and, like Abraham, "to go out, not knowing the Redeemer offered up of his own life, is whither he went;" sometimes, with that same alone capable of satisfying divine justice, and patriarch, to immolate an only son; to tear of reconciling guilty man to God. himself, on a dying bed, from friends, from a We then entered into a more particular de spouse, from a child, whom he loves as his own tail on the subject, by proposing, soul; and all this without murmuring or com- I. To examine wherein that disposition of plaining and all this, because it is the will of the Christian consists, by which he is enabled, God; and all this, with that submission which with St. Paul, to say, " the world is crucified was expressed by Jesus Christ, the author and unto me, and I am crucified unto the world.” finisher of the Christian's faith, his Redeemer II. To show, that in such dispositions as and his pattern: “Not what I will, but what these, true glory consists. thou wilt," Matt. xxvi. 39. III. To demonstrate that it is the cross of O cross of my Saviour, how heavily dost Christ, and the cross of Christ only, which can thou press, when laid upon a man who has not inspire us with these sentiments; as a foundayet carried love to thee to that height which tion for this farther conclusion, that in the renders all things easy to him who loves! O cross of Christ alone we can find a just ground path of virtue, which appearest so smooth to of glorying. them who walk in thee, how rugged is the road The first of these three proposals we have which leads unto thee! O yoke of Jesus Christ, endeavoured to execute, by considering, 1. 60 easy! burden so light to him who has been The nature of this reciprocal crucifixion: 2. accustomed to bear thee; how difficult, how The gradations of which it admits: 3. The difoppressive to those who are but beginning to ficulty, the bitterness, of making a sacrifice so try their strength! You see it, accordingly, my very painful. We now proceed to what was brethren! you see it on the page of inspiration, next proposed, namely, to renounce the world of cupidity, is to present II. To show, that in such dispositions as the body in sacrifice; “I beseech you, brethren, are expressed by our apostle, true glory conby the mercies of God, that ye present your sists. bodies a living sacrifice,” Rom. xii. 1; it is to In order to elucidate and confirm this posi“cut off a right hand,” it is to “pluck out a tion, I mean to institute a comparison between right eye,” Matt . v. 29, 30; it is for a man to the hero of this world, and the Christian hero, "deny himself,” it is to“ take up the cross:" in the view of making it evidently apparent, for "if any one will come after me, let him that this last has infinitely the superiority over deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow the other. From what sources does the hero me,” Matt. xvi. 24; it is, in a word, to be “cru- of this rld pretend to derive his glory? cified with Jesus Christ;” for “I am crucified The hero of this world sometimes derives with Christ,” Gal. ii. 20; and, in the words of his glory, from the greatness of the master to the text, " The world is crucified unto me, and whom his services are devoted. He congraI am crucified unto the world.” My God, how tulates himself on contributing to the glory of much it costs to be a Christian! those men who are so highly exalted above the rest of mankind, on being the support of their throne, and the guardian of their crown. The SERMON LXXIX. Master, to whose service the Christian has devoted himself, is the King of kings: he it is, THE TRUE GLORY OF THE CHRIS- earth “are as a drop of a bucket, and are in whose presence all the potentates of the TIAN. counted as the small dust of the balance,” Isa. xl. 15. He it is, by whose supreme authority “kings reign, and princes decree justice," Prov. viii. 15. It is true that the greatness of GALATIANS vi. 14., this adorable Being raises him far aboye all our But God forbid that I should glory, save in the services. It is true that his throne is establish cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the ed for ever, and that the united force of all world is crucified unto me, and I unto the created things would in vain attempt to shake world. it. But if the Christian can contribute noHaving presented you with a general view thing to the glory of so great a master, he of the apostle's reasoning in this epistle; hav- publishes it abroad, he confounds those who ing considered it as an answer to three dif- presume to invade it, he makes it to be known ferent classes of opponents, whom St. Paul over the whole earth. had to combat; namely, those who maintained The hero of this world sometimes derives the observance of the Levitical institutions, to his glory from the hatred with which he is anithe disparagement of the gospel, 1. From the mated, against the enemy with whom he is prejudice of birth and education: 2. From an making war. What enemy more hateful can excess of complaisance: 3. From criminal po- a man engage, than the world? It is the world licy: we proceeded to show, that whatever dif- which degrades us from our natural greatness; ference of motive and opinion might prevail which effaces from the soul of man, those traits among these three descriptions of adversaries which the finger of Deity himself has impresswhom our apostle had to encounter, and how- ed upon it; which destroys our pretensions to ever different the strain of reasoning which he a blessed immortality. employs, according as the character of each The hero of this world sometimes derives demanded, he supports, in opposition to them his glory from the dignity of the persons who all, this principle, on which the whole of Chris- have preceded him in the same honourable tianity rests, namely, that the sacrifice which I career. It is considered in the world, as glo PART II. Ser. LXXIX.) THE TRUE GLORY OF THE CHRISTIAN. 223 rious, to succeed those illustrious men who to their view; employing eternity in celebrathave filled the universe with the sound of their ing their excellency, and crying aloud day and name, who have made terror to stalk before night: “ Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! them, and who signalized themselves by ex- The whole earth is full of his glory,” Isa. vi. ploits more than human. The Christian has 3. “Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, been preceded in his career by patriarchs, by and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and prophets , by apostles, by martyrs, by those might, be unto our God, for ever and ever! multitudes of the redeemed, out of every kin- Amen,” Rev. vii. 12. “Great and marvellous dred, and tongue, and people, and nation, Rev. are thy works, Lord God Almighty! just and v. 9. Those holy men have been called to true are thy ways, thou King of saints! Who wage war with sin, as we åre to subdue our shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy passions; to form in their inner man, as we name for thou only art holy," Rev. xv. 3, 4. are, piety, charity, patience, the habit and the This Being, so worthy to be praised, and practice of every virtue. The Christian has praised in a manner so worthy of him, he it is been preceded in his career, by Jesus Christ who has been preparing acclamations for the himself , the author and the finisher of the conquerors of the world. Yes, Christian comfaith. Wherefore, seeing we also are com- batant! after thou hast been treated "as the passed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, filth of the world, and the offscouring of all let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which things," 1 Cor. iv. 13, after thou shalt have doth so easily beset us, and let us run with pa- mortified, subjected, crucified this flesh; after tience the race which is set before us, looking thou shalt have borne this cross, which was unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; once “to the Jews, a stumbling block; and to who, for the joy that was set before him, en- the Greeks foolishness;” and which is still to dured the cross, despising the shame,” Heb. this day, foolishness and a stumbling block to xii. 1, 2. those who ought to consider it as their highest . But who has greater exploits to glory the great God shall distinguish thee amidst the The hero of this world sometimes derives brethren, to the standard prescribed to the his glory from the benefits which he has pro- duration of these exercises, the delicious mecured for others, from the blessings with which ditations which this branch of my subject so he has enriched his country, from the slaves copiously supplies, and all I farther request of whose chains he has burst asunder, from the you is a moment's attention, while I endeavour monsters of which he has purged the earth. to make you sensible, that it is in the cross of Who is, in such respects as these, a greater Jesus Christ alone, we find every thing necesbenefactor to society than the Christian? He sary to inspire these noble dispositions; in order is at once, its bulwark, its light and its model to deduce this consequence, that in the cross The hero of this world sometimes derives of Jesus Christ alone, the Christian must look his glory from the acclamations which his ex- for true glory; and in order to justify this senploits excite, and from the magnificence of the timent of our apostle: “God forbid that I recompense with which his merits are to be should glory, save in the cross of our Lord crowned. But whence proceed the acclama- Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified tions which inflate his pride? Does it belong unto me, and I unto the world!” Under what to venal souls, to courtiers, to hireling panegy- aspect can you contemplate the cross of Christ, rists; does it belong to persons of this descrip- that does not dispose you to break off entirely tion to distribute commendation and applause with the world? Have they any thing like the idea of true glory? III. If we consider that cross in respect of Extend, Christian, extend thy meditations up its harmony with the whole contradiction which to the greatness of the Supreme Being! Think Jesus Christ endured upon earth, it has a powof that adorable intelligence, who unites in his erful tendency to awaken in us the dispositions essence all that deserves the name of great! which St. Paul expresses, so as to say with Contemplate the Divinity surrounded with him, “the world is crucified unto me, and I angels, with archangels, with the seraphim! am crucified unto the world.” Our great MasListen to the concerts which those blessed ter finishes upon a cross, a life passed in conspirits compose to the glory of his name! Be tempt, in indigence, in mortification of the hold them penetrated, ravished, transported senses, in hunger, in thirst, in weariness, in with the divine beauties which are disclosed separation from the world; would it be becom ing in a Christian to lull himself to sleep in the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was the arins of indolence, to addict himself to the sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done depleasures of sense, to suffer himself to be en- spite unto the spirit of grace!" Heb. x. 29. chanted by the charms of voluptuousness, to Here, sinner, here read thy sentence! The breathe after nothing but ease, but convenience, voice of the blood of the Son of God will cry but repose, but abundance "If the world from earth to heaven for vengeance against hate you, ye know that it hated me before it thee. God will one day call thee to give an hated you. Remember the word that I said account of the blood of a Son so dear to him. unto you, the servant is not greater than his He will say unto thee as St. Peter did to those Lord,” Jonn xv. 18. 20. who shed it; “ Thou hast denied the Holy If we consider the cross of Christ, in rela- One and the just ::.. and killed the Prince tion to the sacrifice which is there offered up to of Life,” Acts iii. 14, 15. He will pursue thee divine justice, it has a powerful tendency to with all his plagues, as if thou hadst imbrued produce in us the dispositions expressed by St. thy hands in that blood, and as he has purPaul, so as to be able to say with him, "The sued those who were actually guilty of that world is crucified unto me, and I am crucified crime. unto the world.” That worldly life, those dis- But less us press motives more gentle, and sipations, those accumulated rebellions against more congenial to the dignity of the redeemed the commands of heaven; that cupidity which of the Lord. If we consider the cross of Christ, engrosses us, and constitutes all our delight, in in relation to the proofs which he there diswhat is all this to terminate? Observe the plays to us of his love, is it possible we should tempests which it gathers around the head of find any thing too painful in the sacrifices those who give themselves up to criminal in- which he demands of us? Is it possible for us dulgence. Jesus Christ was perfectly exempt to do too much for that Jesus who has done so from sin, but he took ours upon himself," he much for us? When the heart feels a disposibare them in his own body on the tree,” i Pet. tion to revolt against the morality of the gosii. 24, and it was for this end that he under- pel; when you are tempted to say, “This is a went, on that accursed tree, all those torments hard saying, who can hear it?” John vi. 60: which his divinity and his innocence enabled When the gate of heaven seems too strait for him to support, without sinking under the load. you; when the flesh would exaggerate the difBehold in this, O sinner, the fearful doom ficulties of working out your salvation; when which awaits thee. Yes, unless thou art cruci- it seems as if we were tearing the heart from fied with Christ by faith, thou shalt be by the your bosom, in charging you to curb the impejustice of God. And then all the fury of that tuosity of your temperament, to resist the torjustice shall be levelled at thy head, as it was rent of irregular desire, to give a portion of at his. Then thou shalt be exposed on a dying your goods to the poor, to sacrifice a Delilah bed to the dreadful conflicts which he endured or a Drusilla: follow your Saviour to Calvary: in Gethsemane. Thou shalt shudder at the behold him passing the brook Kidron, ascendidea of that punishment which an avenging ing the fatal Mount on which his sacrifice was Deity is preparing for thee. Thou shalt sweat to be accomplished; behold that concourse of as it were great drops of blood, when the eye woes which constrain him to cry out, “ My is directed to the tribunal of justice whither God, my God, why hast thou forsaken men thou art going to be dragged. Nay more, Matt. xxvii. 46. If ye can, hold out against thou shalt then be condemned to compensate, objects like these! by the duration of thy punishment, what the If we consider the cross of Jesus Christ, relaweakness of thy nature renders thee incapable tively to the proofs which it supplies in support of supporting in respect to weight. Ages ac- of the doctrine of him who there finished his cumulated upon ages shall set no bounds to life, it will be a powerful inducement to adopt thy torments. Thou shalt be accursed of God the sentiments of St. Paul. It is natural, I through eternity, as Jesus Christ was in time: allow, for reasonable beings, of whom sacrifiand that cross which thou refusedst to bear for ces are exacted, so costly as those which Chrisa time, thou must bear for ever and ever. tianity prescribes, to expect full assurance of If we consider the cross of Jesus Christ, with the truth of that religion. It is impossible to relation to the atrocious guilt of those who employ too much precaution, when the point despise a sacrifice of such high value, we shall in question is, whether or not we are to surrenfeel a powerful tendency to adopt the disposi- der victims so beloved. The slightest doubt tions of St. Paul, and to say with him, " the on this head is of essential importance. But world is crucified unto me, and I am crucified is this article susceptible of the slightest doubt unto the world.” The image which I would Jesus Christ sealed with his blood the dochere trace for your inspection, is still that of trine which he taught; he was not only the St. Paul. This apostle depicts to us the love hero of the religion which we preach, but likeof the world, as a contempt of the cross of wise the martyr of it. Christ, and as a renewal of the punishment If we consider the cross of Christ, relatively which he suffered. The idea of what such a to the aid necessary to form us to the senticrime deseryes, absorbs and confounds his spi- ments expressed by St. Paul, it still powerrit; he cannot find colours strong enough to fully presses us to adopt them. It assures, on paint it; and he satisfies himself with asking, the part of God, of every support we can after he had inentioned the punishment inflicted need, in maintaining the conflicts to which we on those who had violated the law of Moses: are called. It lays the foundation of this rea“Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, soning, the justest, the most conclusive, which shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden intelligence ever formed: "If God be for us, under foot the Son of God, and hath counted / who can be against us He that spared not а Ser. LXXX.] his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, Thus it is that the cross of Christ forms us that we are enabled to say, “The world is cru- Father, the hour is SERMON LXXX. Hebrews ii. 14, 15. attainable by the human mind; it is the highChristians! let our eyes settle on this object. est point of felicity which a man can reach, To suffer with Jesus Christ, is to have full as- while in this valley of tears. "I say, to know surance of reigning with him. We do not death without fearing it; and it is in the union mean to conceal from you the pains which of these two things we are to look for that efawait you in the career prescribed to the fol- fort of genius so worthy of emulation, and that lowers of the Redeemer. It is a hard thing to perfection of felicity so much calculated to renounce all that flatters, all that pleases, all kindle ardent desire. For to brave death that charms. It is hard to be told incessantly without knowing what it is; to shut our eyes of difficulties to be surmounted, of enemies to against all that is hideous in its aspect, in order be encountered, of a cross to be borne, of cru- to combat it with success, this is so far from incifixion to be endured. It is hard for a man to dicating a superior excellency of disposition, mortify himself, while all around him are re- that it must be considered rather as a mental joicing; while they are refining on pleasure; derangement; so far from being the height of while they are employing their utmost inge- felicity, it is the extreme of misery. nuity to procure new amusements; while they We have seen philosophers shaking off (if are distilling their brain to diversify their de- after all they did so in reality, and if that inlights; while they are spending life in sports, trepid outside did not conceal a trembling in feasting, in gayety, in spectacle on spec- heart,) we have seen philosophers shaking off tacle. The conflict is long, it is violent, I ac- the fear of death; but they did not know it. knowledge it; but it draws to a period; but They viewed it only under borrowed aspects. your cross shall be followed by the same tri- They figured it to themselves, as either reumph which that of your Saviour was: “Fa- ducing the nature of man to a state of annihither, the hour is come, glorify thy Son:” but lation, or as summoning him before chimerical you, in expiring on your cross; you shall with tribunals, or as followed by a certain imaginaholy joy and confidence commend your soul ry felicity. to God, as he commended his, and, closing We have seen heroes, as the world calls your eyes in death, say, "Father! into thy them, pretending to brave the terrors of death; hands I commend my spirit,” Luke xxiii. 46; but they did not know it: they represented it but the angels shall descend to receive that de- to themselves as crowned with laurels, as departing spirit, to convey it to the bosom of corated with trophies, as figuring on the page your God; and after having rejoiced in your of the historian. conversion, they shall rejoice together in your We have seen, and still see every day, liberbeatitude, as they rejoiced in his; but in the tines pretending to brave the terrors of death, great day of the restitution of all things, you but they know it not. Their indolence is the shall ascend on the clouds of heaven, as Jesus cause of that assumed firmness; and they are Christ did; you shall be exalted, like him, far incapable of enjoying tranquillity, but by banabove all heavens; and you shall assume, to- ishing the idea of a period, the horror of which gether with him, a seat on the throne of the they are unable to overcome. But not to dismajesty of God. guise this formidable object; to view it in its VOL. II.-29 1 to us. true light; to fix the eye steadily on every fea- | ever, cannot be called in question; this great ture; to have a perception of all its terrors; in enemy of our salvation unquestionably exera word, to know what death is, without being cises a sort of empire over the universe. terrified at it, to repeat it once more, is the Though the Scriptures speak sparingly of the highest degree of perfection attainable by the nature and functions of this malignant spirit, human mind; it is the highest point of felicity they say enough of them to convey a striking which a man can reach while in this valley of idea of his power, and to render it formidable tears. The Scripture tells us, I. That he Sovereign wisdom, my brethren, forms his 'tempts men to sin; witness the wiles which he children to true heroism. That wisdom effects practised on our first parents; witness that what neither philosophers by their false max- which St. Paul says of him in chap. ii. of the ims, nor the heroes of the world by their af- Epistle to the Ephesians," the spirit that workfected intrepidity, nor the libertine by his in- eth in the children of disobedience;" witness sensibility and indolence; that wisdom effects the name of Tempter given to himn in the gospel what all the powers in the universe could not history, Matt. iv. 3. The Scripture inforing have produced, and alone bestows on the us, II. That be accuses men before God of Christian the privilege of knowing death with those very crimes which he solicited them to out fearing it. All this is contained in the commit; witness the prophet Zechariah, who words which I have read as the subject of the was "showed Joshua the high-priest, standing present discourse: “ through fear of death, men before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standwere all their life-time subject bondage:” ing at his right hand to sist him;" or, as it there is the power of death; there his empire; might have been rendered, to be his adversary there his triumph. Jesus Christ," through his or accuser: witness the descriptive appellation death, has destroyed him that had the power of calumniator or accuser given him by St. of death, that is the devil, and delivers them John in the Apocalypse. The Scripture tells who through fear of death were all their life- us, III. That he sometimes torments men; wittime subject to bondage:” Behold death van- ness the history of Job; witness what St. Paul quished! there are his spoils; there is the tri- says of his “delivering up unto Satan” the in umph over him: salutary ideas! which will pre- cestuous person at Corinth. This power of sent themselves in succession to our thoughts delivering up to Satan, to mention it by the in the sequel of this exercise. “ Forasmuch way, was a part of the miraculous gifts conferthen as the children are partakers of flesh and red on the apostle; gifts transmitted to the imblood, he also himself likewise took part of mediately succeeding ages of the church, at the same; that ugh death he might destroy least if Pauliness is to be credited on this subhim that had the power of death, that is the ject, * who relates that an abandoned wretch devil: and deliver them who through fear of was, by St. Ambrosius, delivered up to Satan, death were all their life-time subject to bon- who tore him in pieces. Finally, IV. We find dage.” the devil designated in Scripture, “the god of With respect to the first words, "forasmuch the world,” z Cor. iv. 4, and “ the prince of as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, the power of the air," Eph. ii. 2. You likehe also himself likewise took part of the same,” wise see him represented as acting on the waI shall only remark, that by the children referred ters of the sea, as raising tempests, and as smito, we are to understand men in general, and ting the children of men with various kinds of believers in particular: and by that flesh and plagues. blood we are not to understand corruption, as But if the devil be represented as exercising in some other passages of Scripture, but hu- an influence over the ills of human life, he is man nature; so that when it is said, “as the still more especially represented as exerting his children are partakers of flesh and blood, Je- power over our death, the last and the most sus Christ likewise took part of the same, ,” formidable of all our woes. The Jews were the meaning is, he assumed a body such as impressed with ideas of this kind. Nay, they ours is. did not satisfy themselves with general notions Having made these few short remarks on on this subject. They entered into the detail the first words, we shall confine ourselves to | (for, my brethren, it has been an infirmity inthe two ideas which have been indicated, and cident to man in every age, to assert confidentshall employ what remains of our time, in ly on subjects the most mysterious and concealproving this fundamental truth, that Jesus ed,) they said that the devil , to whom they Christ,“ by his death, has destroyed him that gave the name of Samuel,f had the empire of had the power of death, that is, the devil, in death:” that his power extended so far as to order that he might deliver them who through prevent the resurrection of the wicked. St. fear of death were all their life-time subject to Paul, in the words of our text, adopts their bondage.” mode of expression, as his custom is, without The terrors of death are expressed in terms propagating their error: he describes the evil powerfully energetical, in this text. It repre- spirit as the person who possesses the empire of sents to us a mighty tyrant causing death to death, and who, " through the fear of death, march at his command, and subjecting the subjects men all their life-time to bondage.” whole universe to his dominion. This tyrant But Christians, be not dismayed at beholdis the devil. He is the personage here de- ing this fearful image. “Surely there is no cribed, and who, “through the fear of death, enchantment against Jacob, neither is there subjects men to bondage." any divination against Israel,” Numb. xxii. 23. You stand aghast, no doubt, on beholding the whole human race reduced to subjection • Paulin. de Vit. Ambros. under a master so detestable. The fact, how | Thalm. in Libo, Caphte |
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