Part 7

In one place, or time, the doctrine has been distorted; in another, the practice has been abused: but everywhere, and at all times, by Greeks and Romanists, by high-Churchmen, and by not a few low-Churchmen, it has been, and is asserted, that Christ gave by commission, and continues by His promise to be always present with His Church, power and command to use ministerial absolution. The Church of England claims that delegated power, and obeys that positive command. She does not blasphemously exalt her clergy, and plant them on the throne of GOD, to usurp His prerogative—to be judges between good and evil, and awarders of favour or wrath; nor, on the other hand, does she degrade them to mere voluntary reporters, such as any of yourselves might be, of statements contained in a published revelation: she sends them forth to minister, as in other respects, so in this, the grace which Christ would communicate through them for the good of the fold, whereof they are under-shepherds. It is nothing of their own that they minister; they can claim no honour, nor thanks, for ministering it, and woe to them if they withhold it when rightly sought; but to them it is intrusted to minister, and through their ministry it is to be sought. GOD, the Father, the primary Giver of every good thing, is nowhere directly approachable. Christ, the second Adam, to Whom all that pertains to man’s salvation is committed, sits at the right hand of GOD, the Father, and operates upon man only through the agency of the Holy Spirit. GOD, the Holy Spirit, does not convey Himself spontaneously and independently of means into every heart, but connects the gifts of His presence and working power, with certain outward ordinances, administered by appointed agents, and promised to be efficacious in all faithful recipients. We sprinkle with water in baptism, and, if there be no unworthiness in the person we sprinkle, the Holy Spirit then and there regenerates. We administer blessed bread and wine, and, on like conditions, GOD’S Spirit conveys into the recipient’s heart the spiritual food of Christ’s body and blood. We say to those who have confessed their sins, “He pardoneth and absolveth;” or, “Almighty GOD pardon and deliver you from all your sins;” or, “By virtue of His authority, I absolve thee from all thy sins:” and in the case of every real penitent, there is then, there, and thereby forgiveness from GOD. We do not bid you look to us for pardon; we tell you plainly that we cannot pardon you; but we distinctly maintain, that if you want pardon, you must seek it in appointed ways; that this is an appointed way; that none have due recourse to it, and fail of spiritual blessing; that those who despise it despise not men, but GOD.

Brethren, thus soberly and scripturally regard the Church’s ordinance of absolution. On the one hand, do not superstitiously look upon it as an inherent power, which any priest can give to whom he will, and withhold from whom he will; or as an indemnity, to be bestowed without conditions, to operate as a charm in absolving those who have not desired, nor prepared themselves for forgiveness; and, on the other hand, do not make light of its true exercise, and forego opportunities of having it applied to yourselves, according to Christ’s appointment, and your several needs. Prepare yourselves duly for it, and heartily accept the ministry of it, and give GOD the glory. Yes! be sure you give GOD the glory. Use the means, and reverence them, because GOD has instituted them; but let the gift be more thought of, and let the Giver be adored. When, with penitent hearts and humble lips, you have made your open confession, and the herald’s consequent proclamation of pardon is ringing in your ears, bethink you that it is GOD’S forgiveness which is being offered to your acceptance. Bless Him for the ordinance; but look through it to the Spirit who is present in it, to the Saviour who sent the Spirit, to the Father who provided the Saviour, and let the vision both convince you of the sinfulness and condemnation of sin (which could only be put away by such a wonderful contrivance, and such continued operation of the Blessed Trinity), and also prompt you to value the forgiveness which GOD has so much at heart, and so labours to bestow. “There is forgiveness with thee.” Take to yourselves the unspeakable comfort of so sweet an assurance when it is offered; but be sure that you always respond to it, out of grateful and resolute hearts: “Therefore, O GOD, shalt Thou be feared, and served, and loved.”

SERMON VIII. THE PRINCIPLE OF OFFERINGS TO GOD.

II. SAMUEL, XXIV., 24.

“Neither will I offer . . . unto the LORD my GOD of that which doth cost me nothing.”

IT was a thrice enforced precept of the law that none should appear before GOD empty; that when men drew near to Him to celebrate His past mercies and deliverances, to ask for blessings, to deprecate wrath, to render thanks, to acknowledge dependence on His providence, they should at the same time present unto Him some offering of their substance. And this, be it observed, was not a mere temporary ordinance. It was not, like the sacrifices of bulls and goats, a ceremonious shadowing forth and pleading of the one sacrifice by which alone GOD could be approached and propitiated. It was a free-will offering, an acknowledgment that all things come of GOD, and that all things, though intrusted to them, belonged still to GOD. It was a confession of His Lordship, an act of homage, an exhibition of gratitude, a pledge of readiness to yield all that He might require. As such, it was to be offered whenever man perceived GOD to be operating upon, or for him, or whenever he would have GOD to be thus operating; it was to be presented at prescribed places, and under prescribed circumstances, which rendered pains and exertion necessary in the offerer; and it was to be of a kind and in a measure which should make it a real sacrifice—the giving up of something valuable and valued. “Every man shall give as he is able,” says Moses. “I will not offer unto the LORD my GOD,” exclaims David, “of that which doth cost me nothing.”

Under the Gospel, this duty is not only continued, but, like all the other moral sanctions of the law, enlarged and spiritualised. We Christians are to present ourselves, our souls and bodies, continually, as a reasonable sacrifice unto GOD. We are to give up our wills, our powers, our affections, our time, our substance, our lives to Him. Our prayer is to be instant; our praise continual; our sacrifice perpetual; our offering all that we are and have. He who withholds anything from GOD, gives Him nothing. He who does not deny himself, denies GOD; he who loves any one or anything more than GOD, hates GOD; he who bestows more thought and pains, and spends more of his substance on any other object than on religion, takes no thought, bestows no pains, spends none of his substance on GOD. Lip-service, stinted service, careless or partial service is no service; easy religion, cheap religion, intermittent religion is no religion. Religion, to be worthy of the name, must cost something; yea, and much—much thought, much feeling, much affection, much labour, much self-denial, much submission, much renunciation, much cheerful sacrifice of self and substance. The only limit to our offering is to be our capability; the only time when we may forbear to offer it, is when GOD gives us no opportunity. Hence it was, that the young man who would not sell all that he had, and give to the poor, and follow Christ whithersoever He went, could not be His disciple. Hence it is, that selfishness, and worldliness, and pride, and self-glorying, and covetousness, are such grievous sins. Hence it is, that life must not be counted dear, when to be faithful to religion would endanger it. Hence it is, that not only _directly_ spiritual acts are to be frequent, and spiritual offerings to be many and large, but that everything we have is to be held for religion, and everything we do, to be done for religion; our daily tasks, our rest and labour, our very eating and drinking. Christ has purchased us entirely soul and body, talents and possessions, to glorify Him by perpetually offering to Him the sacrifice of love; and there is no love in that offering which is formal, indolent, unwilling, self-saving; which is restrained from thought, and effort, and hazard, and bountifulness, by the consideration, how much it will cost. “I will not offer unto the LORD my GOD,” and the LORD my GOD will not accept “of that which doth cost me nothing.’”

This is the principle and measure of Christian offering to GOD. Would we offer affection? it must be all affection. “My Son, give me Thy heart.” Submission? Deny Thyself in all things. Time? Let it be all time—instant, continual, day and night. Substance? Be ready to part with all that thou hast. Work? It must be all work; every labour, and every occupation. Whatsoever thou doest, do all to the glory of GOD, that GOD in all things may be glorified through JESUS CHRIST. We, and all that we are and have, are claimed as whole sacrifices to GOD. The duration of the offering is to be the length of our life. The altars upon which we are to be offered, are all the places and all the circumstances in which GOD puts us, or we put ourselves; and we are to be continually laying ourselves upon these altars, without fear or grudging of the cost, yea, rather with cheerful incurring of it.

It is a great and difficult service. The very best of our fallen race, the Abrahams and the Pauls, who have most realised this service, and loved it, and laid themselves out to render it, have yet fallen short, very far short of the perfect offering. Many a time have they reluctantly laid the costly sacrifice on the altar; many a time, alas! have they substituted the lame, the halt, the lean, the blemished, for the firstling of the flock; many a due sacred journey has not been undertaken; many a holy service has been unperformed, or performed amiss; many an altar has been bare, without an offering. Yes, the most godly, the saints that excel, have fallen far short of GOD’S standard, and have withheld or offered amiss what GOD required. But yet through infirmity, not through wilfulness or selfishness, have they done it, and speedily and deeply have they repented of it, and then have they straightway laid upon the nearest altar the sacrifice of a broken and a contrite heart, in whose fragrance the ill savour of the other has been lost, with whose costliness GOD has been well pleased. Such a sacrifice He never despises. Those who offer it shall be forgiven all that is past. They shall be dealt with by the after, not the former life. But, my brethren, if such as these fall short of GOD’S standard, what of us, who, alas! can lay no claim to attempted perfection, or to grief and contrition for shortcomings? What of our service of GOD? What do _we_ offer Him? What does religion cost us?

It should cost us much thought—more thought than anything else. Does it? Is it the most frequent and most encouraged employment of our minds to meditate on GOD, our Creator and Preserver, our Redeemer, our Sanctifier, our Lord and Judge, on heaven, on holiness, on trial and reward, duties and hopes? We all of us have some favourite subject of thought and meditation, something which we ponder chiefly, and lay most plans about, and zealously occupy our mental faculties upon. Is it religion? Does that cost us more thought than anything else? or does business or pleasure, or politics or philosophy, or worldly prospects or cares? If so—no matter how innocent the object, how laudable in some respects its concern—in making it a chief consideration, we leave nought to offer GOD but that which costs us nothing, and which is therefore nothing accounted of, yea, rather is rejected by Him.

Again, religion should cost us much affection. Our affections should be chiefly set on it, and only on other things when they can be lawfully considered the adjuncts of religion. Is it so? Do we love GOD more than anything else? Do we desire heaven’s treasures more than earth’s; eternal glories more than temporal? Do we delight above all things in spiritual pursuits? If any other person, any other thing presents itself as a candidate for our best affections, is it rejected because the place is already filled? Is it disliked, if opposed to religion? Is it but moderately esteemed and distantly entertained, when though not opposed to it, is not religion itself? If otherwise, then religion costs us not our best affections, and so of our hearts we offer unto GOD of that which doth cost us nothing.

Again, religion should cost us much labour, much self-denial, much zeal and patience, more than anything else. Does it? Is there nothing for which we toil more, and endure more, and encounter more; nothing which we pursue more constantly and zealously? Do we take more pains to please GOD than man? Do we make more strenuous endeavours to become good Christians than to become apt scholars, profound philosophers, able and respected politicians, successful tradesmen, accomplished members of society? Would we, and do we rather rise early, and late take rest, go without our usual meals, undertake fatiguing journeys, contend with difficulties, suffer reproaches for religion than for anything else? Do we bear the inconvenience of a warm church more cheerfully than that of a close shop, a crowded hall of business or pleasure? Do we venture forth on religious errands, in cold, and wet, and forbidding weather, more readily than we do for anything else? In what do we wear out our strength and energies, run our greatest risks, and consume our time? Is it, directly or indirectly, in religion; or is it in business or in pleasure? For what do we renounce all needless occupations, for what do we get through as speedily as may be our necessary work? Is it to have time and strength for religion, or for what? The answer, my brethren, which your consciences honestly give to these questions, and many like them that might be asked, will help to determine what religion costs you in this respect, and whether or no, you offer unto GOD only of that which doth cost you nothing.

Again, religion should cost much of our substance. In one sense, it should cost us all our substance, _i.e._ we should never spend one mite on a sinful or doubtful pleasure or business, or in contributing to an unhallowed end. Much, indeed, we must lay out in the sustenance of our natural life, in the prosecution of our worldly calling, in the support and advancement of our families, in the maintenance of our social position. Something, too, we are allowed to spend on our innocent recreations and those of others. But that which is to cost us most, on which we are to spend all that we can, and to yearn to be able to spend more, is on GOD; directly, by spreading the knowledge of His name, by promoting His service, by building fit temples for His worship, and adorning them suitably to our devotion and His glory; indirectly, by ministering to His representatives, the poor, and afflicted, and helpless, and ignorant.

What, my brethren, let me ask in all plainness, for I speak for GOD, and GOD’S representatives—the poor—what does religion cost you in this respect? Are you sure that you have left no Lazaruses to perish of hunger? no pining sick to die for want of the nutriment or attention which you could have afforded? no children to grow up in ignorance and blasphemy whom you could have maintained at school, and helped to make enlightened, serious, holy men and women? Have you looked to these things, yourselves? or have you ungrudgingly, liberally supported those who do? Have you ascertained that the sick and visiting funds of your parish are able to meet the many demands upon them? that there is no difficulty in maintaining the necessary staff of the poor’s best guardians, the clergy? that the alms-boxes will hold no more, or that there is no demand on their contents? Have you done all this before you have laden your tables with rich viands and costly wines, and bought expensive toys and ornaments, and gone on unnecessary excursions, and paid much for amusements? Or have you consulted self first, and fed, and decked, and petted, and amused self, and then been ready (not, perhaps, even then, _forward_, but waiting to be asked) to give up something of what self could conveniently spare, for crying, grievous necessities—sparing GOD your leavings, that which you did not want, or, at least, could easily do without? Remember, brethren, I lay no charge against any one of you. I only, in faithfulness, put to you plain questions, which it is your duty to consider; and bid you speedily discover, from their consideration, what your religion costs you; whether, in your succour, temporal and spiritual, of those worse off than yourselves, you deny and inconvenience yourselves, giving what you cannot part with without feeling its loss and curtailing from other things on account of it (as you all ought to do); or whether you offer unto GOD, in this way, of that which doth cost you nothing.

Once more, religion should cost you much in the direct service of GOD; in providing amply for His wide and becoming worship. I pass by now, as duties which there are other opportunities of enforcing, the maintenance of missions, at home and abroad; the building and endowing of schools and churches, and many like things, that I may dwell for a few moments upon the costliness of the materials of our churches, and their furniture, and, let me add, their ornaments; for all which, if I understand the Bible, we Christians are bound to provide. In the descriptions given us in the Bible, of heaven and heavenly things, there is frequent mention and great display, as it were, of gold, and precious stones, and musical instruments, and beautiful robes, and the like. There are some who understand these descriptions literally, and who suppose that, being raised in material, though glorified bodies, the redeemed will inhabit a material heaven—either this earth transformed, or some other planet—and will be surrounded with glorious material objects, the most beautiful and precious of nature’s productions, fashioned like to art’s best accomplishments. If this is to be so, then it is urged, earth’s tabernacles, as the type of heaven, should be as nearly assimilated to heaven as possible; we should improve and furnish our plainer and barer churches as much as we can; we should build our new churches in the best, the handsomest style of art; and decorate and furnish them in the most substantially costly manner.

Without subscribing to this view (though there is really much to be said for it), I would humbly suggest that, since GOD, when He designed an earthly tabernacle, prescribed that it, and all in it, should be costly and ornamental; and that when He speaks of heaven He does so under the image of all that is accounted splendid and costly on earth, He either must have meant to require that we should erect and adorn our churches after this description, or He must have taken for granted that we should best understand spiritual beauties and excellencies by their comparison with what we account earthly beauties and excellencies, and that we should naturally honour and worship Him with the best of these within our reach. It seems, then, to be our duty, nay, to be natural to us, if we are in earnest, whichever view we take, to make our churches and their contents beauteous and costly, either as images of the future church in heaven, or as the nearest representations to it which we can furnish, and the best copies of GOD’S own pattern.

To this it has been objected, firstly, that the primitive Christians afford us no such example; and, secondly, that it seems unfitting, trifling, unseemly, to decorate the spiritual palace as we would an earthly mansion. The first objection falls to the ground, when we remember, that the early Christians were very poor, and, moreover, were obliged to hide themselves, and, therefore, to refrain from all that would attract attention; and that, as soon as they had the means and liberty, they made their churches very splendid, and furnished them very gorgeously. And the second objection is as soon disposed of. What is unfitting, trifling, unseemly, for the Master, is surely as much, and more so, for the disciple. If GOD is to dwell in tents, we ought not to dwell in ceiled houses; if gold, and precious stones, and beautiful arts are unfit for Him, then they are pre-eminently unfit for us. If we may not furnish His house with rich furniture, and put into it, for instance, the best musical instrument, we must not do so in our own houses. It is enough for us, that we should be as our LORD. We must not be above Him, or different from Him. We must not glory in what is unfit for Him. Be then our own abodes rude; let everything in them be homely, unadorned, inferior; banish from them all traces of the artist’s skill; or give all, and use all, more exceedingly upon and in the house of GOD.

One more argument for adorning and furnishing to the utmost, the house of GOD:—We must not offer unto GOD of that which doth cost us nothing of our substance. Now, all that we offer indirectly, no matter how much, how frequently, may yet cost us nothing—that is, it may be only the laying out of that for which we get an immediate equivalent. When you relieve the sick, rescue the tempted, raise the fallen, by the contribution of your substance, if you have not the reward of their gratitude, there is at least the felt human satisfaction of the act; and that would and has remunerated many an infidel. The sacrifice, therefore, in this case, ceases to be a sacrifice; it is a laying out for those who pay you again. But when you expend your substance largely on the direct service of GOD, hoping for nothing again, perhaps getting nothing, then you offer of that which costs you something; something for which you do not expect an equivalent. The exercise is a good one, and the duty is imperative. If you got your money’s worth, and your human satisfaction, for its outlay, then you would be offering to GOD of that which doth cost you nothing.

Let this consideration urge you, then, first, indeed to provide what is _necessary_ for the service of GOD by yourselves; afterwards, what may help others in like manner to serve Him; and then, not by mulcting them, but by denying yourselves, to give some true gift, some free-will offering, which is costly in itself, and promises no present equivalent. Thus shall you overcome selfish and mere human feelings, and render dutiful, and grateful, and costly sacrifice unto the LORD your GOD.

My brethren, depart not with the notion that you have heard nothing of Christ this morning. It is a deep-rooted error that, under the law men were commanded to do, but under the Gospel they are forbidden; that _then_ salvation was a work, but _now_ it is only a contemplation. The contrary is the truth. Men might contemplate and wait idly and dreamily before their Redeemer came; they must be up and doing now that He has laid His hand upon them, and given them a lifelong, arduous, self-sacrificing work to do.

It is because Christ has purchased you wholly, body, and soul, and spirit, thoughts, words, and deeds, talents and substance, to be an entire and constant sacrifice unto Him; it is because He is watching over you, and working for and in you, to make you that sacrifice; it is because presently He will judge and deal with you, according as you have been, or have not been what He required, that I have enforced on you the pre-eminently Christian lesson of taking solemn, anxious heed, that you offer not unto the LORD your GOD of that which doth cost you nothing.