Sivut kuvina
PDF
ePub

SERMON VII.

SELF A BASED.

JOHN III. 30.

"He must increase, but I must decrease."

THE christian character in human nature is never more unaffectedly noble than when it is without selfishness. "Blessed are the poor in spirit!” The highest and most comprehensive blessing is promised as their reward, their free, glorious reward, not of debt, but of grace; in fact, according to the wise and gracious arrangement of the scheme of sanctification, lowliness of spirit is ordained by God to be the great training grace for glory; and this character of heart contains within itself that fruit which will gradually be brought, through every stage of divine growth, to ripeness and perfection. I do not here dwell upon the loveliest example of christian humility that ever appeared before the eyes of man or angels, or even of God the Father, when God the Son was made in the likeness of man, and

humbled Himself to all the shame and the misery of human life, and human suffering, and human death. I rather turn aside for awhile, and call upon you to consider with me the words and the actions of that mighty prophet, who appeared as the forerunner of the promised Messiah, of Him that should come to be the Saviour of the world. You will see how well fitted the Elijah of the New Testament was, in every way, for his appointed office. The most careless reader of his life must be struck at once with the holy austerity of his character, which stands out as it were in strong relief, in the midst of all other qualities; a sort of unearthly and unsocial grandeur, which distinguished Him above all other men on earth, till his ministry was superseded by that of Jesus Himself. The more thoughtful reader, as he meditates upon the word of God, and, waiting for the quiet teaching of the Holy Spirit, gradually perceives every lineament and expression which make up the perfect man, will discover in John the Baptist that not one lowly, not one gentle grace is wanting; that the deep humility, the absence of all pretension, the holy modesty of the christian life, are also the distinguishing qualities of this servant of God. Nay, the contrast is peculiarly striking between the wild, poetical sternness of his character, and the genuine meekness of his disposition.

From the beginning of his ministry, John the Baptist seems literally to have fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, for he appeared as the voice of one crying in the wilderness, "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." His dwelling place was the wilderness of Judea, his raiment of camel's hair, his food locusts and wild honey. He came preaching; but it appears that the Baptist did not come into the inhabited parts, though that desert was not wholly uninhabited. His hearers came forth from their cities and their villages, and from all the region round about Jordan, and they were baptized of him in Jordan; and under the power of his preaching and the influence of his baptism, they confessed their sins. To him came Jesus Christ Himself, fulfilling all righteousness, by submitting to the outward form of a Jewish ordinance, a type and figure of our own more blessed sacrament of baptism, for "the baptism of John was unto repentance, and shewed, as by a figure, a death unto sin, and a washing off of uncleanness; but the baptism of the Holy Ghost shews, and possesses, not merely by a figure, but by a vital reality, a new birth unto righteousness, as well as a death unto sin." And here I may remark, that baptism was no new ceremony to the Jews. It was a custom among them to baptize all heathen converts to the Jew

:

ish religion. John the Baptist, however, did more than this; all who followed him, whether Jews or Gentiles, he baptized: thus declaring, by the expressive rite, that all men need to be washed or cleansed from the state of fallen nature and from their inbred sin. The meaning of the word baptism is simply washing. Not, however, the putting off the filth of the flesh, but the cleansing of the conscience, the effect of which is 'the answer of a good conscience toward God.' "There arose a question between some of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying and they" (that is, his disciples,) "came unto John, and said unto him, Rabbi, He that was thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to Him." What this question was about purifying, we cannot exactly tell, for a good reason, (a reason that should satisfy every searcher of God's word;) that we are not told. Probably, the dispute arose in consequence of the disciples of Jesus Christ having begun to baptize with water, which they did after our Lord's discourse with Nicodemus: "howbeit, Jesus Himself baptized not but His disciples." Nothing could be more natural than that the disciples of John the Baptist, in their zeal and attachment to their master, should feel jealous of the popularity and influence of another teacher, whose

habits of life were different from his. In their ignorance they would wish their master to take .part with them, and treat the new teacher as a rival, and denounce and condemn His ministry. And had there been in John the selfish and vainglorious spirit of the scribes and pharisees, this flattery might have found its way to his heart, and have stirred up its bad passions, and caused him to behold in Jesus, an enemy to the truth, because His claims were higher, and His influence greater than his own: for, "they came unto John and said unto him, Rabbi, He that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou bearest witness, behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to Him." It has been well remarked with reference to this passage of scripture, "that the spirit which naturally dwelleth in us," to use the words of St. James, "lusteth to envy." Oh! how few could have borne to be thus lowered in the spirit of St. John the Baptist. There is an affecting interest about the history of this holy man; and when we think of his cruel and untimely death, our first feeling is that of pity for him, but we are rather called to admire the gracious providence which removed one, so early ripe for glory, from the troubles of this fallen world. See in what an unselfish spirit he replies to the address of his disciples, an address delivered in few words,

« EdellinenJatka »