Sermons Preached at Brighton Part 14

Holiness is only a shadow to our minds, till it receives shape and substance in the life of Christ. All this character of holiness is intelligible to us in Christ. "No man hath seen G.o.d at any time, the only begotten of the Father He hath declared Him."

There is a third light in which G.o.d's holiness is shown to us, and that is in the sternness with which He recoils from guilt. When Christ died for man, I know what G.o.d's love means; and when Jesus wept human tears over Jerusalem, I know what G.o.d's compa.s.sion means; and when the stern denunciations of Jesus rung in the Pharisees' ears, I can comprehend what G.o.d's indignation is; and when Jesus stood calm before His murderers, I have a conception of what serenity is. Brethren, revelation opens to us a scene beyond the grave, when this shall be exhibited in full operation. There will be an everlasting banishment from G.o.d's presence of that impurity on which the last efforts have been tried in vain. It will be a carrying out of this sentence by a law that cannot be reversed--"Depart from me, ye cursed." But it is quite a mistake to suppose that this is only a matter of revelation.

Traces of it we have now on this side the sepulchre. Human life is full of G.o.d's recoil from sin. In the writhings of a heart which has been made to possess its own iniquities--in the dark spot which guilt leaves upon the conscience, rising up at times in a man's gayest moments, as if it will not come out--in the restlessness and the feverishness which follow the efforts of the man who has indulged habits of sin too long,--in all these there is a law repelling wickedness from the presence of the Most High,--which proclaims that G.o.d is holy.

Brethren, it is in these that the greatness of G.o.d consists--Eternal in Time--Unlimited in s.p.a.ce--Unchangeable--Pure in character--His serenity and His vastness arise from His own perfections.

We are to consider, in the second place, the greatness of man.

1. The nature of that greatness.

2. The persons who are great.

Now, this is brought before us in the text in this one fact, that man has been made a habitation of the Deity--"I dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit." There is in the very outset this distinction between what is great in G.o.d and what is great in man. To be independent of everything in the universe is G.o.d's glory, and to be independent is man's shame. All that G.o.d has, He has from Himself--all that man has, He has from G.o.d. And the moment man cuts himself off from G.o.d, that moment he cuts himself off from all true grandeur.

There are two things implied in Scripture, when it is said that G.o.d dwells with man. The first is that peculiar presence which He has conferred upon the members of His church. Brethren, we presume not to define what that Presence is, and how it dwells within us--we are content to leave it as a mystery. But this we know, that something of a very peculiar and supernatural character takes place in the heart of every man upon whom the gospel has been brought to bear with power.

"Know ye not," says the Apostle, "that your bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost." And again in the Epistle to the Ephesians--"In Christ ye are builded for an habitation of G.o.d through the Spirit." There is something in these expressions which refuses to be explained away.

They leave us but one conclusion, and that is--that in all those who have become Christ's by faith, G.o.d personally and locally has taken up His dwelling-place.

There is a second meaning attached in Scripture to the expression G.o.d dwells in man. According to the first meaning, we understand it in the most plain and literal sense the words are capable of conveying.

According to the second, we understand His dwelling in a figurative sense, implying this--that He gives an acquaintance with Himself to man. So, for instance, when Judas asked, "Lord, how is it, that Thou wilt manifest Thyself to us and not to the world?" Our Redeemer's reply was this--"If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and We will come unto him and make Our abode with him." In the question it was asked _how_ G.o.d would manifest Himself to His servants. In the answer it was shown _how_ He would make His abode with them. And if the answer be any reply to the question at all, what follows is this--that G.o.d making His abode or dwelling in the heart is the same thing exactly as G.o.d's manifesting himself to the heart.

Brethren, in these two things the greatness of man consists. One is to have G.o.d so dwelling in us as to impart His character to us; and the other is to have G.o.d so dwelling in us that we recognise His presence, and know that we are His and He is ours. They are two things perfectly distinct To _have_ G.o.d in us, this is salvation; to _know_ that G.o.d is in us, this is a.s.surance.

Lastly, we inquire as to the persons who are truly great. And these the Holy Scripture has divided into two cla.s.ses--those who are humble and those who are contrite in heart. Or rather, it will be observed that it is the same cla.s.s of character under different circ.u.mstances.

Humbleness is the frame of mind of those who are in a state of innocence, contrition of those who are in a state of repentant guilt.

Brethren, let not the expression innocence be misunderstood. Innocence in its true and highest sense never existed but once upon this earth.

Innocence cannot be the religion of man now. But yet there are those who have walked with G.o.d from youth, not quenching the spirit which He gave them, and who are therefore _comparatively_ innocent beings. All they have to do is to go on, whereas the guilty man has to stop and turn back before he can go on. Repentance with them is the gentle work of every day, not the work of one distinct and miserable part of life.

They are those whom the Lord calls just men which need no repentance, and of whom He says, "He that is clean needeth not save to wash his feet."

Now they are described here as the humble in heart. Two things are required for this state of mind. One is that a man should have a true estimate of G.o.d, and the other is that he should have a true estimate of himself.

Vain, blind man, places himself on a little corner of this planet, a speck upon a speck of the universe, and begins to form conclusions from the small fraction of G.o.d's government which he can see from thence. The astronomer looks at the laws of motion and forgets that there must have been a First Cause to commence that motion. The surgeon looks at the materialism of his own frame and forgets that matter cannot organise itself into exquisite beauty. The metaphysician buries himself in the laws of mind and forgets that there may be spiritual influences producing all those laws. And this brethren, is the unhumbled spirit of philosophy--intellectual pride. Men look at Nature, but they do not look through it up to Nature's G.o.d. There is awful ignorance of G.o.d, arising from indulged sin, which produces an unhumbled heart. G.o.d may be shut out from the soul by pride of intellect, or by pride of heart.

Pharaoh is placed before us in Scripture almost as a type of pride.

His pride arose from ignorance of G.o.d. "Who is the Lord that I should obey His voice? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go."

And this was not intellectual pride; it was pride in a matter of duty.

Pharaoh had been immersing his whole heart in the narrow politics of Egypt. The great problem of his day was to aggrandise his own people and prevent an insurrection of the Israelites; and that small kingdom of Egypt had been his universe. He shut his heart to the voice of justice and the voice of humanity; in other words, great in the pride of human majesty, small in the sight of the High and Lofty One, he shut himself out from the knowledge of G.o.d.

The next ingredient of humbleness is, that a man must have a right estimate of himself. There is a vast amount of self-deception on this point. We say of ourselves that which we could not bear others to say of us. A man truly humbled would take it only as his due when others treated him in the way that he says that he deserves. But my brethren, we kneel in our closets in shame for what we are, and we tell our G.o.d that the lowest place is too good for us; and then we go into the world, and if we meet with slight or disrespect, or if our opinion be not attended to, or if another be preferred before us, there is all the anguish of a galled and jealous spirit, and half the bitterness of our lives comes from this, that we are smarting from what we call the wrongs and the neglect of men. My beloved brethren, if we saw ourselves as G.o.d sees us, we should be willing to be anywhere, to be silent when others speak, to be pa.s.sed by in the world's crowd, and thrust aside to make way for others. We should be willing to put others in the way of doing that which we might have got reputation for by doing ourselves. This was the temper of our Master--this is the meek and the quiet spirit, and this is the temper of the humble with whom the High and Lofty One dwells.

The other cla.s.s of those who are truly great are the contrite in spirit. At first sight it might be supposed that there must ever be a vast distinction between the innocent and the penitent. It was so that the elder son in the parable thought when he saw his brother restored to his father's favour. He was surprised and hurt. He had served his father these many years--his brother had wasted his substance in riotous living. But in this pa.s.sage G.o.d makes no distinction. He places the humble consistent follower and the broken-hearted sinner on a level. He dwells with both, with Him that is contrite, _and_ with him that is humble. He sheds around them both the grandeur of His own presence, and the annals of Church history are full of exemplifications of this marvel of G.o.d's grace. By the transforming grace of Christ men, who have done the very work of Satan, have become as conspicuous in the service of heaven, as they were once conspicuous in the career of guilt.

So indisputably has this been so, that men have drawn from such instances the perverted conclusion, that if a man is ever to be a great saint, he must first be a great sinner. G.o.d forbid brethren, that we should ever make such an inference. But this we infer for our own encouragement, that past sin does not necessarily preclude from high attainments. We must "forget the things that are behind." We must not mourn over past years of folly as if they made saintliness impossible. Deep as we may have been once in earthliness, so deep we may also be in penitence, and so high we may become in spirituality.

We have so many years the fewer to do our work in. Well brethren, let us try to do it so much the faster. Christ can crowd the work of years into hours. He did it with the dying thief. If the man who has set out early may take his time, it certainly cannot be so with _us_ who have lost our time. If we have lost G.o.d's bright and happy presence by our wilfulness, what then? Unrelieved sadness? Nay, brethren, calmness, purity, may have gone from our heart; but _all_ is not gone yet. Just as sweetness comes from the bark of the cinnamon when it is bruised, so can the spirit of the Cross of Christ bring beauty and holiness and peace out of the bruised and broken heart. G.o.d dwells with the contrite as much as with the humble.

And now brethren, to conclude, the first inference we collect from this subject, is the danger of coming into collision with such a G.o.d as our G.o.d. Day by day we commit sins of thought and word of which the dull eye of man takes no cognisance. He whose name is Holy cannot pa.s.s them by. We may elude the vigilance of a human enemy and place ourselves beyond his reach. G.o.d fills all s.p.a.ce--there is not a spot in which His piercing eye is not on us, and His uplifted hand cannot find us out. Man must strike soon if he would strike at all; for opportunities pa.s.s away from him, and his victim may escape his vengeance by death. There is no pa.s.sing of opportunity with G.o.d, and it is this which makes His long suffering a solemn thing. G.o.d can wait, for He has a whole eternity before Him in which He may strike.

"All things are open, and naked to Him with whom we have to do."

In the next place we are taught the heavenly character of condescension. It is not from the insignificance of man that G.o.d's dwelling with him is so strange. It is as much the glory of G.o.d to bend His attention on an atom as to uphold the universe. But the marvel is that the habitation which He has chosen for Himself is an impure one. And when He came down from His magnificence to make this world His home, still the same character of condescension was shown through all the life of Christ. Our G.o.d selected the society of the outcasts of earth, those whom none else would speak to.

Brethren, if we would be G.o.dlike, we must follow in the same steps.

Our temptation is to do exactly the reverse. We are for ever wishing to obtain the friendship and the intimacy of those above us in the world. To win over men of influence to truth--to a.s.sociate with men of talent and station, and t.i.tle. This is the world-chase, and this, brethren, is too much the religious man's chase. But if you look simply to the question of resemblance to G.o.d, then the man who makes it a habit to select that one in life to do good to, and that one in a room to speak with, whom others pa.s.s by because there is nothing either of intellect, or power, or name, to recommend him, but only humbleness, _that_ man has stamped upon his heart more of heavenly similitude by condescension, than the man who has made it his business to win this world's great ones, even for the sake of truth.

Lastly, we learn the guilt of two things of which this world is full--vanity and pride. There is a distinction between these two. But the distinction consists in this, that the vain man looks for the admiration of others--the proud man requires nothing but his own. Now, it is this distinction which makes vanity despicable to us all. We can easily find out the vain man--we soon discover what it is he wants to be observed, whether it be a gift of person, or a gift of mind, or a gift of character. If he be vain of his person, his att.i.tudes will tell the tale. If he be vain of his judgment, or his memory, or his honesty, he cannot help an unnecessary parade. The world finds him out, and this is why vanity is ever looked on with contempt. So soon as we let men see that we are suppliants for their admiration, we are at their mercy. We have given them the privilege of feeling that they are above us. We have invited them to spurn us. And therefore vanity is but a thing for scorn. But it is very different with pride. No man can look down on him that is proud, for he has asked no man for anything. They are forced to feel respect for pride, because it is thoroughly independent of them. It wraps itself up in the consequence of its own excellences, and scorns to care whether others take note of them or not.

It is just here that the danger lies. We have exalted a sin into a virtue. No man will acknowledge that he is vain, but almost any man will acknowledge that he is proud. But tried by the balance of the sanctuary, there is little to choose between the two. If a man look for greatness out of G.o.d, it matters little whether he seek it in his own applause, or in the applause of others. The _proud_ Pharisee, who trusted in himself that he was righteous, was condemned by Christ as severely, and even more, than the _vain_ Jews who "could not believe because they sought honour from one another, and not that honour which cometh from G.o.d only." It may be a more dazzling, and a more splendid sin to be proud. It is not less hateful in G.o.d's sight. Let us speak G.o.d's word to our own unquiet, swelling, burning hearts. Pride may disguise itself as it will in its own majesty, but in the presence of the High and Lofty One, it is but littleness after all.

XIX.

_Preached June 27, 1852._

THE LAWFUL AND UNLAWFUL USE OF LAW.

(A FRAGMENT.)

"But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully."--1 Tim. i. 8.

It is scarcely ever possible to understand a pa.s.sage without some acquaintance with the history of the circ.u.mstances under which it was written.

At Ephesus, over which Timothy was bishop, people had been bewildered by the teaching of converted Jews, who mixed the old leaven of Judaism with the new spirituality of Christianity. They maintained the perpetual obligation of the Jewish law.--v. 7. They desired to be teachers of the law. They required strict performance of a number of severe observances. They talked mysteriously of angels and powers intermediate between G.o.d and the human soul.--v. 4. The result was an interminable discussion at Ephesus. The Church was filled with disputations and controversies.

Now there is something always refreshing to see the Apostle Paul descending upon an arena of controversy, where minds have been bewildered; and so much is to be said on both sides, that people are uncertain which to take. You know at once that he will pour light upon the question, and illuminate all the dark corners. You know that he will not trim, and balance, and hang doubtful, or become a partisan; but that he will seize some great principle which lies at the root of the whole controversy, and make its true bearings clear at once.

This he always does, and this he does on the present occasion.--v. 5 and 6. He does not, like a vehement polemic, say Jewish ceremonies and rules are all worthless, nor some ceremonies are worthless, and others essential; but he says, the root of the whole matter is charity. If you turn aside from this, all is lost; here at once the controversy closes. So far as any rule fosters the spirit of love, that is, is used lawfully, it is wise, and has a use. So far as it does not, it is chaff. So far as it hinders it, it is poison.

Now observe how different this method is from that which is called the sober, moderate way--the _via media_. Some would have said, the great thing is to avoid extremes. If the question respects fasting--fast--only in _moderation_. If the observance of the Sabbath day, observe it on the Jewish principle, only _not so strictly_.

St. Paul, on the contrary, went down to the root; he said, the true question is not whether the law is good or bad, but on what principle; he said, you are both wrong--_you_, in saying that the observance of the law is essential, for the end of it is charity, and if _that_ be got what matter _how_--_you_, in saying rules may be dispensed with entirely and always, "for we know that the law is good."

I. The unlawful use, and II. The lawful use of law.

I. The unlawful use.

Define law.--By law, Paul almost always means not the Mosaic law, but law in its essence and principle, that is, constraint. This chiefly in two forms expresses itself--1st, a custom; 2nd, a maxim. As examples of custom, we might give Circ.u.mcision, or the Sabbath, or Sacrifice, or Fasting.

Law said, thou shalt _do_ these things; and law, as mere law, constrained them. Or again, law may express itself in maxims and rules.

In rules, as when law said, "Thou shalt not steal"--not saying a word about secret dishonesty of heart, but simply taking cognizance of _acts_.

In maxims, as when it admonished that man ought to give a tenth to G.o.d, leaving the principle of the matter untouched. Principle is one thing, and maxim is another. A principle requires liberality, a maxim says one-tenth. A principle says, "A merciful man is merciful to his beast," leaves mercy to the heart, and does not define how; a maxim says, thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out thy corn. A principle says, Forgive; a maxim defines "seven times;" and thus the whole law falls into two divisions.

The ceremonial law, which constrains life by customs.

The moral law, which guides life by rules and maxims.