Parish Papers Part 7

Another "moment in life" which may be specially noticed, is that in which we are tempted to evil. Temptations are no doubt "common to man." Our whole life in a sense is a temptation, for whatever makes a demand upon our choice as moral beings, involves a trial of character, and tests the "spirit we are of." But nevertheless there do occur periods in our lives when such trials are peculiarly testing; when large bribes are offered to the sin that doth so easily beset us, tempting us to betray conscience, give up principle, lose faith in the right and in G.o.d, and to serve the devil, the world, or the flesh.

Such moments may be very brief, yet decisive of our future life. They may come suddenly upon us, though possibly many notes of warning have announced their approach. For they are often but the apex of the pyramid to which many previous steps have gradually and almost imperceptibly led; the beginning of a battle, which must at last be fought, and very shortly decided, but yet the ending of many previous skirmis.h.i.+ngs. Be this as it may, that moment of life does come to us all, when evil like the enemy appears to concentrate against us its whole force, and when we must fight, conquer, or die; when like a thief it resolves to break into our home and take possession; when as a deceiver it promises happiness, and demands immediate acceptance or rejection of the splendid offer,--"All these will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and wors.h.i.+p me!"

What a moment is this in the life of many a young person. How unutterably solemn is the first deliberate act which opposes conscience, rebels against the authority of G.o.d and of His law, shuts out the light, and prefers darkness. Future character, and the life and happiness of years, may be determined by it. The step taken in that brief moment, the lie uttered, the dishonesty perpetrated, the drunkenness or debauchery indulged in, the prayers for the first time given up, and the father's home left for the far country. Who can realise the consequences of those first acts, or estimate the many links of evil, and the endless chain itself, that may connect themselves with the one link of sin fas.h.i.+oned in that moment of life!

Who can foresee the streams ever increasing in breadth and depth which may flow from this letting in of water! Would G.o.d that my readers, young men especially, would but believe in the possibility even of the choice they make at such a time determining their future destiny. The thought of this might at least make them pause and consider.

There is no exaggeration in this language. To realise the danger, all we need a.s.sume is the law of habit; for, according to that law, we know that any act of the will, good or bad, has a tendency to repeat itself with increasing ease and decreasing consciousness, until it becomes a "second nature." Hence the first resistance of evil is much less difficult than any subsequent attempt; and he who in one moment of life could by a manly effort become a conqueror, and enter on a life of principle and peace, may, by yielding, very soon sink down into a degraded slave, who is held fast by the iron chain of habit, each link of which he has himself forged by his own self-will.

What a moment was that in the life of Herod when he permitted evil desire for Herodias to enter his soul. That desire conceived sin, and sin when finished brought forth death. Acts pa.s.sed into habits, and habits into a life of abandoned pa.s.sion. Then came the festive birthday, and the dancing before him of the daughter of his paramour; and then the foul murder, with the spectacle of the b.l.o.o.d.y head, closed eyes, and sealed lips of the greatest and n.o.blest man of his time; and then followed the hour when Jesus Himself was brought before the murderer, when the Lord spoke not one word of warning, rebuke, or mercy to him, but smote the wretch with the terrible wrath and righteous judgment of silence!

What a moment in life was that, too, when Judas welcomed covetousness into his heart as a most profitable guest. Then one day Covetousness offered him thirty pieces of silver if he would betray his Lord; and Judas agreed to the proposal. A whole eternity of misery was involved in that moment of his life: for the night soon arrived when the bargain was to be kept. A few moments more, and the history will end here to begin elsewhere. Yet there is not a sign on earth or heaven to indicate the importance of that brief hour to Judas! He forms one among the most distinguished company that ever sat at the same table since the earth began; and never did mortal ears listen to such words uttered by human lips, nor did mortal eyes ever contemplate such a scene of peace and love as was witnessed in that upper room in Jerusalem. But the hour has struck, and Judas rises to depart. The deed of darkness must now be done. It is late, and he has made a most important appointment; unless he keeps it, he may lose his money; and what a loss to the poor follower of a man who had nowhere to lay His head! Judas leaves that company; and what was there in things visible to make him suspect even that an awful moment of life--his last--had come? All was calm within that upper room,--all was peace in the world without. The naked heavens shone in the calm brilliancy of an Eastern night The streets of Jerusalem, along which the traitor pa.s.sed on his dreadful errand, echoed his footsteps in their silence. Yet Judas, "the son of perdition," was at that moment on his way "to his own place!"

And thus it is with many a man in the hour of temptation. The voice of sin speaks not loudly, but whispers to his inner spirit. He pursues his path of evil without alarm being given by sight or sound from heaven or earth. There is nothing in the world without to disturb the thoughts and purposes of the world within his false and unprincipled soul. The moment of his life brings the temptation, and he yields his soul to its power, and the moment pa.s.ses with as noiseless a step; and soon the last moment comes, and pa.s.ses away; but he too has noiselessly pa.s.sed away with it "to his own place!"

The "moment in life" when we are called upon to perform some positive duty, is one which is often very critical and full of solemn consequences to us. The duty may _appear_ to be a very trifling one,--such as writing a letter, visiting a friend, warning some brother against evil, aiding another, or sympathising with a sufferer in his sorrow. But whatever the work may be, and in whatever way it is to be performed, whether by word or deed, by silence or by speech, yet there is a time given us for doing it, very brief perhaps, and unaccompanied by any sign to mark its significance,--a time, nevertheless, when whatever has to be done must be done quickly, "now or never."

Such a moment in life was that in the history of the three apostles who accompanied our Lord, at His own request, in order to watch with Him in His last agony. As a man, He deserved their thoughtful presence, their watchful sympathy, when enduring the dread sorrow which filled His cup, from realising by antic.i.p.ation all that was before Him. Thrice He came to them from the spot, not far off, where He wrestled in prayer with His terrible agony.

Thrice He found them asleep. "What!" he asked, "could ye not watch with me one hour?" Ah! they knew not what an hour that was!--what it was to Him--what it was and might have been to them! They might have had the joy, the exalted privilege, which for ever would have been as a very heaven of glory in their memory, of sharing, through the power of sympathising love, the burden of their Lord's anguish. But they yielded to the flesh, and permitted that moment of time to pa.s.s; and when they at last roused themselves from their slumber, it was too late. That moment in life had come and gone, and could return no more.

"Sleep on, and take your rest; behold, he who betrayeth me is at hand!"

And thus it often happens in the life of us all. An hour is given us when something may be done for our Lord or our brethren, which cannot possibly be done if that hour is permitted to pa.s.s away unimproved.

Then we may teach an ignorant soul, or rouse a slothful one to action; we may alarm one who is lethargic, worldly, sensual, "without G.o.d or Christ in the world," so as to win him to both; or we may comfort the feeble-minded, and support the weak. Circ.u.mstances may give us the opportunity, and the "moment in life," when such works may be done.

The persons to be helped are perhaps inmates of our dwelling; they are our relations: they are sick or dying; or they have cast themselves upon our aid. But we let the moment pa.s.s. The work given us is not done. We have neglected it from sloth, procrastination, thoughtlessness, or selfishness. And we may become awake to our culpable negligence, and rouse ourselves to duty. But, alas! those whom we could have aided are past help. They are dead, or are removed from our influence, or in some way "past remedy." And so the moment in life given us is gone, and gone for ever, except to meet us and to accuse us before the bar of G.o.d. And thus it is with duty in countless forms. What our hands find to do must be done quickly, if done at all, and in the time given us. If not, a night comes, and may come soon and come suddenly, in which either we ourselves cannot work, or in which, though at last willing to do it, it is no longer given us to do.

But there is one moment in life--and I conclude by suggesting it to your thoughts--which must come to every man, and which generally comes with signs sufficiently significant of its importance,--I mean the last moment which closes our life on earth. Come it must. And, as an old writer remarks, "the day we die, though of no importance to the world, is to ourselves of more importance than is all the world." That moment in life ends time to us, and begins eternity; it ends our day of grace and begins the day of judgment; it separates us from the world in which we have lived since we were born, and introduces us to the unseen, unknown world of things and persons in which we must live for ever during the life of G.o.d. What a moment is this! It may come in the quiet of our own chamber, or amidst the confusion and excitement of some dread accident by land or sea; it may be heralded by long sickness or old age, and accompanied by much weakness and bodily suffering. But if that moment, when it comes, is to bring us peace, let our present moments, as they come, find us watchful, conscientious, believing, and prayerful. And should these words of mine be read by chance by one who has begun his last moment without having begun the work for which he was created, preserved, and redeemed, let me beseech of him to improve it by repentance towards G.o.d, and faith in Jesus Christ, who will pardon his sins, give him a new heart, and save him as he did the thief on the cross. If every hour of his day of grace has been misimproved, let not this last be added to the number. If he has stood all the day idle, let him in the eleventh hour accept his Master's work of faith alone in his own soul, and do what he can for the good of others. But let this moment in life pa.s.s, then shall the next moment after death bring only fear and anguish; for, be warned and also encouraged by the words of the truthful and loving Jesus, uttered with many tears, over lost souls,--"If thou hadst known, even thou, at least _in this thy day_, the things that belong unto thy peace; but now they are for ever hid from thine eyes!"

"LABOURERS TOGETHER WITH G.o.d."

These words seem to me to express the idea of true labour, such as G.o.d calls us to, and _in_ the doing of which there is a great reward. They imply that the living G.o.d has a work to do on earth, in men and by men; that in this work He has--if I may so express it--a deep personal interest, because it is one worthy of Himself, and for the advancement of His own glory, and the good and happiness of man.

Now, G.o.d wishes us to know this work, and to sympathise with Him in it. He does not conceal from us what He wishes done, or what He himself is doing; nor obliges us to remain for ever blind as to His will and purposes regarding ourselves or others; so that, if we work at all, we must work according to our own wills only, and for our own purposes. Instead of this, He reveals in His Word, by His Son, through His Spirit, and in the conscience, what His will is--what He wishes us to be and do. Nor does He say to us, "Learn my commands, and obey them; but seek not to know why I have so commanded." Were it impossible, indeed, to know _why_ any command was given, the mere fact of its injunction would itself demand instant compliance; "but,"

says our Lord, "I have not called you servants, but friends, for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth." The servant or slave does not occupy the place which the friend does. The one hears only what is commanded; but the other, through personal acquaintance with the master, is enabled to sympathise with the righteousness and love in the command. The friend not only knows what, as a servant, he _must_ do, but sees how right and beautiful it is that he should be commanded so to do. In like manner, we read that G.o.d made known His "ways" to Moses, but only His "acts" to the children of Israel. This revelation, of principle and plan to His servant was indeed a speaking with him "face to face;" and thus does G.o.d speak to us now in these latter days by the grace and truth revealed in His Son. And it is only when we thus know G.o.d's work on earth, and when, from a will and character brought into harmony with His, we see how excellent the work is, that we can be, not labourers only, but "_fellow_-labourers" with G.o.d;--not workers only, but "workers _together_ with Him."

Consider, for instance, _the work of G.o.d in our own souls_. This is, as far as we ourselves are concerned, the most important work in the universe. Upon it depends whether the universe shall be to us a heaven or a h.e.l.l. "What will a man give in exchange for his soul?" is a question which a.s.sumes that to the man himself nothing can be so valuable. But has G.o.d any work to do in our souls? Has He ever expressed any wish as to what He would have us believe, become, or enjoy, or revealed for what end or purpose He made our spirits? Is there no wrong state or condition in us with which He is "angry" and "grieved," and no right state with which He is "delighted," and over which He "rejoices?" Has He laid no command upon us to "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling?" and has He given no intimation of His "working in us to will and do?" Or is it to Him the same whether we are wrong or right? Surely we can have no difficulty in replying to such all-important questions! If a man loses faith in the reality and sincerity of G.o.d's wish, that he personally should have his guilty soul freely pardoned, and his unholy soul sanctified, and his whole being renewed after G.o.d's own image,--that he himself should be a good, a great, a happy man, by knowing and loving his G.o.d; and if a man brings himself to such a state of practical atheism as to doubt whether G.o.d knows or cares anything about him;--then it is impossible for such a man to be "a fellow-labourer," a "worker together" with G.o.d in his own soul; for he does not know and has never heard of any work of G.o.d required _there_. But if he believes that G.o.d is indeed his "Father in heaven;"--that He has goodwill to him, and therefore desires his good by desiring him to _be_ good;--that, for the accomplishment of this end, all has been done which is recorded in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation;--that G.o.d has been working in him, through agencies innumerable, since his childhood, by parents and friends, by tender mercies and bitter chastis.e.m.e.nts, by Sabbath ordinances and pulpit ministrations, by the constant witness of conscience and the Word of G.o.d, in order that he should know and love G.o.d his Father,--then, seeing this, will he see also how he may be a "fellow-labourer with G.o.d." _And have not you, my reader, been conscious of this work?_ You cannot get quit of the conviction that there is One higher than yourself with whom you have to do,--One who is ever with you, seeking to deliver you from evil, from your own evil self,--One whose voice is never silent, and who is righteously judging your daily life. And have you never been conscious, too, of fighting against what you certainly knew was not self, but a holy, winning, mysterious power or Person, who opposed self, and for that very reason was resisted by self? And therefore your sin has not been the ignorance of good, but opposing the good,--not the absence, but the resisting of a good work in you. It is on this very principle men will be condemned, for "This _is_ the condemnation, that light hath come into the world, and men _prefer_ darkness to light, because their deeds are evil." And if this has been your sin, so has it been your misery. In exact proportion as you thus "hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord," you become wretched and unsatisfied. No wonder! for with whom does the man work when he works in opposition to the will of G.o.d? In refusing to serve G.o.d, he serves Satan, and becomes a "worker together" with "the spirit who now worketh in the children of disobedience!"

Well, then, what are you to do? I reply: "Yield yourselves to G.o.d;"

"be subject to the Father of your spirit, and live." "Wherefore do you spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live." Instead of being workers against, seek to be "workers _together_" with G.o.d in your own souls; to have His "work of faith and love," and everything beautiful and holy, perfected in you. Believe in Jesus Christ as the living Person who alone can and will save you, by pardoning your sins, and giving you His Spirit to make you like Himself. Begin your work by a.s.suming that G.o.d _is_ working in you to will and do; and _because_ you have Him, through His omnipotent Spirit, working in you, do not be as one who beats the air in aimless and profitless warfare, nor strive against nor grieve that Spirit, but through Him "work out your own salvation." In thus pleading with you, I feel that I myself am but working with G.o.d; for I can say with the apostle, "Now then we are amba.s.sadors for Christ, as though G.o.d did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to G.o.d. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of G.o.d in Him. We then, as _workers together with Him_, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of G.o.d in vain."

Put this question in another way: Suppose you had met Jesus Christ when He was on earth; that you had listened to one of His appeals when He preached the gospel from city to city, and felt His eye looking at you as He spoke in His own name, and in the name of His Father, saying, "Come unto me, all ye who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest"--"The Son of man hath come to seek that which is lost," and the like; that you had witnessed the delight it gave Him to do good, and to find any one willing to receive His overflowing love, and the sorrow He endured when men would not believe in Him or trust Him, but preferred remaining without the blessing; and that you had accompanied Him during His ministry on earth, and studied His character from all you saw and heard,--could the impression made upon you in such circ.u.mstances be thus expressed, "I believe that Thou carest not for me; that my well-doing or ill-doing are equally matters of indifference to Thee; and that there is no faith or love that Thou desirest to see accomplished in my soul?" Would you have _dared_ to speak in anything like this strain of blasphemy to the holy Saviour had you met Him? Or would you not have been overwhelmed by the conviction, that whether you yielded to His wishes or not, these wishes were clear and unquestionable--that from His character as a man having fellows.h.i.+p with G.o.d, His work as the Saviour of sinners, His revealed will as Lord, nothing could be more certain than that He wished you _personally_ to be holy and happy through faith in His name; and accordingly, that if you accepted His call, and His offer of power to be so, you were but working _with_ Him; and that if you neglected both, you were certainly working _against_ Him?

But with this personal Saviour you have to do just as really and truly now as any of His disciples who had followed Him when on earth; and so I beseech you to be fellow-labourers with Him in His own holy and living work within your own soul. Let your prayer then be: "Thy will be done! Let Thy holy and loving will, my Father, be done in me! I believe in Thy forgiveness, and am at peace with Thee, according to that will, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And as this is also Thy will, even my sanctification, and Thy revealed purpose, that I should be made conformable to the image of Thy Son, so let Thy grace, which is sufficient for the chief of sinners, daily bring this salvation into me, by teaching me to deny unG.o.dliness and worldly l.u.s.ts, and to live soberly, righteously, and G.o.dly in this present world; that so learning Christ, taking up His cross daily, following Him and being disciplined by Him, I may be taught to put off the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful l.u.s.ts, and to be renewed in the spirit of my mind; and, as Thine own workmans.h.i.+p, be created anew in Christ Jesus unto good works. Amen!"

Let us consider for a little longer G.o.d's work in us, by His providential dealings towards us. A moment's reflection will suffice to remind you that G.o.d, in His providence, is constantly working with you. He is, for instance, a wonderful Giver. "He gives us all things richly to enjoy." "He openeth His hand liberally." His mercies are more than can be numbered; though as a father He also chastises His children. "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away." Now, in whatever way G.o.d deals with us, whether He gives or takes, there is a purpose which He wishes accomplished. He has a work to do in us by every joy and every sorrow. There is a voice for us in the rod of darkness, and in the ray of suns.h.i.+ne; and it is our duty, our strength, our peace, to hear that voice, and to know that work of providence so as to be fellow-labourers with G.o.d in it. Perhaps you are disposed to excuse yourselves for want of sober inquiry into G.o.d's dealings with you, by saying, that it is very hard to know, and often impossible to discover, what object or purpose He has in view when sending to us this gift or that grief. In some cases it may be so; but it is much to know and to remember what G.o.d's purpose is _not_, and what He can never wish to have accomplished, either by what He gives to us or takes from us. Never can it be the purpose of G.o.d, in any case, to advance the work of Satan in our souls, or to r.e.t.a.r.d within us the coming of His own glorious kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. Never can He send us a gift to make us proud, vain, indolent, covetous, earthly-minded, sensual, devilish, or in any degree to alienate us from Himself as our chief good. For whatever purpose He fas.h.i.+oned our body with such exquisite care, providing so rich a supply for all its senses, it was not, a.s.suredly, that we should make that body the instrument of degrading and ruining the immortal soul, and of sinking our whole being down to a level with the beasts that peris.h.!.+ He never gave beauty of form to make us vain or sensuous; nor poured wine into our cup that we should become drunkards; nor spread food on our table merely to pamper our self-indulgence and feed our pa.s.sions. He never gave us dominion over the earth that we should be Satan's slaves. He never awoke from silence the glorious harmonies of music for our ear, nor revealed to our eye the beauties of nature and of art, nor fired our soul with the magnificent creations of poetry, that we might be so enraptured by these as to forget and despise Himself. He never gifted us with a high intellect, refined taste, or brilliant wit, to nourish ambition, wors.h.i.+p genius, and to become profane, irreverent, and devil-like, by turning those G.o.dlike powers against their Maker and Sustainer. We cannot think, that if money has been poured at our feet, He thereby intended to infect us with the curse of selfishness, or to tempt us to become cruel or covetous men, who would let the beggar stand at our gate, and ourselves remain so poor as to have no inheritance in the kingdom of G.o.d; or to make us such "fools" as to survey our broad acres and teeming barns with self-love and worldliness, exclaiming, "Soul, take thine ease; thou hast much goods laid up for many years; eat, drink, and be merry;" or to tempt us to refuse the cross, and to depart sorrowful from Christ, because we had great possessions; or to choke the seed of the Word as with thorns, so that it should bring forth no fruit to perfection! Can it be possible that He has spared our family, and enriched us with so many friends, in order that, being "so happy" with them, we should never wish to know G.o.d as our Father, Christ as our Brother, or have any desire to become members of the family of G.o.d? Has He given us so much pleasant, useful, or necessary labour in the world, that we should forget the one thing needful, and leave undone _the_ work for which we were created? Has He given us the Church, the ministry, the Sabbath, the sacrament, that we should make these ends instead of means--instruments for concealing, rather than revealing our G.o.d and Saviour? And if the Lord has taken away, and visited us with sharp sorrows and sore bereavements, was this "strange work" done by Him who does not "willingly afflict" His children, in order that we should have the pain without the "profit," "faint under"

or "despise" the chastis.e.m.e.nt, or become more set upon the world and the creature, more shut up in heart against our Father, more dead to eternal things, or fall into despair, and curse G.o.d and die?

Without prolonging such inquiries, enough has been said, I hope, to enable you to apprehend what I mean by our being fellow-workers with G.o.d in all His works of providence that concern ourselves. We believe that these things, whether of joy or sorrow, do not come by chance, nor through the agency of dead mechanical laws, but that a living Person is dealing with us wisely, lovingly, righteously,--that, in truth, "_the Lord_ giveth, and the _Lord_ taketh away," and that, accordingly, there must be a design or purpose to serve in what He gives or withholds,--that this never can be an evil purpose, but must, in every case, be good, and that we may derive good and a blessing from it. Let us, then, be fellow-workers with Him in seeking, through faith and love, to have this purpose realised, and to have the end designed by G.o.d fulfilled in us or by us, so that every joy and sorrow may bring us nearer the glorious G.o.d, and make us know Him better, and love Him more, and thus possess "life more abundantly," even "life eternal!"

But not only is there a work to be done _in_ us, but also _by_ us, in the doing of which we are to be "labourers together with G.o.d."

This kind of labouring with others is ill.u.s.trated by Saint Paul when he says, what I have already quoted, "Now then we are amba.s.sadors for Christ, as though G.o.d did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to G.o.d. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of G.o.d in Him. We then, as _workers together with Him_, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of G.o.d in vain." He is here, you perceive, addressing those who were enemies to G.o.d, and beseeching such to be "reconciled." But in what spirit does he plead with them? In labouring to bring them into reconciliation with their Father, and to save their souls, he does not feel himself alone and solitary in his work and labour of love; as one prompted by his own goodwill to lost sinners, and his own wishes to redeem them from evil, yet in doubt or in ignorance as to what G.o.d's wishes or feelings were in regard to them.

He does not proclaim the gospel to one or to many sinners with such thoughts as these: "It is no doubt my duty to preach to them, and to plead with them, and from my heart I pity them, love them, and could die to save them; but whether G.o.d pities them or not, or truly wishes to save them, I do not know, for I am totally ignorant of His will or purpose." Surely such were not the apostle's convictions! Did he not rather engage in this work of seeking to save souls with intense earnestness, because he knew that however great his love, it was but a reflection, however dim, of the infinite love of G.o.d to them, and his desire to save them but a feeble expression of the desire of G.o.d? Was he not persuaded, that in "beseeching" them to be reconciled, he could speak "as though G.o.d did beseech" them by him, as one "in Christ's stead;" and that "in beseeching" them "not to receive the grace of G.o.d in vain," he was but "a worker together with G.o.d?"

In this same spirit may we, and must we seek to do good to others.

We dare not look upon our brother as one belonging exclusively to ourselves, or one dear to ourselves only, but as one belonging to G.o.d his Creator, and dear to G.o.d his Father. We must ever keep before us the fact, that there is a work which G.o.d wishes to have accomplished in his soul, as well as in our own; and that our brother is given to us in order that we should be workers _together_ with G.o.d in helping on that good work. And if so, this will very clearly teach us at least what we ought _not_ to do to our brother. We should never, by word or by example, by silence or by speech, strengthen in his spirit the work of evil: for that is not G.o.d's work. For when we flatter his vanity, feed his pride, shake his convictions of the truth, or when, in any way whatever, we lay stumbling blocks in his path, or tempt him to evil, we are surely not workers together with G.o.d. In our conduct to our brother, let us ask ourselves, Is this how Christ would have acted to any one with whom He came in contact when on earth? Is this helping on His work now? But, on the other hand, when our brother's soul is dear to us,--when, at all hazards, we seek first, and above all, his _good_,--when our love is such that we are willing to have its existence suspected, and ourselves despised and rejected by him, even as our loving Lord was by His "own whom He loved," rather than that we should selfishly save ourselves, and lose our brother; then indeed we are labourers together with G.o.d, and possess the spirit of Jesus! Oh, little does the world understand the deep working of this kind of love, which, however imperfect it may be, yet burns in the heart of Christians only, because they only partake of that love which is possessed in perfection by Him who loved us, and gave Himself for us!

Let us, then, remember that we are not to concern ourselves about another's good as if we were alone in our labours, our wishes, and our sympathies; as if we really cared more than G.o.d does about the well-being of this relation or of that friend. Let our love flow out with all its force, and express itself with holiest longings and tenderest sympathies; yet infinitely above all this love is the love of our G.o.d and their G.o.d! In our truest and holiest working be a.s.sured that we are but a worker _together_ with Him, the true and holy One, otherwise our labours could not be _right_; for they would not be in harmony with G.o.d's will, or such as He could command or bless.

The same principle applies to our more extensive labours for the good of the whole world, and is the very life and soul of home and foreign missions. We can enter the abodes of ignorance and crime at home, and ply with offers of mercy the inhabitants of the foulest den, and plead with every prodigal to return to his Father, because we believe that in all this we are in Christ's stead, and are warranted to beseech in G.o.d's name, and with the full a.s.surance that we are not working alone, but "together with G.o.d." We can visit any spot in heathendom, cheered and borne up by the same a.s.surance amidst every difficulty, discouragement, and danger. Whatever else is doubtful, this, at least, is certain, that in every endeavour to save sinners, we are but expressing our sympathy with Jesus in His love to them, in His longing to see of the travail of His soul, and to be satisfied in their salvation; and that when experiencing the deepest sorrow because men will not believe, we are only sharing the sufferings of Him who mourned on account of unbelief, and wept over lost Jerusalem because it would not know the things of its peace. All this is as certain as that there is such a living person as the Saviour, unchanged in character, everywhere present, seeing the evil and the good, hating the one and loving the other, whose labour and whose joy is that G.o.d's name should be hallowed, His kingdom come, and His will be done on earth as it is done in heaven.

Oh, how depressing, how deadening, to have any doubts as to this reality of the interest which our G.o.d and Saviour takes in the good of human souls! How must the dread thought silence the tongue, wither the heart, and paralyse the hand, that however ardent the wish influencing us to be good ourselves, or to do good to others, G.o.d is indifferent to both, and has no real interest in either--as if we had more love, more holiness, and more desire that the kingdom of righteousness should advance, than the loving and holy G.o.d! Nay, how is it possible for us to have any true love at all to human friends unless it is first kindled by Him, and is in sympathy with Him, who loved His neighbour as Himself?

Let me here remind you of the only other alternative set before you,--it is the awful one of being a "labourer together" with Satan.

Our Lord rejects neutrality; for such is really impossible. He recognises the _no_ real friend as a positive enemy. "He that is not with me is against me;" "He who gathereth not scattereth;" "Ye cannot serve G.o.d and mammon," but must serve either. Now, Satan has a work on earth. It is this spirit which "worketh in the children of disobedience." Will we, then, work with him in his desire to destroy our own souls? Will we have "fellows.h.i.+p with the unfruitful works of darkness," and take part with that wicked one in his dread work of opposing the kingdom of light, and advancing the kingdom of darkness in the world? Will we a.s.sist him in tempting others to evil,--in entangling souls more and more in the meshes of sin,--in propagating error and opposing truth? And will we, by our words and example, by our coldness or open opposition, help to keep any man back from Christ, or to drag down to h.e.l.l a neighbour or friend, a brother, sister, or child? A labourer together with Satan! Oh, consider the possibility of this being the record at judgment of our history, that we may start, as from a nightmare, from so hideous an imputation!

Instead of anything so inconceivably dreadful being true of us, may we know and love the Father, through the Son, and by His Spirit, and thus realise more and more in all our labours the strength and blessedness of being "labourers together with G.o.d!"

The more we reflect upon this principle which I have been ill.u.s.trating, the more we shall see that it is the life of all true work, and can be applied to any work in which a Christian can engage.

The true artist, for example, ought to occupy the elevated position of being a labourer with G.o.d in faithfully, industriously, and conscientiously working in harmony with Nature, which is "the Art of G.o.d." He ought to study, therefore, the sculpture, the paintings, the music, of the Great Artist, and understand the principles on which He produces the beautiful in form, in colour, or in sound. The humblest mason who plies his chisel on the highest pinnacle of a great building, or who fas.h.i.+ons the lowliest hut, should have an eye to Him who makes all things very good, and for conscience' sake, ay, for G.o.d's sake, he should, to the very best of his ability, work in the spirit of the Great Architect, who bestows the same care in building up the mountains, moulding the valleys, fas.h.i.+oning the crystal, making a home to shelter the tiny insect, or a nest where the bird may rear her young. Without loving our work, and doing it to the best of our ability, as in the sight of G.o.d, we cannot be fellow-workers with Him who hath made our bodies so wonderfully, and cultivated our souls so carefully; for "ye are G.o.d's building"--"ye are G.o.d's husbandry."

REVIVALS.

I.

THEIR NEED.

"An awakening" expresses better than the stereotyped phrase "revival,"

the idea of a wide-spread interest in religious truth. This is the response to the righteous demand, "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light," for at such a time men but awake to the reality of truth, which was previously dim and shadowy to them as things seen in dreams; or formerly the awful facts of G.o.d's revelation had been as pictures hung up on the wall, which now suddenly become alive.

Before entering on the discussion of this rather delicate subject, there is one question which we would respectfully press upon the attention of the reader, and that is, Whether he would like a revival of genuine religion? We do not question him regarding his sympathy with any particular form in which the supposed revival might come, far less with any of those peculiarities which are supposed by some to be necessarily characteristic of a revival; but supposing that such an awakening or revival occurred by means of any agency, or any process, that it was accompanied by such outward signs of calm and peace as he himself would select, and that its results were unquestionable;--supposing that society was unusually pervaded by a spirit of truth and holiness, that no countenance could be given to evil by word, look, or sentiment, but only to all that was pure, lovely, and of good report,--would such a heaven upon earth be readily rejoiced in by him? If this question is fairly and honestly put to the heart and conscience, the manner in which we entertain the thought of the mere possibility of a revival becomes a trial of our own spirit, a test of our sincerity when we pray, "Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is done in heaven."

The weakest Christian has but one answer to give to such a question.

He may be pained by antic.i.p.ating the contrast which he thinks is not unlikely to be presented between himself and others more holy; or he may fear that what is false and fleeting, but more attractive, may, in a time of excitement, usurp the place of what is real and permanent, though less obtrusive; but he cannot but desire with his whole heart that he himself and all men may become more and more awake to the realities of truth, and be revived as by the breath of a new spring, so as to grow more in grace, and bring forth more fruit to the glory of G.o.d.

For, given that a revival is possible,--that a wide-spread interest in the will of G.o.d towards men, with a corresponding power vouchsafed to know it and do it, may be suddenly produced and permanently sustained in the minds of men,--we ask, Is not this _the_ one grand blessing from G.o.d which we require? To the question, "What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?" which we may conceive our loving Lord putting to His blind, deaf, lame, even dead brethren of mankind, does not the response come from individuals and congregations, from solitary mourners, and from unhappy hearts, from the weary, the hopeless, the despairing, the labourers at home and abroad--"_Life_, Lord! We need life in our souls, life in our duties, life in our minds, life in our families, life in our teaching and hearing, in our working and praying, life in all and for all!"

All our clergy constantly need a revival of genuine life,--life which no paris.h.i.+oner might be able to define, but which, if there, every one would soon perceive. It would be felt in every home like the breath of spring, experienced beside every sick-bed like a touch of healing, and be heard in every sermon like a voice from heaven. Oh, what a heavenly gift to himself and others would this be, and what a time of refres.h.i.+ng from the Lord! And how many would share the blessing, now hindered, perhaps, by his own unbelief and satisfaction with indifference. For though "dead" ministers may in some rare cases have succeeded in saving souls, we never heard of living ones who had in every case failed. G.o.d has ordained that a living ministry--the preaching of those who utter what they themselves _know_ from personal experience to be true--shall be His most powerful instrumentality for converting the world. We believe, accordingly, that every minister, whose own soul became alive, would soon find that his life was _contagious_, and that his living spirit would tell upon other spirits in a way never before realised by him. That indescribable impression made by a genuine Christian character, which never can be successfully imitated, would exercise a marvellous influence upon all with whom he came in contact; and if he had one sorrow for life, it would be the remembrance of the dark and horrible time when he was a mere formalist, dead to the eternal interests of his own soul and the souls of others.

Again, What _parish_ does not stand in need of such a quickening? Few ministers are encouraged and stimulated to aim at and attain higher measures of good, from the abounding evidences of Christian life among their paris.h.i.+oners. Many more are tempted, by all they see around them, to wax cold in love, and to lower their standard of personal and ministerial life,--to become quite satisfied with the every-day, stereotyped formalism of things around them, or to submit to it as if it were a doom. The very smile of incredulity with which the account of alleged revivals is received,--the wonder which good men express, if told of many being awakened by the mere preaching of the Word in some congregation or district,--only indicates how all hope has perished of our people over becoming what the preacher _in words_ urges them to become, or of their ever being delivered from the torpor, the indifference, the death, which _in words_ he tells them are the preludes of coming death eternal. Is not our hope well-nigh lost regarding many a parish; and what but the quickening and reviving power of G.o.d's Spirit can restore it?

And is there no revival needed in _our most living congregations?_ We may, indeed, have cause to thank G.o.d for many signs of genuine life within them, and for such good works as indicate a living spirit in the body. But in the most encouraging cases we have more cause to deplore the vast extent of the ground where the seed sown has been carried away, withered, or choked with thorns, rather than to rejoice in the small patches which may be bringing forth fruit. Let any minister, as he surveys his congregation, and as he visits them from house to house, ask himself the question, How many of these really care about Christ, and ever pray to Him, or try to serve Him? and making every allowance for our ignorance of other men's condition, for the life that may be hidden from the eye, yet will there not be innumerable evidences, _forcing_ upon him the conviction, that if the doctrines he preaches are true, death reigns to a very awful extent even among members of the Church? We do not wish to exaggerate, or make out a case against pastors or their flocks, but we leave it to every candid man who will dare to look the truth in the face, to deny the existence among us of a, mighty want--the want of a revival of spiritual religion among both.