A Goodly Heritage

Science is doing grand things today. Her beneficent step is heard almost everywhere. But physical science is comparatively young. And you know the characteristic defects of youth. It is headstrong and impatient, and often irreverent.It is sometimes not over reticent, even on matters concerning which it cannot form reliable judgments I now speak on "the claims of the religion of our fathers." 1. It was "our fathers'." That the sires trusted in God is a very sufficient reason why the sons should hesitate, and hesitate long, before they reach the grave conclusion that there is no God, or that if there be He cannot be trusted because He cannot be known. One of the healthiest facts of human nature and of human life has ever been that spirit of reverence for the past which links generation to generation, and practically makes the race one. We Englishmen are by no means destitute of this fine sentiment. 2. Our fathers proved it. What is the testimony borne by honest ...

The Word of the Lord is tried. The Bible tested and triumphant B. B. Loomis, Ph. D. Look at some of the severe tests to which the Bible has been subjected, and by successfully meeting which it has vindicated its claims to a Divine origin, and to universal human acceptance. I. THE BIBLE HAS STOOD THE TEST OF TIME. Since the Sacred Canon closed, how many and how vast are the changes which have gone on among men. Hardly one of the ancient powers is today extant. How great have been the strides of human progress! Yet the science of salvation, as taught in the Bible, has needed no remodeling. The race does not outgrow the religion of the Bible. Compare the case of the Bible with the poems of Homer. The two works are, in a certain sense, contemporaneous; critics have denied to the Bible any higher inspiration than that of human genius; and Greek poetry held among that ancient people very much the same place as did the sacred Scriptures among the Jews. Three thousand years ago the two works s...

There are several thoughts in mend hearts about Christ's dying. 1. Some think of Christ's death as brought about by the wicked hands of sinners. This is a poor thought, if there be no more. This thought is natural to any that read the history of his death. Carnal men may hate Judas that betrayed him, Pilate that condemned him, the priests that cried Crucify Him, and the people that did it. If this be all, I may say, the devils have a higher thought of Christ's death, and that which comes nearer to the truth, than this sorry one. 2. Some go further, and think of Christ's death as it was a fulfilling of the purpose and word of God concerning him. This Christ teacher us in Luke xxi y. 26, 44, 46.; and the apostles frequently in their preaching of Christ. 3. There is a higher thought of Christ's death; and that is, That Christ died, by the stroke of God's law and justice, for his people. Justice roused itself against our Lord: Zech. xiii. 7. Awake, O sword, against ...

The song of the flock, View it-- I. AS EXPRESSING THANKFULNESS FOR THE PAST. Jehovah, all-sufficient, has been my Shepherd. Many there are who can see no better law or principle regulating the allotments of their daily life than accident and capricious fortune. They see the shuttles of apparent chance darting hither and thither in the loom of existence. They do not see that the shuttle is in the hands of the Great Artificer. Life is not a mere kaleidoscope. II. AS IMPLYING CONFIDENCE IN THE PRESENT. Jesus, all-sufficient, is my Shepherd. How blessed thus to repose our present in God, and to say, “Undertake Thou for me.” He does not consult our short-sighted wisdom in what He does. A necessary result of this confidence in the wisdom of God’s shepherd dealings will be contentment with our lot, whatever it is. And if we thus confide in God He will confide in us. III. AS EXPRESSING TRUST FOR THE FUTURE. Jehovah, all-sufficient, shall be my Shepherd. That dark future. How many are speaking ...

Saving grace respects and works on the new nature. Special grace not only change a man's state, nor his old corrupt nature only: but it works on this new nature wrought by grace. The special operation of the grace of God, in and from the fountain, is upon his own new creation in the hearts of his children. We cannot conceive it fully; our minds are not able to take in these depths of God. We hear from, . and read in the word, of the intimate correspondence the Lord entertains with them in whom he dwells. Christ dwells in the heart by faith, Eph. iii. 17. His Spirit dwells in his people, Rom. viii. 9, 10, 11. But what, is it in their hearts that he dwells in? He dwells in his own workmanship in their hearts, in his own new creation, in his own garden that he hath planted in them. There his presence is, and there his eye is, on that his hand is; this is that he waters, and carefully looks after. "When a believer comes to the throne of grace, for this grace, he comes to beg that ...

How wonderful redeeming love is. God so loved the world as to send his only-begotten Son to assume our nature, after it had been debased by sin. He laid help for us upon One who is mighty; and said concerning us, "Deliver them from going down to the pit; I have found a ransom." Consider who it was whom God the Father sent to redeem us. It was not an angel nor archangel; it was none of the naming seraphim around his celestial throne. Had he spared one of his own retinue from attending him, and given such a glorious servant as an angel for the redemption of such a sinful and despicable creature as fallen man, it would have been a bright display of love. But how immense, how astonishing his loving kindness! He gave not an angel, but the Lord of angels; not a servant, but a Son, a dearly beloved, an only-begotten Son! And how marvellous is the love of the dear Redeemer himself, in condescending to assume to himself our nature, with all its sinless infirmities, that he might be ca...

When God chooseth any one to eternal life, he will, in pursuit of that purpose of his, communicate saving grace unto him. And although all believers have gifts also sufficient to enable them unto the discharge of their duty in their station or condition in the church, yet they do not depend on the decree of election. And where God calleth any, or chooseth any, unto an office, charge, or work in the church, he always furnisheth him with gifts suited unto the end of them. He doth not so, indeed, unto all that will take any office unto themselves; but he doth so unto all whom he calls thereunto. Yea, his call is no otherwise known but by the gifts which he communicates for the discharge of the work or office whereunto any are called. In common use, I confess, all things run contrary hereunto. Most men greatly insist on the necessity of an outward call unto the office of the ministry; and so far, no doubt, they do well, for "God is the God of order," -- that is, of his own: but w...

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.-- Guidance in the right path There is a well-known similitude which represents human nature as a chariot driven by two horses, one of them high-spirited and aspiring, the other, heavy, tame, and grovelling; and the charioteer unable to exercise over either of them absolute control, yields first to the one and then to the other, so that the chariot is not carried along a straight, continuous path, with uniform progress towards its goal, but frequently, turns aside and stands still. The image is in itself so striking, and so true to experience, that it needs no explanation. There is in all men a higher and lower nature, which are utterly at variance, one drawing us toward good, the other drawing us toward evil; one having its source in the spirit, the other in the flesh. And hence there is within us a more or less perpetual conflict; and even when we have been awakened to the realities of the spiritual world, and have felt ...

1 Peter 4: 17Let us not be so foolish as to promise ourselves impunity on account of our relation to God as his church in covenant with him. If once we thought so, surely our experience hath undeceived us. And let not what we have suffered harden us, as if the worst were past. We may rather fear it is but a pledge and beginning of sharper judgment. Why do we not consider our unhumbled and unpurified condition, and tremble before the Lord? Would we save him a labour, he would take it well. Let us purify our souls, that we may not be put to further purifying by new judgments. Were we busy reading our present condition, we should see very legible foresigns of further judgments; as for instance: 1. The Lord taking away his eminent and worthy servants, who are as the very pillars of the public peace and welfare, and taking away counsel, and courage, and union, from the rest; forsaking us in our meetings, and leaving us in the dark to grope and rush one upon another. 2. The dissensions and ...

Make a good use of your talent. Be wise, diligent, faithful, holy, and humble in the employment of it, and Christ shall come with comfort and will entertain you with a sweet and comforting declaration of approval: “Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matt. 25:23). And let us be excited and stirred up to work our hearts to this longing for Christ’s coming, considering first the gratification of our estate in heaven. There is a tree bearing twelve sorts of fruit (Rev. 22:2), youth without old age, health without sickness, fullness without loathing, liberty without bondage, beauty without deformity, feelings without grief, abundance without want, peace without trouble, security without fear, knowledge without ignorance, glory without disgrace, and joy without sorrow (Rev. 21:4). Secondly, considering the security of that estate, no enemy can reach us. It is a city ne...

The world does not know Christ (John 1:10). As the blind man does not know the sun though it shine upon him, no more does the carnal and worldly man know Christ though He shine upon him in the gospel, for “the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not” (John 1:5). Such is man’s ignorance that as the light shining in Goshen did not pierce the darkness where the Egyptians sat (Exodus 10), no more does the light of the gospel penetrate their souls, but they sit in darkness and the shadow of death. At the noonday (Isa. 59:10) of the gospel they are in the midnight of ignorance. Our Savior said to such, “Ye neither know me, nor my Father” (John 8:19). They know not the beauties of Christ. They see no comeliness in Him for which they should desire Him (Isa. 53:2). He is no more to them than another beloved. They do not know the power of Christ in softening their hearts, as the ground knows the power of the dew in supplying it; in quickening their souls, as Lazarus knew ...

Such was the image of God in which man was made, and on which God looked with complacency after his formation, as a mother does on the lineaments of a father in the countenance of a child, and as a father traces a mother's sweetness in its temper and dispositions. Let us think how his image has been defaced, how wise men are now to do evil, while to do good they have no knowledge, how we are all as an unclean thing, how our righteousness es are as filthy rags, and how the creatures groan under the folly and the oppression of man. Man has become the stain of creation which he once adorned, and the curse of nature which was blessed for him. Gloomy as the contemplation is, it is humbling ; and blessed be God it is not hopeless. There is a great Moral Restorer who can put on us the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. May God enable us to place ourselves under his renovating hand, and may Christ be formed in us, even that mind and those dispositions w...

2. A minister must speak holily, with that high esteem and reverence of the Great Majesty whose message he carries, that becomes the divinity of the message itself, those deep mysteries that no created spirits are able to fathom. Oh! this would make us tremble in the dispensing of these oracles, considering our impurities, and weaknesses, and un speakable disproportion to so high a task. He had reason who said, “I am seized with amazement and horror as often as I begin to speak of God.’ And with this humble reverence is to be joined, ardent love to our Lord, to his truth, to his glory, and his people’s souls. These holy affections stand opposite to our blind boldness in rushing on this sublime exercise as a common work, and our dead coldness in speaking of things which our hearts are not warmed with; and so no wonder that what we say seldom reaches further than the ear, or, at furthest, than the understanding and memory of our hearers. There is a correspondence; it is the heart speaks ...

On the cross the work was finished,—the Father’s work which the Son loved to perform. There is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. The death of Jesus perfects for ever all his own. The truth and the power of God are pledged here. An omnipotent sovereignty shields the disciples of Jesus. “Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am.” After the manner of a king, the Saviour of sinners speaks. He knows his own power, and we may safely trust it. A half-hesitating faith dishonours the Lord, and mars the happiness of his servant. What pains he took that his work should be complete, and that its completeness might be manifest! There is sovereign power in this shed blood! “The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanseth us from all sin”—“Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is Christ that died”—“I saw in the midst of the throne a Lamb as it had been slain.” Righteous Abel,—that blood of the Sacrifice washed his sin away, and...

“ If ye then be risen with Christ,” says the apostle Paul, “ seek those things which are above : — For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God^.” When the Lord Jesus was in the world, the world hated him, and used him very unkindly ; and when he died, he parted from it, to return as an inhabitant of it, no more. “ And now,” saith he, “ I am no more in the world The quietest lodging that ever the world allowed him, was a grave ; and having come out thence, he never slept another night in it. And though after his resurrection, he staid forty days in the world, yet still he was dead to it. He sometimes con¬ versed with his own, but no more with the world. If then thou have his satisfaction for sin, imputed to thee ; thou art also, in conformity to him, dead to the w'orld. Being crucified with him, “ the world is crucified unto thee, and thou unto the worlds” Union, and communion with Christ in his righteousness, have laid thee down dead in his grave ; and so have separate...

O astonishing love ! God only could be the fountain, and man only, the object of such love. This amazing love, was not only stronger than death, and mightier than the grave ; but (with adoring reverence be it said) was, in a sense, mightier than — the Most High himself ; and brought Him down to flesh and blood, to the likeness of sinful flesh, to the dust of death, and to the chambers of the grave. It is owing to this redeeming love, that the covenant of Jehovah is as firm, as immutable, as his very being. It is as well ordered, as his unsearchable wisdom can make it, and as sure, as his almighty power can keep it. Remember then, O redeemed soul, that it is thy privilege, to trust for and to seek, not unco¬ venanted favour, as many do, but covenanted, pur¬ chased, promised grace ; grace, which could never be procured by thee, and which can never be taken from thee. O love thy covenant-God, and thy Kinsman-redeemer, with a supreme, an ardent love : so love Him, that thy constant pleasin...

The green pastures The image, so clear and beautiful in itself, is singularly forcible and suggestive in relation to our inner life. Is not the background of the picture true to the facts which we everywhere witness around us, and the needs and aspirations we have felt within us? How much there is in life to remind us of the long tracts of desert sand, the fierce and scorching rays of the sun, the lassitude and ennui of worn-out and wearied hearts. Without attempting to push the details of the imagery to excess, we may assert that the green pastures and still waters find their counterpart in the truths and doctrines of Scripture, in the ordinances of the Gospel, and the means of grace established for our sustenance and growth. For permanent comfort and strength we are dependent upon the revelations of the Divine Word. God Himself is the source of our satisfaction and peace. When our hearts, “ceasing from self,” can stay themselves upon Him, and find in their obedience to His will the g...

How go begin every day with God I. THE GOOD WORK ITSELF THAT WE ARE TO DO. To pray. A duty dictated by the light and law of nature, but which the gospel of Christ gives us better instruction in. See how David expresses his pious resolutions. 1. My voice shalt Thou hear. Understand as promising himself a gracious acceptance with God. “Thou wilt hear.” It is the language of his faith, grounded upon God’s promise, that His ear shall be always open to His people’s cry. Wherever God finds a praying heart, He will be found a prayer hearing God. Understand as David’s promising God a constant attendance on Him, in the way He has appointed. God understands the language of the heart, and that is the language in which we must speak to God. We must see to it that God hears from us daily. He expects and requires it. Thus He will keep up His authority over us: and testify His love and compassion towards us. We have something to say to God every day: as to a friend we love, and have freedom with; as ...

is knowledge of God.—The one thing needful for men, the great cry of our nature, in which all other cries are swallowed up, is for knowledge—the knowledge of God. To know the true God has been the deep desire of living souls through all time. Wearied by the changes of a fleeting world, finding no repose in the best that the finite can give, men of earnest minds long to know the Eternal that they may rest in Him. An old mystic has said: “God is an unutterable sigh of the human soul.” With greater truth we may reverse the saying, and affirm that the human soul is a never-ending sigh after God. In its deepest recesses there lives or slumbers inextinguishable longing after Him, and the more we consider the nature of that longing, the more we discover that what it aims at is not a mere intellectual apprehension of God, but a personal relationship to Him. It is essentially of a practical nature. It is an impulse to draw nigh to God, to place ourselves in personal fellowship with Him from the...

THE FUNCTION OF THE TRUE MINISTER IS TO PREACH THE GOSPEL. Paul was not a politician, to turn the church into a party club, and the pulpit into a hustings — not a mere orator, to give his hearers an hour's entertainment; not a devotee of science; not a philologist, to spread out before immortal souls scholastic criticisms; not a mere moralist, to discourse of flowers that never grew around the Cross. No! his was a nobler and more difficult work, viz., to preach the gospel! To do this is — 1. To proclaim all the precious doctrines, promises, precepts, and duties recorded in the Scriptures. Some confine themselves to a few favourite topics. They are afraid to preach the whole gospel, lest its truths contradict each other. Away with such idle fears! One truth can no more clash with another truth than one sunbeam can quench another sunbeam. 2. To preach Christ crucified. Some excuse their non-preaching of Christ on the ground that He is not in the text. I should not like to live in a ...