Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

than the mighty forest would feel the loss of one falling leaf, or the Atlantic the loss of a drop. It is an imperceptible spark in that sky of which our sun is the central light. But the system itself, compared with which our earth is such an inconsiderable fraction, is but an insignificant speck in that immeasurable space in which unnumbered millions pursue their eternal revolutions. But the vast discovered may be as nothing to the mighty realms of worlds yet unexplored. These worlds were not created in vain; they were formed to be inhabited. Each orb, as ours, teems with life. The great Book of Truth tells of "legions," "innumerable multitudes," "thrones," "principalities and dominions" of spiritual existences that tenant the universe of God. How great are His works! But how much greater He! He is the LOFTY ONE. He is enthroned above all; and all, as compared with Him, is as nothing and less than nothing and vanity. The pomps of earthly magistrates, and the pageantries of earthly kingdoms-what are these? the ephemera that dance for an hour in the sunbeam and are gone, and for ever.

We

What a contrast then is the existence which this voice reveals to ours. Here is One inhabiting eternity. live in a breath. Our life is as a shadow, and there is none abiding. Here is One who fills all space, whose sphere of action is immeasurable. We occupy but a speck on this little earth, which is itself but a mere sand grain on the shores of universal being. Here is One whose name is Holy. We are unholy and corrupt. Our natures are stained throughout with sin. Here is One who is LOFTY, to whom suns and systems are but as dust under His feet. We are as nothing, and less than nothing and vanity. Who can mark this contrast without feeling an overpowering sense of God's greatness and man's insignificance. Oh, may we, frail, children of an hour, commit ourselves to Him who "inhabiteth Eternity!" May we, the occupants of an atom on a world beaten with the storms of trials and sorrows, seek to dwell in the secret place of the Most High; may we, who are so corrupt in character, have our spirits purified by the

VOL. XIV.

G

cleansing influences of Christ, so as to have fellowship with Him whose name is Holy! May we, who are as nothing, spend our little life under the smiles of the "Lofty One!"

II. THIS VOICE REVEALS A PRIVILEGE OF IMMENSE VALUE TO THE GOOD. "With him also that is of a humble and contrite spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." What is the privilege?

First This VOICE reveals God's special regard for a good man's experience. This High and Lofty One condescends to regard with special interest those of a "contrite" and "humble" spirit. That He is too great to concern Himself with the individual affairs of men; that He confines His attention to the universe as a whole, or to some of the most stupendous portions thereof, is a mere deistic dream, unsustained hy philosophy and condemned by religion. The minute and the vast-atoms floating in the air, and majestic systems rolling through immensity;-insects on the wing and seraphs in their flight, are seen with equal eye by the God of All.

To the Eternal Infinite

Nothing is mighty-nothing mean.

Each glistening grain, each star of night,
Distinct in space-pervading light

To the All-searching Eye serene.

Yet He has a special regard to those who, through faith in His Son, are the subjects of a new spiritual life. His eye rests with a father's watchfulness upon the contrite and humble soul. He hears its sighs, He marks all the wavelets on the current of its being. "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and His ears are open to their

cry."

Secondly: This VOICE reveals God's special contact with a good man's existence. He not only dwells in the "High and

holy place," but "with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit." Dwelling implies a close intimacy. He is, by the influences of His love, nearer to the good than He is to others; near to guide, to succour, to strengthen. Dwelling implies not only a close intimacy but a permanent one. He does not come and go as an occasional sojourner; He continues as a settled resident in the soul. He is always with His people, in sorrow and joy, in life and death. He never forsakes them.

:

"To

Thirdly This VOICE reveals God's special quickening of a good man's spirit." To revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." God comes down to the spirit, not to crush it, but to revive it, to give it a new life, to bring out by the sunshine of His presence all its dormant germs, and to make it fruitful in all good works. He gives it a life, over which circumstances, time, and death, have no power. A life that will grow amidst all the chills and changes of time, that will survive the grave and flourish in the eternal hereafter.

"He

Such is the voice of eternity-blessed utterance ! that hath ears to hear, let him hear." On such an epoch in our history as this, we feel the need of some such a message from the Eternal and the Holy. The passing away from us of another Year, the fearful probabilities of the one now opening, the pensive memories of the past, and the strange apprehensions of the future, spread a shadow of sadness over our hearts. Our natures quiver as in a strange atmosphere. We feel that we have but just opened our eyes on the universe; a thousand scenes have passed before the eye and they are gone; a thousand voices have fallen on the ear, but they have died away. Many of our fellows have excited our sympathies and engaged our love, and they are in their graves. Men and women are falling around us now, and we are dying. The Chariot of Old Time rolls swiftly on, bearing us and our generation away from earth, but whither? Ah! Whither? We need a voice from the Eternal to

VOL. XIV.

G 2

assure us of something that is real and lasting and good. Here it is.

Let the High and the Holy One, who inhabiteth eternity, dwell with us, and we have all we want. Our deepest questions are solved, our profoundest wants are supplied. We have a blessed stability amidst the mutations, an unbroken peace amidst the storms, a perennial joy amidst the privations, and an ever-flourishing life amidst the dissolutions of Time. The grand end of mediation was to secure this dwelling of the Eternal with man. Christ ascended on high, led captivity captive, received gifts for men, that the Lord God might dwell amongst us.

Fellow-traveller to eternity! Here, under the grey dawnings of a New Year, there is one question of all-surpassing urgency for thee to determine. What is it? The state of thy business, the extent of thy possessions, the respect in which thou art held by thy contemporaries? No, no; these are idle vanities compared with the one I suggest. It is thisWhat is thy soul-state? Art thou humble, contrite, reverent ? These states of mind are the conditions on which the Eternal dwells with man; and where He dwells, there is heaven. If thou art proud, impenitent, irreverent-then, though thou hast the wisdom of Solomon, the wealth of Croesus, the dominion of a Alexander, thou art "without God," and being without God, thou art without true life and power, without holiness, without peace, without heaven; thou art lost, a miserable exile in a wilderness, where every growing plant poisons, every moving creature stings, and every glimmering beam of light leads astray.

O, Thou "High and Lofty One, that inhabitest eternity, whose name is Holy," give us this humble, contrite, reverent spirit, and deign to dwell with us. Dwell with us, for without Thee there is nothing real or great, all sights are illusions, all sounds are hollow, all pleasures are unsatisfying. Dwell with us; for as years revolve, life deepens in solemnity, and the thought of the future grows terrible without Thee. Dwell with us, be our Leader in the battle,

or we shall fall by our enemies; be our Pilot in the voyage, or we shall sink to rise no more.

Abide with me, fast falls the eventide,

The darkness thickens: Lord, with me abide;
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O, abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day,
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see:

O Thou, who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,

But as Thou dwelt'st with Thy disciples, Lord-
Familiar, condescending, patient, free,
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour,

What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who like Thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless :
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory!
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

SUBJECT:-The Restorative and Conservative Work of Christ.

"And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there. And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them."-Matt. xv. 29, 30.

Analysis of Homily the Six Hundred and Fortieth.

UR Lord had now approached the culminating point of His public labors, and reached the zenith of His popularity. His fame now rung loudly on the ear of His age. There are two wrong opinions touching the passage now under notice. One is, that it is unhistoric, and the other is, that it is repetitious. The former opinion, which regards it as mythical or parabolic, is, of course, entertained only by

« AnteriorContinuar »