makes the sin of Abraham remarkable is, that the principle from which it sprang was the very last which it might have been expected would have been found at work in him. The grace which shone most brightly in his character was faith; and he had already given the most astonishing proofs of a simple dependence on the love, the power, and the promises of God. God had called him to come out from his own land and kindred, to go into a far-distant land, which he had promised to give him; and the patriarch, believing the promise, and depending on the protecting care of God, had at once obeyed. By faith Abraham, when he was called to go into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country; for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Again; God had promised that Sarah his wife should bear a son, when, in the course of nature, there could have been no expectation of such an event; and while Sarah laughed within herself at the very thought, as if it were impossible and absurd, Abraham had laughed with joy; so surely did he depend on the promise, that from the very moment when the word was spoken, he rejoiced in it as if already accomplished- Against hope he believed in hope, that he might be the father of many nations; and being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was able also to perform." ། In both these instances, and many others which might be mentioned, Abraham had fully acknowledged that nothing was too hard for the Lord; and we might have been ready to conclude, surely the faith of this man will never fail: yet in the present instance we behold the faithful patriarch utterly faithless. He denied his wife, because he feared his own life would be in danger from an ungodly people about him-in other words, because he could no longer depend upon the power and protection of God. May we not, then, truly say, "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?" Even the believer has no strength of his own, no power to glorify God, save only as he receives it from the grace of God working within him. No resolutions, however strong, can of themselves keep him from falling; no past experience of the evil of sin, however painful, will alone make him turn from sin for the time to come. So long as he continues in this world he must be upheld by the almighty power of the grace of God, or in the time of temptation he will fall. In his daily walk, as well as in his first conversion to God, the strength by which alone he can resist and overcome evil is, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of Hosts." He needs the grace of God to keep him, not merely in some greater temptations when the enemy seems to come in "like a flood," but in all the smaller temptations which every hour will bring, in some form or other; for if left to himself he will assuredly fall. to be careful in the judgments which we form of others; for it shews that we may very often form very erroneous opinions concerning them, and thereby do them great injury, by adopting towards them an unwarrantable line of conduct. This was the mistake into which Abraham fell: on journeying to Gerar, he conceived that he was about to enter a place deep sunk in iniquity; and he may have had some reason for so thinking; but he had no proof that it was so: and when Abimelech indignantly asked him what “sawest thou that thou hast done this thing?" he had no other grounds to adduce than mere surmise: "I thought, surely the fear of God is not in this place." I thought There was in Abimelech a high-minded uprightness and integrity of conduct, which in this instance was not to be found in Abraham. Had this circumstance alone been recorded, and we had been asked to decide from it whether Abraham or Abimelech were the servant of God, we must probably have decided in favour of Abimelech, and said, surely “the fear of God was in him, and not in Abraham." The fact is, that good existed where Abraham least expected it. 80. "I Another instance of the same kind is recorded in Scripture, where Elijah, dismayed at the wickedness around him, was ready to imagine that there was not one godly man left in Israel, and, in utter despair, cried, "I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life to take it away." But what said God to him? have reserved to myself seven thousand men that have not bowed the knee to Baal." Elijah knew not of one, and uncharitably declared there was not one; but good existed where the prophet least expected it. God had "his hidden ones," even in the midst of the most abandoned people: and thus it often is even now. The fear of God is at work in many a heart where we might have been little inclined to look for it; and God is honoured in many a house where the world knows not of it. Let no man, therefore, judge harshly of others, but rather be hopeful concerning them. Judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts." We must not indeed break down the distinctions between right and wrong, or, when we see any one living in sin, speak "smooth things;" but we must be on our guard against a harsh and uncharitable spirit. 66 3. Another point to be illustrated by the history before us is, that when good men commit sin, they not only injure themselves, but they do injury to all around them. In the case before us, the sin of Abraham was the cause of sickness and well nigh death itself to Abimelech and all his house. As Abimelech says, Abraham's deceit brought on him, and on his kingdom, "a great sin;" and the judgment of a righteous God was ready to fall upon him. But this was not all. We know not concerning Abimelech (who was a Philistine), whether he were a worshipper of the true God or not; but there is enough to make us esteem him very highly. We cannot mark his abhorrence of sin, his eagerness to restore Sarah to her husband, and the subsequent kindness which he shewed to Abraham, notwithstanding the injury which had been done to him, without allowing that he was 2. Another lesson which this history teaches us is, sincerely desirous to be led in the right way; and if simply in the care and protection of God, he would take the ordering of his affairs into his own hands, and by some indirect and sinful means would try to protect himself. Abraham thought, no doubt, that he acted very wisely; but what a foolish, short-sighted plan, it really proved! he escaped one peril, but he only involved himself in a greater. Consider the peril in which he placed his own happiness, and that of his wife; and what a wretched time it must have been to him when Abimelech "sent and took Sarah." It was not a sorrow which came to him in the providence of God, but brought on by his own folly. But for his sin he would never have known the sorrow in which he was plunged. What a bitter reflection was this! And we may be assured, that the path of mere worldly policy, as it is called, is still the path of perplexity, and bitterness, and sorrow. God's word declares concerning those "who have made them crooked paths, whosoever goeth therein shall not know peace" (Is. lix. 8). Whereas he who can simply trust in God, and, depending upon God's protection, will go straight forward in the path of duty-shall meet, it may be, with difficulties and troubles, but, casting all his care upon his God and his Saviour, shall be safe from even the shadow of evil; for the promise is, "Thou shalt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee." "Thus saith the Lord, Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord; for he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land, and not inhabited." Let the contrast be marked: "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is; for he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not see when heat cometh; but her leaf shall be green, and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit" (Jer. xvii. 5-8). not a servant of God, he was at least "not far from 5. Lastly, the example of Abraham shews into what the kingdom of God." Now, consider the stumbling-peril a man will bring himself when, ceasing to trust block which must have been cast in his way by Abraham's conduct, when he so indignantly cried, "Thou hast done deeds unto me which ought not to be done." Thou, who professest thyself a servant of God,-might we not imagine him ready to ask,-is this the fruit of thy religion? Dost thou, who professest a purer and holier creed, commit sin from which even an idolater would shrink? Dost thou, who shouldst lead me in the right way, become my tempter and guide into sin? We know not if Abimelech thus argued; but we do know that our own conduct will be thus regarded by the world around us. Ungodly and careless men are very quick-sighted to see the inconsistencies and faults of the professed disciples of Jesus Christ; and where they see the Christian acting in an unworthy manner-where they see him, for instance, eager to make, what is called, a good bargain, ready to secure to himself any worldly advantage, giving way to any irritability of temper, in short, falling into sin of any kind, they will cry, "There, there, so would we have it," and will find an excuse for their own worldliness and sin. I say, then, to those who read these lines, you who are called Christians, who profess yourselves members of Christ's Church, should be very careful that "ye walk worthy of that high and holy vocation wherewith ye are called." "As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him"-" adorning the doctrine of God your Saviour in all things." Let it be seen that ye are not of the world, not merely by giving up some amusements, for which you, perhaps, have no taste; but let it be seen that ye are not of the world by acting on different principles, and being influenced by higher motives, than mere worldly men. Remember that ye (6 are as a city set on an hill, which cannot be hid.” The eyes of others are upon you; and while your example may be of the greatest benefit to others, if it lead them in the way of righteousness; every sin, every failing, every inconsistency, which is seen in you, and which would not, perhaps, be noticed in others, is sure to injure, not yourselves only, but it will do harm to all to whom your influence can in any way extend. 4. A proof is also here given, that in the sight of God sin depends not merely on the outward act, but on the motives from which the act proceeds. This history shews that a lie does not always consist in the words actually spoken, but in the intention to deceive. In the words which Abraham spoke concerning Sarah, "she is my sister," there was nothing positively untrue; but it was an equivocation, in which it is often thought there is no great harm. But in the sight of God it was a positive sin. Abraham intended to deceive, and this made him as guilty as if the words used had been utterly false. Another instance of the same kind is found in the story of Ananias and Sapphira, where Ananias brought part of the price which he had received for his possession, and laid it at the apostles' feet; he said not a word. He merely laid the money down, intending that the part should be considered as the whole; but Peter said unto him, "Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie unto the Holy Ghost? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God." He shall not see when heat cometh ; .... he shall not be careful in the year of drought. These outward trials may come upon him, but they shall not overwhelm him with anxiety; they shall not do him hurt: even in the midst of them he shall be at peace: just as Daniel was safe in the lions' den, and the three Hebrew youths walked unhurt in the midst of the fiery furnace. It is the Christian's privilege " to be careful for nothing;" but to commit himself, and all that concerns him, into the keeping of his God and Saviour. Let no man, therefore, attempt to order matters for himself; but simply endeavour to follow the leadings of the providence of God, and then go on his way with confidence, and fear neither temporal evil nor spiritual foes. The Saviour's gracious word is, "Fear thou not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness" (Is. xli. 10). "When thou passest through the waters I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the fire thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee" (Is. xliii. 2). THE EXPEDIENCY OF CHRIST'S DEPARTURE: A Sermon For Whitsunday, BY THE REV. FRANCIS JOHN STAINFORTH, M.A. Assistant Minister of Camden Chapel, Camberwell. JOIN, xvi. 7-11. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." IF he who bestows a blessing may be supposed to be the best judge of its value, we may notice here the importance our blessed Lord attaches to the gift of the Holy Spirit. Well might sorrow fill the hearts of his disciples when he revealed to them the painful intelligence, that they would soon see his face no more on earth, but be left alone to contend with the bitter persecutions of which he had constantly forewarned them. They were indeed as sheep among wolves, and God was about to smite the good Shepherd, and scatter them abroad. Who would have thought that this was a desirable event, and one which was to be the harbinger of better days? "Nevertheless," says he, "I tell you the truth." He feels it necessary to introduce his doctrine with a solemn assertion of its reality. "It is expedient for you that I go away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." It was not suitable to the divine counsels that more than one Person of the Holy Trinity should make his abode on earth at the same time. Indeed it is a source of inexhaustible wonder to every thinking mind, that He, who dwells in the high and holy place, should ever have condescended to visit us at all. But the Holy Ghost was not yet given, because that Jesus was not glorified. The one event, it seems, was a necessary precursor of the other. But how precious was the coming of the Comforter, when the prospect of his advent made Christ's departure expedient for his followers! What could they gain from any new visitant which his presence had not abundantly supplied? He had himself been a Comforter to them from the very moment that they had left all to follow him. He had relieved their necessities; he had borne with their perverseness; he had taught them both by his doctrine and example; he had given them power to heal diseases, and cast out unclean spirits; he had assured them that he Yet was the person of whom Moses and the prophets bore witness, who should sit for ever on the throne of his father David, and distribute kingdoms to his faithful friends. So endeared was his presence, therefore, to them, and so high were their expectations of his reward, that the blow, which was to deprive them of him, seemed fatal to all their hopes. They had trusted that he would restore the kingdom to Israel; and they were by no means insensible to the consideration of their own necessary aggrandisement whenever such an event should happen. now he spoke of being separated from them under circumstances of ignominy and violence; and intimated that his death would only be a signal for the world's utmost hostility against them. It must have appeared therefore almost a mockery of their grief, to declare that their loss was not only inevitable, but expedient. In vain might he appeal to their better feelings, by reminding them. that he, at least, would be an incalculable gainer by the change, and that they should learn to sacrifice their own wishes to the welfare of one they professed to love. “Ye should rejoice," said he, "because I go to my Father." And thus we, brethren, should rejoice, and doubtless we do rejoice, for those whom it has pleased God to take unto himself out of the miseries of this sinful life. We mourn not for their fate; for they have only entered a little earlier into that rest to which our own hopes are tending. And we dare not-no, not even in the worst moments of our selfishness--we dare not wish them back again in this world of woe. To them to die is gain; and truly there is comfort in that thought, which sweetens the tears it cannot dry. But it is not the less a loss to us, who must toil on through this wilderness alone. Yet it is expedient, perhaps, even for ourselves, that they should go from us; that the Comforter may come unto us; that when every earthly delight is wrecked, and every human passion blighted, we may learn to find all our happiness in God. My dear brethren, how often, in the folly of our hearts, we grudge the loss of some temporal blessing, because we do not see the purpose for which it is withdrawn! We do not know half the value of our trials: they may be the very means by which God intends to enrich our souls with larger experience and more abounding consolation. Now, there is not one here present who has not some portion of these blessings to be grateful for. We have received great national mercies, equal laws, and fruitful seasons, and public means of instruction. And many of us have domestic comforts round our hearth, of which none can estimate the worth till they are lost to him for ever. God, like a kind parent, deals out to us every indulgence that is consistent with our safety; but when we love the creature more than the Creator, it is unsparingly snatched from us, with a kindness as tender as that which gave it. In truth, he seldom makes his people happy in the way they expected or desired, because they childishly set their affections on what would ruin them in the end. He must remove the idol to which they cling so fondly, if he should rend their very heart-strings in the effort; for otherwise the Comforter cannot come to them. There is no room for him in their souls till it is expelled; but when it departs in spite of all their remonstrances, they can then obtain a better hope, a peace which passeth all understanding. O blessed are those sorrows, which are intended rather to guide than to chastise the soul! And blessed is he who, when the storms of adversity are lowering around him, can foresee their purport, and flee unto the Rock that is higher than they! But let us proceed at once to consider the object of the Spirit's coming. "When he is come, he shall reprove," or, as it is better translated in the margin, "he shall convince the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they believe not on me; of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged." The first question, then, for our consideration is, to what extent this language may be applied. We think it may very reasonably be supposed, that there is a sense in which the words are particularly applicable to the times of the apostles. As if our Lord had said, The Spirit shall convince the world of their sin in not believing that I am the promised Messiah, and therefore rejecting my mission from the Father. He shall convince the world of the righteousness of my cause, the blameless innocence of my life, and the shameless injustice of their conduct towards me. He shall convince them, moreover, of judgment, that all power is entrusted to me, because the prince of this world, that is, Satan, who has long held mankind in captivity, shall be judged, his oracles silenced, his altars deserted, and he himself fall, like lightning from heaven, before the peaceful progress of my Gospel. And well was this prophecy fulfilled, from the moment that numbers were pricked in their hearts, under the preaching of St. Peter on the day of Pentecost, to the last hour that the apostles dwelt on earth; their doctrine being confirmed by divers signs and wonders, which the Holy Spirit of God enabled them to perform. This, no doubt, may be one meaning of the words; but we cannot agree with those who would restrict them to this signification. The promise of the Spirit, in his more ordinary operations, is to us, and our children, and as many as the Lord our God shall call to a knowledge of himself. And when we speak of his ordinary operations, you are not to suppose that what the Spirit does for us is of less value than what he did for the apostles themselves of old. The miraculous gifts they received were the least part of the benefit he conferred upon them. Even at the time when they were in full operation, and were necessary to the diffusion of the Gospel, St. Paul pronounced them matters of inferior value to faith, and hope, and love. The best portion, therefore, of the Spirit's gifts is still vouchsafed to us as plentifully as ever. Miracles are not necessary for our conviction. Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet believe. And so far am I from considering that a want of faith alone prevents us from enjoying the more outward manifestations of the Spirit's presence, that I think it is a want of faith, and of every right Christian feeling, which makes men dissatisfied with their present amount of evidence, and with that share of good things which our Father's love hath divided to us. It is as great a miracle to change and sanctify our hearts, as to raise the very dead to life. It is a far more precious | boon to quicken us from our spiritual insensibility, than to add a few years of labour and sorrow to our mortal existence. It will be most profitable, therefore, for us to consider the text in that sense in which it is applicable to us, on whom the ends of the world are come. Observe, then, in the first place, it is the office of the Spirit to convince the world of sin. This, you may say, is no very difficult task. We all acknowledge that we have sinned and come short of the glory of God; and this acknowledgment is sometimes made with a facility that bespeaks indifference rather than contrition. Yet if we are indeed made practically sensible of this truth, it is not the result of our own thoughts; it is the gift of God, it is the price of blood. But the Spirit does more than produce this general conviction of our guilt. He shews us the full extent of our sin. He teaches us the spirituality of God's law, which requires every thought and affection to be regulated with a view to his glory. He brings all things to our remembrance, that we have either committed or neglected. He dissects all our motives, and probes the inmost recesses of our hearts, and opens to us the deceitfulness of sin, and proves to us how very far we are gone from original righteousness, and how unable we are to retrace our steps. He shews us also the folly of our sin, that it is the ruin of our peace here, and of the everlasting happiness that is designed for us. He gives us awful impressions of God's judgments on the hardened and impenitent. But the effect of these impressions is not to stupify the soul, but to arouse it to the use of all appointed means of obtaining deliverance. While he humbles us under a sense of our own insignificance, he displays continually the glorious inheritance to which he has called us, and the road by which we may arrive at it. And thus he makes sin vile and loathsome to us, as dishonouring our bodies which God had made, and destroying the souls he laboured to redeem. It sometimes happens that God permits those whom he will make eminently useful in his Church to fall at first into gross sin, that they may have full experience of its evil, and be thoroughly disgusted with the world before he calls on them to leave it. But let not this tempt any one to think carelessly of his present state. All sinners do not become saints; and even those we speak of are so reproved by the Spirit, that they go mourning long beyond the moment that mercy has been extended to them. If their experience be made valuable to others, it is at the expense of their own peace for the Spirit shews us, moreover, the guilt of our sin; that it is not the mere light, and trifling weakness, for which we have so much indulgence; but rebellion against the most high God; what he hates, and has sworn to punish; that it is taking part with Satan, and, if not repented of in time, insuring us a por tion in his condemnation. But then it is said "of sin, because they believe not on me." Unbelief, then, is the one great offence, which exceeds, and in some sense includes, all others. And justly so; because, if we had but a true scriptural faith in the Saviour, we might secure forgiveness for all other crimes. Such honour have all his saints, that they are clothed with his own perfect righteousness, and are presented unblamable before God. But what must be the fate of those who set at nought this provision of Divine love, and make the sufferings of the Son of God of none effect? This is sin in its most deliberate and malignant form, which cuts off the very means of mercy, and turns the blessing into a curse. not, whatever you may wish, that the sacrifice of Christ can ever become a matter of indifference to you. You may still regard the subject with the intensest interest; for the agonies which even a God could scarce endure must be your portion for ever. You may prevent the advantages that were in tended for you; but you cannot be in the same condition, after thus rejecting the counsel of God, that you were before. You are indeed by nature the children of wrath; and if you merely forfeited the only channel of pardon that is open for sinful man, you would have abundant reason for trembling at your condition. But this is not all. If you scorn the offered hand of reconciliation, if you crucify the Son of God afresh, you will add a fearful aggravation to those sins, which alone had been sufficient to condemn you. All the woes and pangs which our Redeemer bore on earth, his trials in the wilderness, his agony in the garden, his cruel mockings and scourgings, his death of infamy and torment, -will be laid to the charge of the unbelieving soul, and sink it into the lowest depths of hell. But there is another form, in which even those whom the Spirit has convinced of sin are apt to be partakers of this error. The very conviction of their sin makes them doubt whether they can be forgiven. They believe not in Christ in all his offices, and to the full extent of his ability and willingness to save. They acknowledge that he died for men; but they cannot realise to themselves the assurance that he died for them. The way is open, but they cannot enter in because of unbelief. And this looks at first sight so like the humility that becomes their station, that they are sometimes tempted to mistake it for a virtue. But beware of doubting the fulness of Christ's salvation. Without faith it is impossible to please God; and faith in Christ must apprehend him in his true character, as the friend of sinners, the Saviour of mankind. There is no danger of your thinking too meanly of yourselves; but you must not venture to disparage the sufficiency of the Redeemer's sacrifice. His blood can cleanse the worst of you from all sin; and you must believe that it can do so, or you will have no share in the benefits that were purchased by it. Hence the next promise is, that the Spirit shall convince the world of righteousness; and for this significant reason, adds our Lord," because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more." The conviction of sin alone would be of little service to us, unless the Holy Spirit proceeded to point out to us a righteousness which is not our own, a better righteousness than we are personally capable of, on which we may rely for acceptance. But thanks be to Him, when he has humbled us under a consciousness of our guilt and danger, he does not leave us comfortless. He points to the Lamb of God, who was slain before the foundation of the He points to the risen Saviour, who world. |