorrow, of being cumbered with many cares, of being snared away and taken captive by the devil, of making shipwreck of our faith.

O brethren, do not suppose that GOD only dwells on the margin of the haven, that we are left to steer our course, to buffet with the waves, to struggle against the storm, to repair the shivered mast, to stop the leakages, to sail into the harbour, and let down the anchor, and disembark upon the shore before He meets us. With Him as our Captain we are to set out. He as our pilot must guide us. He must rule the waves and bring us through them. The way is His, as the haven is His; unless He is with us throughout the first, we shall never reach the last. Grace is no reserved blessing. Heaven is no distant home. Grace is ever to be had if we will seek it. Heaven is everywhere, if we will but realise it, for where GOD is, is heaven.

But GOD is not manifest to all. His help is not given unsought. The eye of faith alone can see Him, the cry of faith alone be heard. As He will be served for reward, so will He be asked for grace: we must be alert to see what help we want; we must be prompt to seek it. We must acknowledge Him, or He will not guide us. We must cast our care upon Him, or He will not take it. Unless we are careful for nothing, because we have committed our cares to Him, we must be full of cares, harassed by them, troubled, afflicted, distressed; or, being careless, we shall be deemed worthless, and left to drift upon shoals and into quicksands, and to sink in the gulf of destruction.

Do I speak to those who are careful for many things? I do not mean those who are concerning themselves about worldly schemes, who would increase their wealth, their power, or their pleasure, who, regarding earth as their home, and resolving to make the most of it, are laying themselves out for many days, proposing to pull down their barns and build greater, to make to themselves a name, who are intent upon what they shall eat and drink, and wherewithal they shall be clothed, how they shall get their full of pleasure, how they shall cull all the advantages, and avoid all the disagreeables of life. As the minister of GOD, I have nothing to do with these, further than to cry out upon their folly and their sin, and to warn them that unless they repent and relinquish their cares, they shall be consumed by them. But do I speak to those who setting before them as the business of life, the service of GOD, as the end of life, the glory of heaven, are yet, by personal infirmity, by peculiar exigencies, and difficulties, and anxieties, by a frowning or fascinating world, by the wiles of Satan or by any other means, so troubled, so distracted, so drawn off from the pursuit of their object, and the entertaining of their hopes, that they find themselves carnal when they would be spiritual, standing still when they would be moving on, clinging to earth when they would be rising to heaven, waging war when they would be enjoying peace? Do I speak to those whose weak and carnal nature will not be enlisted in the hearty pursuit of godliness; whose crying temporal wants distract, and deafen, and deaden the yearnings of their better nature; whose occupation in the world seems to contend, and too successfully, for the best of their thoughts and aims, whose natural losses and deprivations sadden and absorb them, creating a void which they cannot fill, taking away a guide whom they used to look to, a support upon which they were wont to lean; whose patient labours in well-doing have failed of success; whose good is evil spoken of; whose many cares to train aright the children whom GOD gave them, have been repaid by waywardness; whose conscientious well-doing has brought upon them what should rather be the reward of ungodliness; who, in short, have not found in religion what they hoped for and honestly sought, and who cannot render to religion what they would? Do I speak to these? Well! I ask, Have you sought to get rid of care, by casting it upon the LORD? or have you rather asked human counsel, and leant upon human support, and hewn out for yourselves cisterns, and built for yourselves a refuge, instead of running into the refuge of GOD? Have you animated yourselves only by the thought of distant help, of future peace? Have you lost sight of the LORD at hand, the GOD of Providence, knowing, causing or assenting to, and waiting to guide, as you ask or ask not, the circumstances which try you? Have you realised that nothing happens but by His consent, and that His consent is given or withheld, not by what He sees of you, but by what He hears from you? Do you pray—not simply uttering certain words put into your mouths in Church formularies, or books of private devotion, not framing acts of general adoration, of vague acknowledgments of dependence and prayer for blessings, but presenting yourselves, in the utterance of your own feelings, as in all things the servants of His will, the dependents and petitioners of His grace? Do you supplicate? Is each ascertained want laid before Him in all its detail? Is every hindrance, every difficulty, every desire made known to Him as soon as perceived by yourselves? Is your care cast upon Him? Is He besought to take it, to relieve you of it, to tell you what to do respecting it? Can you say of all that now tries you, that nothing is uncommunicated to Him, no relief, no guidance unsought? And do you in everything give thanks. Ah, here, brethren, is the test! Here doubtless will many of you, who are clear hitherto, be obliged to plead guilty. You do not give thanks. You recognise GOD as Him from whom you may seek all. You do not sufficiently acknowledge what you have received. Of many special gifts, of power to bear with many trials, of guidance in various difficulties, of blessings continued and troubles not made worse (an important item), you make no acknowledgment. You know of many blessings for which you ought to be grateful: you may guess at many more, and besides there are many which you do not know, and cannot guess at, which yet doubtless have been poured out upon you, or at least have not been taken away from you. What of these? What of everything good in itself, or capable of being made good? What of the temptations, what of the afflicting providences of which you are the objects? You do not think, perhaps, that these are things to be grateful for: but, remember, the command is, “In everything with thanksgiving.” Yes, the prayer, without the thanksgiving, is not prayer. It is only part dependence. It asks, it does not acknowledge. It does not rejoice that GOD is yet operating; that He is chastening if He is not rewarding; that therefore, you are still the creatures of His providence, and may hope for blessing if you do not frustrate it.

O mend all that is amiss, quicken all that is slow, revive all that is ready to perish. The LORD is at hand. Cast all your care upon Him. Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to GOD. See Him by faith Who is invisible to natural eye. Lean on Him Whom the arm of flesh cannot touch. Speak to Him in all your circumstances of weal or woe, of trial or blessing. Pray to Him for what you want, and acknowledge all that you receive, of whatever kind, and ask Him what use to make of it. So rid yourselves of your cares, and then—I do not say that you shall be left without trials, for GOD does not promise that, rather does He lead us to expect trials as the signs and pledges of His love, but I do say that He will give you nothing, and leave you nothing, but what is good for your personal happiness and your eternal interest, and that in every trial, whether sent by Him, or allowed to be inflicted by the agents of evil, He will give you support, and guidance, and ardent hope, and abundant consolation; yea, He will bestow on you His peace which passeth understanding, and which, whatever your circumstances, shall assuredly keep your hearts and minds through CHRIST JESUS, unto eternal salvation.

SERMON II. JUDGMENT HERE AND HEREAFTER.

MALACHI, II., 17.

_Where is the God of Judgment_?