The Village Pulpit Part 1

The Village Pulpit.

by S. Baring-Gould.

Volume II.

Trinity to Advent.

x.x.xVII.

_CHRISTIAN UNITY._

Trinity Sunday.

S. Matt. xxviii. 19.

"In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

INTRODUCTION.--An ancient writer informs us that when the Egyptians named their Greatest G.o.d who was over all, they cried thrice, "Darkness!

Darkness! Darkness!" And when we come to speak of the great mystery of the Holy Trinity, the utmost we can do is to repeat their cry, and say, "Darkness! Darkness! Darkness! In the name of the Father--Darkness, and of the Son--Darkness; and of the Holy Ghost--Darkness!" for however much the mind may strive to penetrate this mystery, it can never attain to its solution. Just as the eye, looking at the sun, sees the Overpowering light as a dark ball, being dazzled by its excessive glory, so the eye of the mind perceives only darkness, when looking into the infinite splendour of G.o.d in Three Persons.

We may, indeed, see sundry likenesses here on earth, which a.s.sist us in believing the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, but they are helps, and helps only; and not explanations. Thus, the sun may s.h.i.+ne into a gla.s.s, and the gla.s.s reflect in clear water, and we see three suns, a sun in the heaven, a sun in the gla.s.s, and a sun in the water, which proceeds from both;--and this a.s.sists us to understand how the Son of G.o.d is of the Father, and the Holy Ghost is of the Father, and of the Son, and how that each is G.o.d, and yet that there are not three G.o.ds, but one G.o.d. But, after all, the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is a matter of Faith, and not of Reason. We must believe, though we cannot understand.

SUBJECT.--In this Holy Trinity of Persons there is perfect unity existing, an unity of substance, an unity of G.o.dhead, an unity of perfection, an unity of love.

And on earth, among men, there should be unity. "Be ye perfect," said our Lord, "even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect." The Father is love, the Son is love, and the Holy Ghost is the love of the Father and of the Son, and this love requires the same of us--even love, or unity.

This is what G.o.d wills on earth, our living unity, even as it exists in Heaven between the Three Persons of the glorious Trinity.

But there are three great hindrances to Christian Unity.

I. _Selfishness_. Each man seeks his own interest, not the general interest. Let his own selfish interests be touched, and all concord is at an end. Look at two little dogs playing together, they put their paws on each other's shoulders, and dance round each other, and roll each other over, and are full of affectionate play. Throw them a bone, and it is a true bone of contention at once. All their affection is dead, and they are fighting each other for the bone. It is the same with men, they are perfectly friendly with each other so long as no little bone comes in the way--some little money matter--and then there is no end to the snarling and snapping and growling. How often it is that the dearest friends fall out about money! This has been so often noticed that it has become a common saying, "Have no money dealings with your friend." Even near relations become bitter, and are estranged, over some provision in a will. All this arises from self-seeking. Each cares for himself, and not for others.

Now look at the Holy Trinity. The Three Persons share in equal Power, Majesty, and Eternity. The Father commits all power unto the Son, the Son gives all honour to the Father, the Son gives over to the Holy Ghost the government of His Church. The Father shares with the Son and the Holy Ghost the Divine nature, wisdom, and glory. All three are equally eternal, equally almighty, equally perfect.

II. _Pride_. Each man seeks to place himself before another. 'I am as good as another, or I am above so-and-so,' is a common thought. No man is content with what he is, he desires to thrust himself ahead of another. The whole of society is like a cabbage-stalk covered with caterpillars, and none is satisfied till it has crawled to the top. The caterpillar at the bottom bites the one above him, gets over his back, and then exults, 'There is a caterpillar nearer the bottom of the cabbage-stalk than I,' and so all the way up the stalk, those below scrambling over those above, and they at the top--at the proud elevation and unique honour of being at the head of a cabbage-stalk--tumble off, and are buried in the soil.

Was there any such pride of place in the angel host? Yes--once. The Devil wanted to be at the top, and he fell. The other angels are content where they are, and they remain angels. If they began pus.h.i.+ng ahead of each other, cherubim wanting to be above seraphim, and angels envious of archangels, what a falling there would be from heaven! Falling stars indeed! All turning into devils. Look at the Blessed Trinity. G.o.d the Son says, "My Father is greater than I." He places Himself in the lowest rank. He calls Himself "The Son of Man"; there is no boasting, "I am the Son of G.o.d."

III. _Obstinacy_. That is the third source of discord. Each man follows his own will, his dogged, headlong will, regardless of the wishes and advice of others.

In the Book of Judges we read that Samson caught three hundred foxes and tied them together by their tails, and put burning brands between them, where their tails were tied. What was the consequence? The wretched creatures dashed in opposite directions, each wanted to get away from the brand that scorched his tail, and so each wanted to go exactly in a different direction from the fox to which he was tied, and so the whole lot went das.h.i.+ng in a mad, disorderly manner among the standing corn, and destroyed a whole harvest.

That is something like a great number of people I know. They will tear off in their own direction, and drag others after them who wish to go in another direction, and the fire of discord is between them.

Look at the Blessed Trinity. Christ said, "I came not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me."

"Let us make man," was said at the Creation. G.o.d the Father did not say "I will make man," nor G.o.d the Son "I will make man in My image," nor G.o.d the Holy Ghost "I will make man, and breathe My spirit into him," but all united in one work, and that work was very good.

CONCLUSION.--When Julian the Apostate was Emperor, three Christian soldiers were brought before him. Their names were Emmanuel, Sabael, and Ismael. He ordered them to be examined apart, lest they should encourage one another in their faith and endurance under torture. Emmanuel, seeing his object, said, "Tyrant! we Three are one in one Trinity."

Now, listen to our Lord's prayer, "I pray not for these alone, but for those also which shall believe on Me through their word, that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee."

x.x.xVIII.

_GREAT SURPRISES._

1st Sunday after Trinity.

S. Luke xvi. 23.

"In h.e.l.l he lift up his eyes, being in torments."

INTRODUCTION.--What a great surprise for Dives! So utterly unawaited!

Dives, who had lived so comfortably, clothed in purple and fine linen, and had had such a good coat, and such excellent dinners, and such a cellar of wine, and such good friends at his dinners, goes to sleep one night after a banquet, and wakes up, and lo!--he is in h.e.l.l. Surprise number one.

He feels the flames, he perceives himself surrounded by demons, his tongue is burning with thirst, and he lifts up his eyes and sees!--surprise number two!--Lazarus, the poor dirty wretch who had lain full of sores at his door. He did not know that the fellow was dead. And--surprise number three!--this wretched fellow is in Paradise.

There is another story of a great surprise in the Gospels. That is of the man who laid up for himself great possessions, and said to himself, "Soul! thou hast much goods laid up for many years,--I will pull down my barns and build greater--take thy ease, eat, drink and be merry."

That night he died, and when his soul came to realise the fact that he had nothing left of all he had laid by--that was a great surprise, and a very unpleasant one.

SUBJECT.--Let us take care that we do not have some such a great and unpleasant surprise ourselves. "Take heed," says our Lord, "to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares."

I. Now I am going to tell you a story of another great surprise. The king of Syria was engaged in war with the king of Israel, and one of the servants of the king of Syria told him that Elisha the Prophet saw and knew all that was planned by him against the king of Israel, and that he told the king of Israel, so that the Syrians were never able to catch him at a disadvantage, and defeat him. Then the king of Syria enquired where this prophet lived, and was told that he was then at Dothan.

"Therefore sent he thither horses and chariots, and a great host: and they came by night and compa.s.sed the city about." Then Elisha prayed to G.o.d to deceive and blind the eyes of the soldiers, and he went out of the gates of Dothan to them, and said, "This is not the way, neither is this the city; follow me, and I will bring you to the man whom you seek." So he went before, and led them along the road to Samaria, the capital of the king of Israel. Then he brought them all in through the gates, and they followed, as docile as lambs, and when they were in the market-place, he said, "Lord, open the eyes of these men, that they may see." And the Lord opened their eyes, and lo! they were in the market-place in the midst of Samaria, and all around them were the soldiers of their enemy, the king of Israel, with swords drawn, and in the windows were others armed with stones and javelins and molten lead to hurl down on them. Here was an unpleasant surprise!

The king of Israel and all his soldiers were eager to be at them and cut them to pieces, but Elisha was too good-hearted for that, he persuaded the king to be generous, to give them their breakfast and send them home. So "He prepared great provisions for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master." They were lucky to be let off so easily, and they owed their lives to there being a Saint of G.o.d there to intercede for them. But you may be a.s.sured to their dying day they carried with them a lively recollection of the very unpleasant surprise it was to them when their eyes were opened, and they found themselves in the midst of their enemies, when they fondly supposed themselves in the humble and undefended little town of Dothan.

II. Now for you!--Whither are you going? Whither are you being led?

Are you at all aware? I very much fear that a great many of you are as blind and as ignorant of the road you are treading as were those soldiers of the king of Syria. You are going on headlong, chattering with one another, laughing and singing, in open order, very little discipline, and perfectly confident that you will come to no harm.

Take care! Some day your eyes will be opened, and you will experience an unpleasant surprise. Then, when your eyes are opened you will see yourselves surrounded by the enemies of your souls, ready to drag you to destruction, and no help near. Very unexpected was this case of the Syrians, that the prophet prayed for them, and that instead of being put to death they were fed and sent away in peace. That is not what you must expect. Dives, when his eyes were opened, cried to Abraham, but got no help, no, not even a drop of water to cool his tongue.

III. No man need go blindly to destruction, for G.o.d has given him guidance, and power of seeing whither he goes. The prophet led these soldiers of Syria into the midst of their enemies, but G.o.d's good Spirit, which is our guide, will lead us into the Land of Righteousness if we will listen to His voice, and go where he points the way.

We have no right to plead blindness and ignorance, if hereafter we find that we have gone astray, and our eyes are opened when we are in the midst of our enemies, for blindness can not come upon us unless we wilfully shut our eyes to the light, and with the teaching of Christ and His Church ever sounding in our ears, we have no right to plead ignorance.

Moreover, G.o.d is so merciful, that He never allows any to go to destruction unwarned of their danger. As He sent His angel to stand in the way of Balaam, so will He send some check, and throw some obstacle in the road you are treading, to bring you to your senses in time, and will not allow you to perish, unless you wilfully and deliberately persist in the road of evil, knowing the consequences, and knowing whither you are going.

CONCLUSION.--Lastly. It was a great surprise to Lazarus when he found himself in Paradise. He had no doubt hoped and prayed to be admitted there, but when he found himself there, he was amazed to see how far its happiness and its peace surpa.s.sed his expectations. So with those of us who are found meet to enter Heaven. However great our antic.i.p.ations, they will be surpa.s.sed. Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, to conceive those good things which G.o.d hath prepared for those who love Him.

May He bring us all to that glad surprise.