not an old man The wisdom of childhood.-I. We should possess child-like are always chilsimplicity of character. To preserve the freshness of childhood dren; there is in the moral world is the object of the Gospel. II. With this among you; you child-like simplicity of character, we are to unite manliness of have no such understanding. Our child-likeness is to be confined to the moral thing as greynature; beyond that, in the reign of the intellect, will and activities, we are commanded as Christians to be men. haired wisdom."" -Enfield. "They that deny a God, destroy man's nobility; for certainly man beasts by his body; and if he be not of kin to God by his spirit, he is an is of kin to the Mr. Wesley and the Moravians.-In the early part of the career of the Rev. John Wesley, influenced by a desire to do good, he undertook a voyage to Georgia. During a storm on the voyage he was very much alarmed by the fear of death, and being a severe judge of himself, he concluded that he was unfit to die. He observed the lively faith of the Germans, who, in the midst of danger, kept their minds in a state of tranquillity and ease, to which he and the English on board were strangers. While they ignoble creawere singing at the commencement of their service, the sea broke ture."-Bacon. over them, split the mainsail in pieces, covered the ship, and "To give and to poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already lose is nothing; swallowed them up. The English screamed terribly; the Germans but to lose and calmly sung on. Mr. Wesley asked one of them afterwards if the part of a he were not afraid. He answered, "I thank God, no." "But great mind."were not your women and children afraid?" He replied mildly, Seneca. "No, our women and children are not afraid to die." to give still, is secrets 23-25. If.. tongues, etc. [iii. 15], this was ill. by the disclosure of day of Pentecost.a unlearned, ignorant of Christianity, of the heart's himself, of the true God. he.. all, many speaking the same truth; dif. only in ill. and manner. If one were to make a tour a Ac. ii, 13. of the churches and chapels of a large city, he would hear sub- 6 He. iv. 12. stantially the same thing. secrets, hidden purposes. falling c Is. xlv. 14; Zec. .. God, prostration of person in prayer, of soul in repentance. report, confess, declare. God.. truth, as these searchings of heart by the Word do prove. b с Prophecy before tongues.-I. Scripture truth, plainly and duly taught, has a marvellous aptness to awaken the conscience and touch the heart. II. Religious exercises in Christian assemblies should be such as are fit to edify the faithful and convince and convert unbelievers. The ministry was not instituted to make show of gifts, but to save souls.d viii. 23. verence; that fortune all its boast."-Euri pides. Holiness.-There is no receiving of Christ, to dwell and live with us, unless we turn all our other guests out-of-doors. The d M. Henry. devil, you know, would not take possession of a house till it was "Holiness, the swept and garnished; and dares any man imagine that a heart defiled, full of all uncleanliness, a decayed ruinous soul, an soul."-Philip symmetry of the earthly sensual mind, is a tabernacle fit to entertain the Son of Henry. God? Were it reasonable to invite Christ to sup in such a man-e Chillingworth. sion, much more to rest and inhabit there?e 26-28. how.. then, fr. discussing gifts, the Apostle pro- order to be ceeds to discuss order in public worship. every one, has some observed gift wh. he wishes to exercise. let.. edifying, "let all these a 1 Co. x. 7, 8, 10, gifts be arranged for the building up and perfecting of the 12. whole." two.. three, men, speakers, following ea. other; or b Stanley. sentences,a for ease of interpreting. silence.. church, since c Bengel. without an interpreter none can be edified. speak.. God, a Macknight. see v. 2. There is an anemblem Let all be done to edifying.—In this text are three parts: I. cient a to an ass." which represents What to do in a certain case-"How is it, then, brethren?" II. "thoughtful The case propounded-"every one hath a psalm," etc.: 1. Withthoughtless man offering straw to out doubt, there were spiritual gifts in the Corinthian Church; 2. a dog, and a bone These gifts were not bestowed on all, but ministers only; 3. There were many ministers then ordained in all Churches. III. e Dr. J. Lightfoot. The determination-"let all things be done to edifying."e "Morality is the Working for God.-The whole world calls for new work and consequence of nobleness. Subdue mutiny, discord, wide-spread despair, by dogma; it is manfulness, justice, mercy, and wisdom. Chaos is dark, deep as dogma put into practice. Disci- hell; let light be, and there is instead a green flowery world. O pline is the con- it is great, and there is no other greatness! To make some nook sequence of doc- of God's creation a little fruitfuller, better, more worthy of God; trine; it is doctrine practised in to make some human hearts a little wiser, manfuller, happier, the ecclesiastical more blessed, less accursed! It is work for a God! Sooty hell of sphere."-Vinet. mutiny, of savagery, and despair, can, by man's energy, be made f Carlyle. a 1 Th. v. 20, 21; viii. 20. a kind of heaven; cleared of its soot, of its mutiny, of its need to mutiny; the everlasting arch of heaven's azure over-spanning it too, and its cunning mechanisms and tall chimney-steeples, as a birth of heaven; God and all men looking on it well pleased. 29-32. two.. three,a i.e. of the prophets in succession. 1 Jo. iv. 1; Is. other, the rest of the prophets. thing, prob. relating to same subject. first. . peace, finishing his discourse promptly. all, some at one meeting, some at another. that.. comforted, by "We are not Divine ideas ill. by dif. minds. and.. spirits, etc., "this distinguishes these impulses fr. those of heathen pythonesses and b Stanley. Christians because we have been inscribed sybils. and enrolled in a On doing good.—It was remarked by Crabbe, "How often do we Christian com- sigh for opportunities of doing good, whilst we neglect the openmunity; and Jesus did not ings of Providence in little things, which would frequently lead to come to earth to the accomplishment of most important usefulness !" Dr. Johnfound parishes, son used to say, "He who waits to do a great deal of good at Good is done by degrees. once, will never do any." However small in proportion the benefit which follows individual attempts to do good, a great deal may thus be accomplished by perseverance, even in the midst of discouragements and disappointments. but a Church."Vinet. women to keep silence a Ps. xxxix. 2, 3. b 1 Ti. ii. 11, 12. • Ge. iii. 16. a 33-35. author, by inspiration at unsuitable times or subjects. confusion, hence many speakers and many dif. subjects indicate human struggles for pre-eminence. peace, orderly exercise of spiritual gifts. as.. saints, to be marked by decency and order, as dis. fr. confusion attending heathen rites. women . . church, this seems to be an absolute prohibition in so far as relates to meetings for public worship. law, women were forbidden to speak in the synagogues. if.. learn, a praiseworthy desire. let. husbands, who themselves should learn in order to teach. home, thus made a scene of religious converse. command; by shame.. church, indecent, immodest, disorderly. d Ep. v. 22; Col. iii. 18; Tit. ii. 5; 1 Pe. iii. 1. "Order saves those who obey those that rule this with firm d Order and peace necessary in the Church.-I. God is the author hand should of peace, witness His operations in nature, in the human heart, always be sus- in human society. II. Consequently, confusion cannot be the tained, and never work of His spirit; it may accidentally be associated with it, but for a woman be arises from human defect, the want of self-control (v. 32), of intelligent piety (v. 20), of profounder acquaintance with the God of peace. III. It follows, confusion should have no place in the churches of the saints; passion should give place to peace, confusion to edification. o'erturned.". Sophocles. e Dr. Lyth. 36-38, what? obedience to Apostolic authority demanded. the spiritual came.. you?a were you the subjects of special revelation to be man perceives the the world's teachers? came.. only ? by the ministry of others, truth if, and if not, he is an incompetent judge. acknowledge, a 1 Th. i. 8; Ro. this, such a man, will be willing to do. ignorant, as opposed to xv. 19. one who is spiritual, etc. let.. ignorant, sometimes men 1 Co. fil. 1; 1 repent more easily when, as if contemptuously, they are let Jo. iv. 6. alone. c Ma. vii. 6; XV. 14; 1 Ti. vi. 3-5. its faith to that prehend; its it does not com exalted notions of knowledge and illiterate reve Resistance to Divine order in the Church.-This resistance: 1. Proceeds from the overweening opinion a man has of his own d Dr. Lyth. enlightenment, or of his own superiority to others. II. Will "Ignorance pins never be offered by a truly spiritual man-he acknowledges the supreme authority of God's Word. III. If persisted in through wilful ignorance, incurs a tremendous responsibility.d Dangers of ignorance.-A person once passing through a park saw nailed to one of the trees, "All dogs found in this park will be shot." A friend who was with him said, "Unless dogs can read, they are pretty badly off here." But a man in the present state of society, without knowledge, is worse off than the dog in the park. He has, indeed, a master to read for him; but many of our fellow-men have left the state of nature in which they dwelt near to the first instincts of life, and they have not attained to the intellectual life which is beyond those provisions.e rence of learning, dispose it willingly to give cre dence to whatever is mysterious."-Tacitus. e Paxton Hood. decency and 39, 40. wherefore, etc.,a the sum of the argument is this::Covet the best gift; but do not despise the inferior one. thing, order services of religion. decently, by those who do them. order, a 1 Co. xiv. 1. by persons in proper place and succession. b 1 Co. xiv. 33. the water were d Rev. W. Jones, M.A., of Nayland. e W. Stevens. Let everything be done in order.-Let everything-I. Be done "Ceremony in its proper time. II. Be kept to its proper use. III. Be put in keeps up all its proper place. -Decency and order in Divine worship.-The things: 'tis like a importance of our worship, and the necessity of conducting it penny glass to a rich spirit, or well, will appear, if we consider-I. That God is the object of some excellent worship: 1. Who is God? The creator of angels and of men-water; without it the maker of all things, visible and invisible, and the Lord of all. spilt, the spirit 2. What is He? The object of our worship. II. That we have lost."-Selden. no other way of affronting God than by neglecting His worship. c Anon. III. No blessing can be expected upon ourselves, but only so far as our service is acceptable.d-Order recommended.-I. In the conduct of your affairs. II. In the distribution of your time. III. In the management of your fortune. IV. In the regulation of your amusements. V. In the arrangement of your society. An actor's criticism on preaching.-Dr. Stonehouse is said to have become one of the most eloquent preachers of the kingdom, accompanied the and for the grace of propriety, perhaps, he was mainly indebted greatest minds to to Garrick, whose famous criticism will bear repeating. Being ments. Thus once engaged to read prayers and preach at a church in London, he prevailed upon Garrick to go with him. After the service, the actor asked the preacher what particular business he had to do when that duty was over. "None," said the other. "I thought you had," said Garrick, "on seeing you enter the reading desk in such a hurry. Nothing can be more indecent than to see a clergyman set about sacred business as if he were a tradesman, and go into church as if he wanted to get out of it as soon as possible." He next asked the doctor what books he had before him. Only the Bible and Prayer-book." "Only the Bible and order."— ShakesPrayer-book!" replied the actor; "why, you tossed them back-peare. 66 their last mo Cæsar gathered his robe about might not fall in him that he a manner unbe- -Addison. the modest limits of "Trifling flaws sit as disgracefully on elegance as a ragged but ton on a court dress."-Lavater. keeping the Gospel in memory 1 Co. i. 4-8. wards and forwards, and turned the leaves as carelessly, as if they were those of a day-book and ledger." The doctor acknowledged the force of the criticism by thenceforth avoiding the faults it was designed to correct. CHAPTER THE FIFTEENTH. 1, 2. moreover, in addition to these questions of discipline, expediency, celibacy, and order in religious assemblies. dea Ac. xviii. 4, 5; clare, anew, afresh. Gospel.. you,a it is the same Gospel in many sermons. which.. received, those who have already received are often most willing to hear it again. ye..saved, ye are "in the course of salvation." memory, remembering and applying. unless.. vain, heedlessly hearing and forgeting, not doing. b Ro. i. 16. c Alford. d Ma. xiii. 20, 21; Ja. ii. 19, 20. "Oh, as for that, d Christ a dying and a risen Saviour.-I. What the Gospel II. In what manner it should be my memory is of which Paul preached was. two sorts-long regarded by us. We must-1. Receive it into our hearts by and short; with faith; 2. Stand fast in it even to the end. III. The benefits that them who owe will accrue to those who duly receive it: 1. They shall be brought meaught it never fails; my credi- into a state of acceptance with God; 2. They shall have the foretors, indeed, com- taste of the heavenly glory; 3. They shall be brought in safety to plain of it as the full possession of their everlasting inheritance. Improvemainly apt to leak, and lose its ment:-In a way of—(1) Inquiry; (2) Caution; (3) Encouragereckoning." - ment.e Aristophanes. e C. Simeon. Fine weather hearers.—When the Rev. Rowland Hill was preaching in Wales, the people followed him by thousands from place to "Memory is the place, and he has often said that nothing could prevent their treasure-house of attendance. Many a time he stood during a shower of rain, the mind, where- preaching to a vast concourse of peasantry, who remained as unments thereof concerned and attentive as though the sky had been without a are kept and pre- cloud. He often used to mention this to his English hearers, served."-Fuller. when the weather had kept them at home on the Sabbath. 66 If you loved the Gospel," he would say, "as the Welsh do, you would not mind a shower." in the monu the resurrection of Christ a 1 Pe. ii. 24; Is. liii. 5-8; Lu. χχίν. 46. c Lu. xxiv. 24, 44. a 3, 4. received, by immediate revelation; confirmed by his early Christian teachers. scriptures, as they explain by type and prophetic writing. buried.. scriptures, otherwise Jesus Christ is not the true Messiah.c The resurrection of Christ.-Through it the Church received-I. Its existence; II. Its moral life; III. Its unceasing continuance.< b Ac. ii. 31; Ma. xii. 40; Ac. xxiv.-Christ is risen.-What should the grave be to us, Christians, 22, 23. now that Jesus is risen? A place of-I. Rest; II. Peace; III. Hope; IV. Transfiguration. Resurrection of Christ.-I. By the d Reinhard. Scriptures it was foreshadowed: 1. In types; 2. In prophecies. e Fickenscher. f Bp. Beveridge. II. By the Scriptures the event is stated. Proved by-1. Many g Krummacher. eye-witnesses; 2. His enemies; 3. Angels; 4. God Himself. III. "Deprived of the The manner of the resurrection. IV. The time that elapsed begreat fact of ex-tween Christ's death and His resurrection.-Christ's resurrection. piation and the whole train of In it we behold the glory of—I. The Father; II. The Son; III. ideas connected The elect.g ask, is Christi with it, what, I The Gospel needs no meretricious adornments.-When Dionysius, anity? For ordi- the tyrant, sent Lysander some rich Sicilian garments for his nary minds an daughters, he refused them, alleging that "He was afraid these fine clothes would make them look more homely." The truth of ordinary moraliGod is so comely in itself that the trappings of oratory are far ty; for others an abyss of inconmore likely to lessen its glory than to increase it. Paul saith that sistencies."he preached the Gospel, "not with wisdom of words, lest the Vinet. cross of Christ should be made of none effect." h Spurgeon. 5–8. Cephas (a stone or rock), Aramaic=Gk. Peter [ii. 217]. historical twelve [ii. 376, 377]. seen. once, perh. in Galilee, proof [i. 237], or prob. in Jerus. bef. the dispersion of those who had a Lu. xxiv. 34. attended the Passo.d whom.. present, and could therefore b Jo. xx. 19, 26. confirm his assertion. James, of this no record. A trad. is e Ma. xxviii. 16, quoted by Jerome fr. "Gospel of the Hebrews." Apostles, 17. [ii. 220; iii. 8]. last.. also," [iii. 82] at his conversion, on d Alford. road to Damascus. born. . time, refer. to his new or spiritual birth. The testimony of God for Christ.-I. In the miracles of the Lord Himself. II. In His resurrection and exaltation. III. In the gift of the Holy Ghost.i-Christ risen and exalted.-I. What He is. His friends: 1. A royal brother; 2. An eternal high priest; 3. An almighty_protector; 4. The unfailing accomplisher of their perfection. II. What His enemies possess in Him. He is: 1. Their Almighty King; 2. An all-wise witness; 3. A patient forbearer; 4. A righteous Judge. e Stanley, Alford. f"Bring, said the Lord, a table and bread; he brought a table He blessed it, and and bread, and broke it, and gave it to James the Just, and said to him, My brother, eat thy bread bec. the Son of man is risen fr. the dead." 2 Lu. xxiv. 50; Ac. i. 3. 14, 18; xxvi. 16. h Ac. ix. 5; xxii. Proofs are for sceptics.-Would you prove the magic of the night, the rich harvests, the flowering meadows, to a man who, from dawn to twilight, and often under the moon, traverses the fields, who draws his scythe through the grass glittering with dew, who returns in the evening by the sides of rivers in which the stars are reflected? But what eloquence would be necessary, what power of description and of reasoning, to bring all this, living and real, to the child of a miner, some poor, dwarfed creature, who, in the bowels of the earth, a smoking lamp fastened to his head, pushes his track along a dark gallery. To him who Md. de Gassees, belief is easy; the thing exists; I touch it; it is mine. To parin. him who sees not, you must bring faith; and he who names faith names contest and conflict.' i Gerok. k Uhle. 9-11. least, Paul's humble view of himself. Apostles, still personal he was an Apostle, and insisted on his authority being recognised. digression because.. God," wh. the others, bef. their call had not done. a Ep. iii. 8; 1 Ti. grace.. am, Paul, a notable example of what the grace of God i. 3. can accomplish. vain, of no effect. laboured.. all, stimu- Ac. viii. 3; ix. lated by the memory of what he had been, etc. not I.. me,d 1; Ga. i. 13. to God be all the praise for what a good man is,, and does. c 2 Co. xii. 11. whether.. they, the greatest or the least. preach, all preachd 2 Co. iii. 5, 6; the same Jesus and the resurrection. Col. i. 29; Ga. ii. 8; Ma. x. 20; Phi. The Gospel of the Resurrection.-Faith in the resurrection of ii. 13. Christ can-I. Harmonise life. Much-very much in life! 1. Is e 1 Co. ii. 2; Ac. done for us; 2. Is determined by our daily occupations, and their necessary routine; 3. is fashioned by the world's opinion. II. Inspire life. The Christian lives in Christ. III. Transform life. To make of life one harmonious whole, to realise the invisible, to anticipate the transfiguring majesty of the Divine presence, is all that is worth living for.f-Paul's conversion viewed in reference to his office.-I. It was a triumph over the enemy. Saul, the perse- be, how misercutor, was converted, and preached Christ. II. It was a suitable able!"-A. Fuller. introduction to the office he was called to execute in God's f B. F. Westcott. iv. 2; viii. 5. with what I desire to |