Part 4

And shall not the sharing of this presence with others augment their bliss? _We_ (they and us) shall be ever with the LORD. All the sons of GOD shall there meet together, and dwell with the LORD. Man, I need not tell you, is a social being: he is formed for company; he cannot be fully happy alone. It is by sharing his good things that he comes to enjoy them; it is by speaking of them, that he comes to feel them. (Would that Christians could be brought to act on this admitted truth, as Christians!) In this world there is no greater enjoyment than to associate with a band of fellow-countrymen, journeying towards the same place, with kindred tastes, and tempers, and hopes. Oh! what then shall be the blessedness of association in heaven with the whole body of the saints? Think of being associated in the presence, and favour, and adoration of GOD, with holy angels; with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; with David, and Daniel, and Mary, and John, and Paul; and all the others whose praise is in the Gospel! Think of meeting, in heaven, with all the primitive Christians and martyrs; with all the perfected saints who once walked on earth with us; with our relatives, our parents, our brothers and sisters, our children, our bosom friends: to be re-united with them in bonds that shall never be broken; where all are happy; where every eye looks to JESUS, where every heart leaps to Him; each mouth is opened in His praise; each knee is bent in His adoration; where GOD is the centre and the circumference, and heaven the roof and the floor! And all this for ever—uninterrupted, unending, growing fresher, intensified, better appreciated by the rolling on of eternity. _So_ shall we ever be with the LORD.

Bereaved Christian, as you gaze upon the vacant place of one who is in Paradise, advancing to this heaven, will you dare to sigh that the old armchair, or the little cradle, is unoccupied? Would you prefer for your loved one, as a _better_ condition, that he or she should come back and share your sorrows, and difficulties, and perplexities, and be exposed to toil and contamination? Will your ingratitude think lightly of what GOD has done, and is doing, for the removed one? Will your selfishness (oh, if the dead should know of this!) demand—“Let me have my loved one’s company, though thereby that loved one lose GOD’S?” Oh! there is no religion, there is no human love, in the mourner who does not smile away the tears of worldly sorrow with the joy of this blessed consolation; who does not turn each thought of the righteous dead into a theme of praise for their deliverance; into a prayer, that he, too, may soon be added to the number of those who are ever with the LORD!

Christian pilgrim, journeying through the wilderness, footsore, beleaguered, stumbling, smitten, losing sight ever and anon of the guiding pillar, wandering out of the path, too often unsustained, uncomforted, do you _fear_ death? Do you shudder at and flee from the sight of the Jordan through which angels wait to guide you; whose other bank is in heaven? Oh! how little do you think of GOD’S abiding presence! What a mere name is your love of Christ! How unreal was your professed affection for those who have gone before! How foolishly blind are you to your own best interests! What a sham is your so-called pilgrimage, your journey to a shrine which you fear to reach! What shall I say to those who wilfully linger in the wilderness, while the host passes on, and the night, with all its howling terrors, is at hand; to those who would turn back, and would cross again the Red Sea into Egypt, while the waves are prepared to overwhelm the Egyptians—in plain terms, to those who live not in GOD’S presence here, and seek not to have it hereafter? Shall I describe to you the positive horrors of hell; its gnawing worms, its devouring flames, its malignant frenzied spirits? No; I will but warn you, that you are fast approaching an outer darkness, where there is no enjoyment, no hope, no heaven, no Saviour, no GOD. Ye shall be for ever without the LORD.

Brethren, one and all, what shall we do to inherit the glorious, abiding presence of GOD? Oh! let us make much of the partial presence which is now within our reach. “Abide in me, and I in you,” says Christ. Let us live near to Him; let us live much in Him; let us live as He tells us. Contemplate we Him in His holy Word; pore over it day after day, till we see Him as in a glass; till His glory is reflected on us, and we shine with the glorious light. Watch we for Him in all our ways, listen for His voice, lean on His arm, fight in His strength. Feed we our desires with heavenly food; not the quails of our own lust, but the manna from heaven, and the water out of the rock; the bread and wine, which are meat indeed and drink indeed. Having this hope—desiring, that is, to be ever with Him—let us purify ourselves, even as He is pure, and study day by day to conform ourselves more and more to His pattern.

Yes; believe in heaven, desire heaven, live for heaven. As St. Peter says, “Add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, charity. For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our LORD JESUS CHRIST; and so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly, into the everlasting kingdom of our LORD and Saviour JESUS CHRIST.”

SERMON V. MAN’S KNOWLEDGE LIMITED.

I. COR., XIII., 9

“We know in part.”

IN one sense, the words of our text have been ever true, and ever shall be. Even in the Garden of Eden, when man possessed knowledge of such a kind, and to such a degree, as to be a feature of the moral likeness of GOD, there were still many things which he could not grasp, nor fathom, nor measure, and there were many others which the Divine will purposely kept unrevealed from him. And so too, hereafter, in heaven itself, the perfected finite being must necessarily fail to comprehend and scrutinize thoroughly the great infinite, and doubtless will be left uninformed of much that he could grasp, because the knowledge thereof will not concern his duty or his interest.

But, in another sense, man did once know, and shall again know, perfectly. In his unfallen state, GOD talked to him plainly, made His presence to be realised, in a way showed Himself as He is, that is, as He is in His relation to obedient and holy man, taught clearly the duty, and revealed the destiny and hopes of His creature. And, again, in heaven, though still dwelling in light which no one can approach to, though still the Invisible, Whom no man hath seen or can see, GOD shall yet be plainly reflected in His Son, the visible Deity with Whom the redeemed shall stand face to face, Whom they shall see and know even as now they are known by Him. And man, too, though still not omniscient, shall know thoroughly with whom he has to do; shall trace with easy clearness the path along which he has been led; shall realise his position and appropriate his privileges, and see even to the utmost his eternal future. This has been already, in a measure. This shall be hereafter entirely; but this is not now. “We know in part.”

When man sinned, the lamp of knowledge grew dim, and well nigh went out. GOD put a thick cloud between Him and His creature, and between that creature and the future; and around him and above him, for light He gave obscurity. But yet straightway of His compassion and love in Christ, He began to give back as with a slow hand, what He had suddenly withdrawn with a swift hand. A tiny spark was kindled, which was very gradually to be fanned into a little flame, and finally to burst out into a blaze, which should make all visible again. Yea, and _more_ visible than at the first. You know how the grace of GOD—which made man at the first innocent, upright, and happy, with great power of understanding and free will—having been forfeited, was withdrawn, but yet began at once to be recommunicated—not immediately in its former perfection, but by little and little, and at slow paces; first, externally by the Spirit in the world; then, internally, by the Spirit of regeneration planted as a seed in each Christian’s heart, to be gradually developed into the blade, the ear, and, finally, the ripe corn in the ear, at the resurrection, the restoration to the full favour and realised presence of GOD.

This may explain to you how knowledge was reimparted. At first it was but a spark for the whole world; then it became a tiny flame, by which those near at hand might dimly see. Then a spark from it was struck into each Christian mind, which may be, and is to be gradually fanned up in him, revealing more and more what is in him, and about him, and before him, till in heaven it bursts out into a full flame, showing all things clearly. Into each of us this spark has been struck; in each of us it is to be fostered, and fed, and developed; to exhibit more and more what GOD is, and does; what we are, and have, and hope for, till we come unto perfect knowledge, and see all clearly. Men of the patriarchal age had but the one spark among them. The Jews had this spark become a little flame; and some of them, as David, Solomon, and Daniel, had each a torch lighted from it, and held near at hand to them, as by a guardian angel. We Christians, I say, have each _in us_ a spark kindled. If we feed and fan it, it becomes a flame; and according as we feed and fan it, grows brighter and larger, and extends nearer and nearer to that point, where it shall unite with others, and light up heaven with an eternal blaze. _Thus_ do we know, all of us in part, but not all equally, some less, some more, according to our measure, and according as we guard and tend it, and all imperfectly, because the time and place of perfection are not yet.

“We know in part.” Now, one of the most important thoughts which this text suggests is, that we Christians all have to some extent the privilege of spiritual knowledge, and consequently, we all have resting upon us, the responsibility of maintaining and increasing knowledge. You all, brethren, know in part. I do not mean merely that you have the instinct and intelligence which certain sagacious animals of the lower creation have, nor yet that by natural conscience, the embers of the primeval spiritual fire, you are enabled dimly to discern between right and wrong, to perceive that there is a power above you, and an immortal future before you: I mean, that you all _as Christians_ are partakers of a new gift of knowledge—that you have within you, as one of the ordinary graces of the Spirit of regeneration in Christ, that Spirit which was given to guide men unto all truth, to convince of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment; the faculty of knowing spiritual things—a faculty to be sustained in appointed ways, and to be exercised upon the revelations of knowledge contained in the Word of GOD.

I shall not stay to prove this; you know that since in Christ all is quickened, which died in Adam, knowledge must be revived. You know that the Spirit of Christ is frequently spoken of as the Imparter of light to all whom He visits; that the coming of Christ to men, _externally_ even, as a teacher, took away all cloak and excuse for ignorance and sin; that to sin after receiving the Spirit, is to sin against the knowledge of the truth, knowledge attainable, if not attained; that under the Gospel dispensation, the servant who knows not his Master’s will, is nevertheless to be beaten if he transgresses it, because he might and should have known it; that to remain ignorant is to bring upon us judicial ignorance; that from him that hath not (that acts, _i.e._, as though he had not), from him shall be taken away even that he hath; that the light within us, if treated as darkness, will become the greatest and most terrible darkness. You know, too, that we are commanded to increase and improve this gift, to grow in knowledge, to walk in the light; and you know how to do it, by asking wisdom of GOD, by heeding what the Spirit says, and by searching the Scriptures, the source of spiritual knowledge. We all know—that is, we all have the _power_ of knowing—we all are required to know, we shall all be judged as those who know, and we shall all be rewarded according to our use or abuse, our growth, or falling off in knowledge.

Now, is not this a solemn thought? Does not it exhibit to us a great responsibility? Does not it speak stern reproof to our frequent and willing ignorance? How little are many of us acquainted with GOD, the Father of our LORD JESUS CHRIST. What little knowledge have we, and do we seek to have, of Providence, of grace, of moral discipline, of duty, of prospects, hopes and fears, of spiritual succour and spiritual assaults of time and eternity, of probation and judgment, of heaven and hell. Is there any other subject of which the vast majority of us are so ignorant, and so contentedly or carelessly ignorant, as of that which GOD has made so easy to learn, and has so imperatively required us to learn, the knowledge of Him, of ourselves, and of His dealings with us, revealed to us in the Bible, to be discerned by the Spirit within us?

Year after year passes away, and we realise no more, and feel no more what GOD is, what we are, what we have to do, and why, and what awaits us. Chapter after chapter of the Bible is read, or heard again and again, and what we did not understand at first, we still do not understand; what we did not feel at first, we still do not feel. Sermon after sermon is preached, and our stock of knowledge after all is just as much (is it always this?) as was forced upon us at school, or in preparation for confirmation and first communion. Restless and ever on the move in all other respects, we are content to stand still here; ay, and if the preacher strives to lead us on, by unfolding some great spiritual truth as far as he can, by exhibiting and explaining some difficult doctrine more fully than usual, too often we withhold the attention which we usually give him, and after he has done, not unfrequently condemn his pains, and exclaim against his learned and abstruse sermon.

Is not it so? Are not there many who cannot recollect a time when they had less spiritual perception than they have now, and who therefore are witnesses to themselves that they have not grown in knowledge? Are not there many who are less acquainted with the Bible than with any other book that has come into their hands? Are not there many who, while they may have familiarised themselves with the history, the geography, the anecdotes so to speak of Holy Scripture, and the fanciful, often daring, interpretations of unfulfilled prophecy, yet know comparatively nothing of what GOD is to them, what they are to GOD, what is required of them, and what is promised or threatened?

Oh! brethren, how and why is this? How is it that the Object of supreme love and fear is to us but a shadowy and unintelligible name? How is it that we have no perception of the ever-present, ever-speaking, ever-acting, all-important Spirit? How is it that we have no intelligent or inquiring thought of the heaven which we are bidden to seek, and of the hell which we have to avoid; of the Master we are bound to serve; of the business to which life is an apprenticeship; of the race in which we are runners; of the warfare which we are enlisted to wage; the weapons to be used; the mode of fighting; the field of battle; the foes we are opposed to; the punishment of desertion: the reward of constancy; the prospects of victory; the perils of defeat? Is not it that we are not impressed with the responsibility of having this gift of knowledge? with the peril of folding up in a napkin a precious talent given us to use and improve? Is not it that we do not think seriously of the existence of GOD, of the possession of His Spirit, of the reality of heaven and hell, of the obligations of Christian service, of spiritual helps, and difficulties, and perils? Is not it that we have not (which means that we do not seek) that faith which is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen, enabling us to realise and grasp, as though it were a substance, that which is as yet but future; and to behold plainly, with the eye of faith, that which to natural sense is not perceptible?

Have but this faith, and you will soon add to it knowledge. Concern yourselves about GOD only as much as you would about the man with whom you have most to do in life, and from whom you have most to expect or fear; treat religion as you would the business by which you are to sustain natural life, and to make or mar your temporal fortune; and then interest and desire (as much and more than duty) will impel you to use every effort to acquaint yourselves thoroughly with GOD; to understand the working and unravel the mysteries of religion; to ascertain all particulars about what you have to hope for or fear—heaven and hell—angels and demons—the Holy Ghost—and the spirit of evil. Deeper and deeper will you drink of the well of knowledge; and each deep and frequent draught will but quicken your thirst and impel you to drink again.

But take care not to err in the other extreme: we know _in part_, and are always to know in part only. Our knowledge of allowed and enjoined things, though ever increasing, shall never be perfect on this side of the grave. We are to augment it as much as we can, but we must stand really face to face with Christ, before we see Him as He is. Our grossness must be refined, our souls and minds wholly transformed, and our bodies glorified, before we can fully perceive and appreciate the Holy Spirit. We must be in heaven to know thoroughly what heaven is. We must have Christ for our audible teacher, and angels for our prompting fellow scholars, and the eternal records for our books, and all time spread out before us as a map, before we can learn _perfectly_, what we are to spend this life and exercise the Spirit of knowledge in acquiring _in part_. And even then, as I said before, there are things which we shall not be able to grasp, or fathom, or perceive thoroughly. We shall never see GOD the Father visibly; we shall never comprehend altogether a Being without beginning or end; we shall never be omniscient or omnipresent. GOD will treat us as trusty and privileged friends, and reveal to us much that is not revealed here, and give us new powers of understanding it. But He will not open to us all the workings of the Divine mind. He will not transform us into gods, nor even into angels. We shall still be finite human beings, of limited understanding and limited knowledge. The things which concern us we shall know fully; the things which concern us not, we shall not know; just as the angels desired once to look into, but were not able, the mysteries (which did not concern them) of our redemption.

Well, then, if there is to be holy ground in heaven, which we must not tread on with the shoes of idle curiosity; if there is to be there a bush behind which we must not look; if even then there shall be secret things which belong only to GOD, and which we must not pry into; how much more so here and now! How necessary to remember that we are to know only in part; that we are not to seek to be wise above what is written; that, respecting mysteries which concern not us, it is distinctly charged: “Draw not nigh hither”!

When God puts forth and reveals His arm, He proves to us, indeed, that there is more of Him that is not revealed; but it is profane to demand that it should be revealed. When He tells us, that the world was created so many thousand years ago, He proves that it was not before then; but He does not permit us to inquire, what was then? When He tells us, that He made all good, and that the devil introduced evil, He does it not that we should inquire subtilly into the origin of evil. We are to study what is revealed, and not what is hidden. Where did GOD exist before the worlds were made? What is existence without beginning? How was matter produced out of nothing—evil out of good? How is it possible for GOD to have His will, and man his? Why did not GOD prevent evil? Why does He now tolerate it? Why were fallen angels not redeemed? Why is man not perfected without trial? How can finite beings be infinitely rewarded or punished? These, and the thousand other curious questions, which perverse man is ever asking, are inquiries which He forbids and baffles—which we may be sure provoke His displeasure.

Check we, then, brethren, our wandering fancies, by the thought that we are to know only in part; and that the only part which we are to know is, that which concerns our duty, and hopes, and fears; and our intelligent service and worship of Him. There is no better sacrifice to God than that of curbed idle curiosity. There is no better discipline than that which requires us to trust in what we can only imperfectly comprehend. There is no surer test of our earnestness about salvation, than the ready renunciation of unnecessary inquiry, and the steady, concentrated effort to understand that which was revealed to be understood.

SERMON VI. CONFESSION.

PROVERBS, XXVIII., 13.

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper.”

SIN unconfessed is sin unforgiven. He who has not brought himself to the approved publican’s mind, and with that publican’s deep, heartfelt humiliation and self-abhorrence, poured out the contrite entreaty, “GOD be merciful to me a sinner;” he who, as he stands or kneels before the throne of grace, is not emptied of self-justification—is not convinced that mercy alone can save him—is not eager to embrace the only proffered propitiation of rebels and outcasts (that afforded by the Son of obedience and love), is still in the depths of iniquity—still under the condemnation of the law: “The soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Nor even if he has this general sense (and confesses it) of sinfulness and unworthiness, is he much nearer to pardon and justification unless, besides, by diligent self-searching he has found out wherein he is a sinner and unworthy, and, like penitent David, makes mention before God of every ascertained act, and word, and thought of offence; every omission, every transgression, and prays for power to know himself better, that he may confess himself the more fully.

I need not stay to prove to you that all this is required. There are many precepts and many examples in the Bible, which set forth clearly the necessity of both general acknowledgment of sinfulness, and also special confession of particular sins to GOD, as preliminary to pardon.

And we may easily see why it is so. All things are indeed naked and open unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do; and He, therefore, needs no informing of our circumstances, our wants and feelings, our griefs and burthens. But, by a rule of His own establishing, He does not bless us in providence or grace, unless we ask for the blessing, and assure Him that we should appreciate it. When of His free love He had designed to bestow great things on the Israelites, and had even commissioned His prophets to make known the intention, He, nevertheless, restrained the flow of His bounty by the condition, “I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them.” {65} He would have men realise that they wanted the blessing; and He would have them _acknowledge_ their dependence on Him for the bestowal of it.