Imagini ale paginilor
PDF
ePub

truth, and therefore, every unfallen being, every renewed being, is in our work, and the God of all truth and grace is on our side; and he has given the heathen for his Son's inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession; and he loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand, that he might be able to seize, and cultivate, and enjoy his possession: and though as yet we see not all things put under him, we see him, for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour, and in possession of resources more than sufficient to accomplish all the benevolence of his heart. Is it not written, that "the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the channels of the sea?" that "all nations shall fall down before him, and all people shall serve him?" Has any thing yet, in the course of divine Providence or grace, taken place, that is sufficient to justify these representations? any thing wide enough in extent? any thing durable enough in continuance? any thing magnificent enough in grandeur? No; yet these are the gracious promises of God; and therefore, with the leave of our modern croakers, better days must be before us than the world has ever yet witnessed. The seed we sow is God's own, and the precious grain can never be lost, for grace secures the crop his eye sees every corn that is dropped, where it is dropped, when it is dropped; he watches it; and he is not only able, but he is engaged, to give the increase. We have seen great things, but we hope to see greater still; and if we should not see greater ourselves, we shall die in the full assurance of this, persuaded that he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands." Perhaps we may be allowed to look down from the realms of blessedness, and see the spread of the Gospel below; but if not, we shall be in that heavenly world where the acclamation will originate, that will be re-echoed back from earth-" Hallelujah! for the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever."

But neither can you object, from the certainty of the thing, which we have now endeavoured to establish, to use the means. If you are in a proper frame of mind, you will long to be his instrument, and you will deem it your highest honour, and you will feel it your greatest pleasure, to be employed by him; you will be filled with a desire for your Saviour's glory. The sufficiency is

from him; this is undeniable: How are we to expect it to come? You look, you say, for the pouring down of the Spirit of God; and you do well: now when this takes place, do you imagine that it will operate immediately upon man, or by rendering man's means effectual? Now means cannot be rendered effectual, where they are not found; if the influence, therefore, is to be exerted largely by means, the more means the better, and the wiser part are they acting who are therefore endeavouring to provide them. But you ask, what does consistency require of us? I will tell you, my friends, I will tell you what your own prayers require. You have been accustomed to pray alone, and in your family, and in your solemn assemblies, and in your monthly convocations, that the Word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified; this you have been accustomed to do. Now I ask you, did you imagine, when you thus prayed, that these prayers were to be accomplished by miracles, or by means? and if by means, as you most assuredly did, did you suppose that you are not to be called upon to use those means? Rather, did not your very prayers imply an engagement on your side? And can you evince either the earnestness, or the sincerity of your supplications, unless you are led to ask, in a state of practical

devotedness to the ousiness, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" "What can I do," you say, "in the extension of this grace and truth?" Why some of you may go abroad as missionaries: why not? What is it that detains you? Nothing but the love of ease, and fear of difficulty. But we know that this will not apply to all: there are some who are not called to this; their condition will not allow of it. But is there an individual but may do something in his own sphere, in his own circumstances, to make manifest the savour of the Redeemer's knowledge; and add some little to the cause? Grains of sand make the mountain.

But to come nearer, there is one way in which you may all extend and diffuse this grace and truth, and that is by aiding this institution. We have thus seen its object, and its only object. Where little is done by individuals, much may be done by associations; and the churches of Christ have lately learned the importance of acting in the missionary work, in concert, combination, and co-operation. Blessed be God, now many missionary societies are established, and we wish them all success; they are not too many; and we ought to be thankful that, though they differ in some articles from each other, they are all similarly engaged, and that they all acknowledge their dependance upon the grace of God for their success; and therefore how varied the companies in the field shall appear, they all hold the Head. The Antinomians have no missions, and the Socinians have no missions: the Papists formerly led the way, and figured much in the business; we have volumes of their labours and travels; but they have left the missionary field entirely, and they will never occupy it again you may be assured. The field, therefore, is entirely left to Protestants; and let them work it well, it has become entirely their own. You know I am to plead this morning for the London Missionary Society; and I should be very sorry if I should plead in vain; I mean comparatively in vain: it would not be for the honour of this long-lauded and far-famed congregation; for, however they regarded (and they could not but regard) their late honoured pastor, yet surely the extent of their contributions did not depend entirely upon his energy and his influence; were this the case, could he be informed of this, and grief could enter heaven, there is nothing that would grieve him more than the failure or falling off in the collections. His Lord and Saviour is still alive; and he is here this morning, he is here to see the continuance of your readiness, and the proof you are giving that he neither ran in vain, nor laboured in vain, while he was amongst you.

None, I presume, are ignorant of the claims of this noble institution, from the earliness of its establishment, the liberality of its principles, the number of its stations and missionaries, and the success with which God has been pleased to crown it. I shall not, and need not, anticipate the development of facts that will be laid before you at the public meeting: there, no doubt, all will be fully stated; indeed, with me the fear always is, not that too little will be said, but that too much will be detailed; but nothing can be done without money, and need I say, that the claims of these missionaries at the present are large and many, arising, it may be, from the growing prosperity of the society; and these must be met, and honestly met, and that cannot be done but from diligence in the means, from economy in the expenditure, and from self-denial in indulgences. if not in other things. How much of the difficulties may be overcome by this Oh, to see the way in which some of you live; oh, to dine with some of the directors, and some of the committee, of all our public institutions now; to

means.

see their godly simplicity, and how they add temperance to faith! Why there are thousands to be found now, who have not exercised the least self-denial, we will not say in their comforts, but even in their luxuries, even in their extravagances; yet they profess to be the disciples of Him who said, as his first lesson, “If any man will be my disciple, let him deny himself;" though they profess to be followers of Him who, "though he was rich, yet for your sakes became poor, that ye through His poverty might become rich."

Brethren, the time is short; all our opportunities will soon be over; many of them are gone already, gone irrecoverably; now may we all do much more than we have done for the glory of our Saviour, and for the welfare of our fellow creatures. It is now forty years ago since this institution was established; what important and interesting years have these forty been! What changes have taken place in a neighbouring country-what changes have taken place in our own country! Many of you, since this time, have come into being; many have grown up into maturity; many have encountered old age; and how many have been removed from the places which once knew them, but shall know them no more for ever! Thirty-seven years ago, I had the honour and privilege of preaching for this institution before; this head was not so white then as it is now. Oh, how few remain now who were engaged in that anniversary! "The fathers, where are they; and the prophets, do they live for ever?" Greathead and Bogue, where are ye? Waugh, Wilkes, Townsend, Burder, and Hill, these may be called the fathers of the faithful. How many that were there have been removed in the midst of their years, and also of their usefulness; and are not we even mortal men? Saurin says, somewhere, “I wish I could always end my discourses with a reflection upon death;" we know the Lord of life and glory said, "I must work the work of him that sent me while it is called to-day, the night cometh when no man can labour."

Let me, my brethren, beseech you to suffer the word of exhortation. Now do not take amiss the plainness of my address. I have been for some years a minister of the Word, and have made my observations. You are endeavouring to obtain certain temporal objects; but I should hope you respect the liberty of others as well as your own. I am aware I may be misrepresented, in speaking thus, but however this may be, it is a light thing with me to be judged of man? When a preacher has reached the age of sixty-five, it is not to be supposed he will care for the opinion of man, or will be deterred from saying aught but what his conscience tells him he ought to say. Let me beseech you, my Christian brethren, that your zeal be not only waxing warmer, but growing nobler and purer as we advance; let us shew that we are men of God, rather than men of the world; let us shew that we are men of God, rather than party men. If there are yet some inferior rights and privileges belonging to us (and I do not question this,) let us be satisfied with a temperate expression of our wishes and our claims; in the meantime let us be thankful that we have liberty for all our grand and spiritual purposes: let us pursue these with the zeal they demand, and while pursuing them, let us remember the language of a certain king to his prime minister, "Mind my affairs, and I will mind yours." Our pre-eminence, my brethren, is the highest; the honours we have, if any, must be religious; let not your good be evil spoken of. Like our forefathers, of whom the world was not worthy, we should look not at the things which are seen and temporal, but at the things which are unseen and eternal. We have heard much of late of the voluntary principle-too much I fear; not too much with regard to the

excellency of the principle, but to its sufficiency only, not to its possible effect; if the principle does not perform greater wonders in a state of emulation or excitement, what would it do if there was nothing to quicken the fervour of zeal in the way of righteous opposition, or godly rivalship?

66

Why have not the Highlands and Islands of Scotland been evangelized? Why has not every corner of our own land been evangelized? What has hindered the operation of the voluntary principle; what sacrifices, what racks, what tortures, what imprisonments? I belong to a large association in the country; we have much to do in our own county; why has it not been done? We have not wanted agents; we have not wanted missionaries who have offered to be employed; why are there any of our villages that are untaught? Is it persecution that keeps us back? No; but the weakness of the voluntary principle. Cannot then this be depended upon to furnish a sufficiency of instruments? Unquestionably, when we have it, when it is produced: oh, yes, we may rely upon it when the Spirit is poured down from on high: then men will be decided for God rather than grandeur; then men will consecrate their substance to the Lord of the whole earth; then professors will be ashamed to die rich; and if they do die rich, their ministers will be ashamed to notice them; then, a man, if he has made his will, will fetch it down and destroy it, or add a further codicil to it, if he find he has forgotten to introduce his best Friend, and the interests of his best Friend. But in the moral and religious condition of our country at present, the principle can ill afford to dispense with any kind of assistance. A few weeks ago, a plain man called at my house, and said, rather abruptly, "Sir, I am come to pay you a little money." I said, “I think, my friend, you must be mistaken: I never saw you before;" "But yet, sir, I have seen you, and often heard you:" But," I said, "surely you cannot owe me any money." "No, sir," said he, "but I owe your Master ;" and taking out his purse he laid down twenty-five sovereigns, and said, "This is the effect of a resolution produced some years back. I was then attending a missionary meeting, and one of the speakers, who had been a missionary himself, said, that in some place abroad (I forget where it was) twenty-five pounds would be sufficient to build a house for the poor heathen to hear the Gospel of God. I shook my head, and said 'I wish I could give it.' And I said, 'If I could not now, I would try to save as much.' I was then comparatively poor; I am not rich now; but God has been pleased to bless the labour of my hands, and now I have the happiness to have saved the money; and therefore I have brought you this, in order that it may be applied to the London Missionary Society." "But give me," said I, "your name." ""No, sir," he replied, "and I hope you will never find it out." I strove in many ways to betray him in conversation, but could not: but I had a little more conversation with him, in the course of which he remarked, "When I and my dear wife married, we knew that we could not look for happiness but in serving God; and our means being small, we agreed to give a penny a week to the London Missionary Society; and when we had a prospect of a family, we then agreed, that with every child God shoul' graciously give us, we would add a penny a week more; and we have beer enabled, sir, though we have a large family, always to do this; and we haws such good children." It is such persons as this we want. Let us see what the voluntary principle will do this morning.

THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY.

REV. H. MELVILL, A.M.

CAMDEN CHAPEL, CAMBERWELL, EASTER SUNDAY, MARCH 30, 1834

But some men will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come ? 1 CORINTHIANS, xv. 35.

66

In the early days of Christianity, there seems to have been the same readiness to cavil and object as in our own day. Heresy is no modern thing, though it has grown into greater strength, as fostered by successive generations. The writings of St. Paul sufficiently indicate, that there was even then much dispute on points of first rate importance; while we gather, from those of St. James, that the very fundamentals of faith were already assaulted. With respect to that great article of Christianity-the resurrection of the dead, it is evident that men were formerly, as well as now, disposed to regard it with wonder and incredulity. We learn from the chapter which contains our text, that some, even of those who belonged professedly to the Church, went the length of maintaining, that there is no resurrection. You will remember, also, that St. Paul, when pleading at Agrippa's tribunal, asks the question, Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise the dead?"—a question sufficiently indicating, that the resurrection was accounted so marvellous a thing, as scarcely to lie within the range of possibility. It appears, yet further, that others endeavoured to explain away what was asserted of the resurrection, fastening, perhaps, a spiritual interpretation on that which in fairness could bear only a literal. This was probably the case with Hymenæus and Philetus, of whom we are told, that they "erred concerning the truth, saying, that the resurrection was passed already." They might have thought, that the only resurrection is that moral one which takes place when man emerges from the death of trespasses and sins; and thus have given up the body to the lasting dishonours of the grave. St. Paul marks strongly his abhorrence of this their endeavour to spiritualize the resurrection, by declaring of such teachers, that "their word would eat as doth a canker." But when there was no holding of false doctrine, there was great inquisitiveness as to the details of the resurrection, fastened on the fact that the dead will be raised. Curiosity prompted questions as to the bodies in which the buried would re-appear. Hence St. Paul, after combating in the first part of this chapter, the falsehood which held that there was no resurrection, turns himself in the second, not to the gratifying, nor yet altogether to the repressing, the curiosity which sought to pry into all the mysteries of the resurrection. He does not endeavour, and perhaps it would not have been possible, to explain with accuracy, the nature and powers of the body in which the sepulchred should arise, but he gives certain

« ÎnapoiContinuă »