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SERMON XXIII.

NO HOPES OF SALVATION BEYOND THE

GRAVE.

LUKE, xiii. 25-29.

"When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are : Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God."

No one can read the foregoing words without at once perceiving that they immediately and directly

refer to the kingdom of heaven and to its supreme Lord and Master, Jesus Christ the Son of God, the Creator of Heaven and of earth. By reading these words, we further perceive that they were intended by our Lord as a practical application of that sentiment which he intended to convey to his hearers, when he said unto them, "strive to enter in at the strait gate:

gate: for many I say unto you will seek to

enter therein and shall not be able."

The attentive reader of the four Gospels of the history of our Lord and Saviour may likewise perceive that a very considerable portion of our Lord's familiar discourse was couched in the language of figure or metaphor, that is, in language or words which, primarily and literally understood, would signify one thing, but which, understood in their secondary and figurative sense, would signify another. And this was no new custom; nor was it a custom which in any way differed from the prevailing habits of mankind in their intercourse with one another. By an attentive examination into the materials of which languages are composed, we shall find that many of these are of the description which I have named. Words which had been formerly used to signify one object, in process of time have been used to signify another, in consequence of some real or imaginary resemblance between them. Thus, for example, the word horse, which actually means, and which doubtless in the first place only meant, a certain beast of burthen, has been afterwards used to signify an article on which linen is

placed before the fire; for the reason, doubtless, that this, as well as the former object, is used to bear something upon it. So again may the word crown be adduced as an instance of a similar description, as it signifies a regal or imperial ornament of the head, and a coin which bears the impress of this ornament. Many similar instances might be adduced were it not that these two are sufficient for our purpose. And if individual words are thus employed, it is not necessary to explain why many of them collected into a sentence, or a story, or recital of a greater or less length, should be used in a similar manner. Of the fact of these being thus used we have instances in the poetical imagery of the prophets; in the parables of the New Testament; and in ordinary fables, the literal import of which it would be a waste of time to trouble ourselves with, were it not for the moral which is implied in them.

It is, however, to be further observed, that languages, in respect of the figurative materials contained in them, differ in regard to the quantity of these materials from each other. To enquire why would not come within the scope of a religious discourse. To enquire into the fact is, nevertheless, quite in accordance with the purpose we have in view; that of enabling ourselves to comprehend that species of language which so frequently prevails in the conversation of our Saviour. It ought, therefore, to be known that the languages of the cold climates of the north are more plain and

literal, that is, less figurative, than those of the south. The further we advance towards the south the more do we find the language of the country remarkable for the peculiarity to which we are now alluding. Thus the language of Italy is more figurative, that is, more according to the language of parable than that of England; and the language of Palestine, the country of our Saviour's birth, more so than that of Italy. And, therefore, do we find our Lord so frequently addressing his countrymen in parables, and in such language as he used when he said, "it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God;" and such as he used when he said, speaking of the kingdom of heaven as though he had been speaking of a marriage feast to the bystanders, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate for many, I say unto you, shall seek to enter therein and shall not be able."

I feel persuaded, were such facts as these attended to, that there would be a considerable diminution in the number of those "heresies and schisms;" those fanaticisms and follies; those perversions and misinterpretations of Scripture which demoralize and disgrace the Christian world. In noticing these facts on the present occasion, however, it has not been my object to censure the tendency of those "profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science, falsely so called: which some professing have erred concerning the faith;" and which (if persevered in) "will increase unto more ungodliness;"

but to enable your minds duly to receive and comprehend that invaluable truth which has been implanted in the language of our text, by the authority and the almighty power of Christ, the second Person of the ever blessed and immortal Trinity.

And in respect of this text, I would observe, that though it may consist of certain figurative expressions, as a whole it is to be regarded as containing instruction of a plain and literal character, and such as is calculated to explain the moral of the preceding figurative or parabolic exhortation of our Saviour. The master of the house may indeed be regarded as the bridegroom who closed the door against those unwise and improvident applicants, who, though perhaps known to the bridegroom, or to some of his acquaintance who might have recommended them to his notice, neglected to take the necessary precaution beforehand, and in the day time when their persons could have been recognized and their qualifications investigated, but rather chose to remain inactive until the moment of admission, and to trust to their good fortune and the darkness of the night. Such as these, when knocking in vain, are here represented to have declared that they were known to the master of the house, and that they had actually "eaten and drunk in his presence."

At this point we may consider the parabolic portion of our Saviour's address to terminate, and the

literal part of it to begin. "Thou hast taught in our streets," are words which seem directly to refer

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