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conceive, no language can tell. We read in Scripture that even angels rejoice at this; they rejoice at that change which leads a man to begin to march from the land of his captivity, towards the heavenly Canaan, and choose God for his portion, Christ for his all, the saints and angels for his friends and his society. And why do the blessed and rejoicing companies of heaven thus rejoice afresh in the conversion of every sinner? The reason is, because they are in the presence of that Eternal One, and dwelling in that eternity, to which the sinner has begun to turn. The reason why they rejoice is, because they can appreciate the greatness of that happiness which they enjoy themselves, and which is now in reserve for him: because they dwell in that glory which he is now led to seek because they know, that whatever may be his present sufferings, they are but light and for a moment, and shall issue in the harvest of eternal joy: because they long have enjoyed the height and the depth, and the length and the breadth of that eternity which is the seal of the felicity which is promised to every saved soul; that which stamps it as an eternal felicity, even the eternal gift of God through Jesus Christ. Yes, they rejoice over us, as well they may, because they too apprehend the mysterious and the undefinable value of the soul; its intense powers, as a rational, moral, and accountable substance, incapable alike of extinction and of death, through all the infinity of duration. All these things are clear to them, though they may be obscure and uninteresting to us, whose eyes are blinded by sin, whose hearts are held by iniquity, who are but of yesterday and know nothing, and who are crushed before the moth. Pray that the work of the Spirit may be begun upon your minds, because the seed that he sows is sown for eternity. O remember that love, and peace, and joy, are the seeds of grace, which time shall not extinguish, nor the grave consume, but which eternity shall ripen. These are the heavenly tempers which shall make you meet for heaven; these are the streams which shall supply the never-dying spirit with the water of life.

Consider the influence which the knowledge of the eternal God, and the thoughts of eternity, ought to have on all earthly things. You see at once what a shadow eternity casts upon all earthly glory. Before eternity, the lustre of the diadem fades; the bravery of ambition and of pride is obscured and confined; our three-score years and ten are like the moments of a wintry day; and all our pursuits, if unconnected with eternity, are like the feverish dreams of sickness, without substance and without reality. Sublime and most awfully true were the words of one who had a full share of all that this world can give, and who has left them upon record, that the man who lives for this world, "walketh in a vain shew, and disquieteth himself in vain." If our souls, through infinite grace, have found a home in eternity, O they will be strangers to many of those harassing fears, those gloomy forebodings, those distressing feelings, and those over-anxious and over-eager desires, which so fatally disturb our peace, and prey upon the very vitals of almost all our happiness. Why is it we are thus engrossing all our thoughts, wearying ourselves, fighting (as it were) about the trifles of a mere day? And why is it we one moment rise exultingly on the tide of prosperity, and the next moment sink, it may be, in the hour of adversity, upon that very wave when it recedes into the very depths of despair? Why is it we know so little? Why is it we are filled with pride and discontent, when we ought to be humbled and repenting in the day of affliction?

O, it is all simply because we are looking for rest short of eternity; it is because we are looking for rest on the bosom of the unquiet and deceitful ocean, instead of keeping our eye on the haven of our rest, eternal life through the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. I know not what to call it but the evil heart of unbelief-the eye blinded, that it cannot see-and the heart waxing gross that it will not, because it cannot, feel the power of unseen and eternal things. It is this which is our most dangerous, our most besetting sin. It is this sin of actual unbelief, and closing our eyes upon eternity, which robs us, and dishonours God-which abuses his mercy—which rivets upon us fast the woes, and the cares, and the things of earth—which wounds the tender heart of Him that died for us men, and for our salvation-which grieves and dismisses from us the only comfort of this wretched world-which cuts us off from adoption into his family, the family of the High and Holy One that inhabiteth eternity. What you want, and what I want, and that which may God give us grace to ask for, is, a deep perception that heaven is a real thing, and that hell, which is banishment from God, is a real thing: what we need is, a faith that can make excursions into the future; a faith which may overcome the world, and despise its attractions, and enable us to use it without abusing it; a faith which may enable you to travel onward through life, like men and women who have heard the sound of vengeance, and felt that you deserve it, and yet, in a holy confidence, assured that the vials of that vengeance have been poured on the head of One who bore our burden, expiated our guilt, and is gone before to prepare mansions for us in that eternity to which he calls us.

O brethren, let me, in conclusion, tell you, that there is an event about to take place in your history and in mine, which is of far greater importance than anything we have ever yet experienced. I do not speak of the success or the failure of our earthly schemes-of changes in our worldly condition-of sudden riches, or of sudden poverty: I speak not of the loss of friends, and children, and of kindred; but I speak of our falling into dust and ashes; of the departing of your soul, and my soul, into the presence of its Judge, "the High and the Holy One that inhabiteth eternity." And who can tell us what that presence is? As we think of that, the change which shall soon pass upon the body is almost forgotten: but that the soul should appear before the great, and hitherto unseen Jehovah-to see Him eye to eye, and face to face-to have done with the world and all things that dwell in it, to stand before infinite majesty, purity, and justice-to be in the world of spirits, and to be spirits ourselves—to hear a voice consigning us for ever to happiness we have never yet conceived, or to misery which even the vilest sinner, in his deepest wretchedness, has never known; who is not bewildered at the very thought? And yet this very appearance before God we must experience; this bewildering, this overwhelming thought, we must realize: there is no prospect, there is no possibility, of our escaping; we shall as surely face our Judge in eternity, as we now know one another here. And we may be summoned to all this in an instant. Our soul is kept from returning to Him who gave it-by what? By a little dust; by a body so frail, and liable to so many dangers, that they who know its construction best, wonder that it holds together for a single hour.

Brethren, what think ye of these things-these certain, these important, and these near events which are coming upon you? Have they occupied your atten

tion, and have they influenced your conduct? Have they made the Gospel most welcome to you, the Saviour most precious, the world a thing of nought? It not, what can we say to you? What says the Word of God to you; and what does conscience say to you, but "Thou fool!" There is something awful in the prospect of eternity, even to the man who all his life long has been preparing to enter into it; and who knows that in any world, and in any state, he is safe in Christ. This very day, if such an one has thought of it, he has prayed and he has trembled as he thought of it; while the unprepared and the unpraying were at ease and were light-hearted. The thoughtless man will sometimes feel a little passing and momentary anxiety when he thinks that his body must die; but let him remember that his soul is dying already; that the death of the body is but the triumph of sin upon a little dust, but that unconcern about eternity, is the triumph of sin over the immortal spirit.

But what do the thoughts of eternity, and of Him that inhabits it, say to every faithful servant of Jesus Christ? It says to them, "Be serious, be sober, be in earnest; sit loose from the world; think much of death; look for it; be every hour preparing to meet your God; let your loins be girt and your lights burning; and be yourselves also like unto men who wait for their Lord." It tells the believer in Christ that his body too must go to the dust from which it came: aye, and he may be well content to let it go; his Bible has told him it is a "vile body"-a body of corruption, of sin, and of death. And he has often found it true: its weakness and disease has often fettered and clogged his soul; its lusts and its vile affections have often made him abhor himself, and

weep, and groan. But he knows that the corruptible shall put on incorruption, and the mortal put on immortality; and that, though it shall lie, for a time, in the dishonour and the ruin of the grave, it shall rise a pure, a spiritual mansion, made meet for the holy, and ransomed, and perfected soul, fashioned after the likeness of that glorious body in which the Son of Man himself dwells and reigns for ever.

And as for the believer's soul, that shall return to God who gave it: before his body shall have been consigned to the grave, his soul shall be in the bosom of his Lord in the heaven of his glory. This shall be thine, believer; and this is the end that is near at hand. There are no revolutions of tedious centuries between it and you: a few months-at the most, a few years-will find you in possession of that which God has promised, of all which heaven can give, and all which you can desire-possessed of that which is exceeding abundant above all that you can ask or think. I see, then, the effect which eternity ought to have upon me. I see that I must set my feet upon firm ground, fix my eye upon an eternal world, take a decided part, and walk with upright head and steady step, as one who is seeking that which is above. I see that I must be faithful to my Saviour and to my God: true to conscience, true to the desires and the hopes I have felt. I must not let pleasures entice, nor sin seduce, nor dangers intimidate. No: I have but one thing to fear, and that is sin: and if I flee from sin, and live for eternity, then an eternal world is my refuge—an eternal Spirit is my comforter-an eternal Saviour is my hope. With Abraham I will seek that eternal city "which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" with Moses I will have "respect to the recompense of the reward.”

THE PHILIPPIAN JAILER.

REV. T. SNOW, A.M.

ST. DUNSTAN'S CHURCH, FLEET STREET, NOVEMBER 23, 1834.

"And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm, for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."-ACTS, xvi. 25-31.

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THE scene of this awful story was the prison of a city called Philippi. The Apostle Paul and his companion Silas had been committed to that prison by the magistrates; not for evil-doing, however, but for well-doing. (When Christians suffer for evil-doing, they may indeed be ashamed: but when they suffer for well-doing, they may glorify God on this behalf, for the Spirit of glory and of joy rests upon them to bless them.) There had been an accusation brought against Paul and Silas, that they had taught the people customs which it was "not lawful for them to observe, being Romans.' But the Apostles never interfered with the civil government of the country in which they dwelt; and our Saviour would rather work a miracle than refuse to pay the tribute to him whose image and superscription stood upon the current coin. So that the accusation made against them was entirely false. The magistrates, however, either believed it, or disbelieved it, and commanded the Apostles to be beaten ; which they were, with many stripes; and then cast into prison, with charges to the jailer to keep them safely. These charges, doubtless, rung in the jailer's ears, and increased his confusion in that critical hour which we shall by and bye consider.

The enemies of God's gracious Gospel appear now to have got the upper hand. The Apostles were seized, and, as they thought, silenced; but it was no such thing: God would have his messengers proclaim salvation in the prison, to show that his mercy could reach down to the lowest dungeon; and God would have the jailer both convinced and converted too. The people in the prison could not come to hear the glad tidings which were to be preached to every creature; and therefore the Apostles must go to them. On this account the wrath of God was permitted to rage against God's servants; and when they had done their work the storm was quieted; as it is said in the seventy-sixth

Psalm: "The wrath of man shall turn to thy praise, O God; and the remainder of it shalt thou restrain.'

The history of the matter was this: There was a damsel living at Philippi who was a fortune-teller, and got great gains to her master thereby. But God had mercy upon the poor creature; and when she believed, she steadfastly forsook the service of the devil to follow Christ. This so enraged her masters that they caught Paul and Silas, and invented against them an accusation of treason and thus they were committed, and thrust into the inner prison, and had their feet made fast in the stocks; where, filled with the Holy Spirit, and with the joy of their salvation, they sung songs of thanksgiving and praise at midnight.

In considering, however, the words of the text, I shall first call your attention to that further part of the history which describes the awakening of the jailer; secondly, consider the consequences of that awakening in raising up in his own mind the most important inquiry that can be made by man: and, thirdly, we shall show you the answer that was given to that inquiry.

First, then, I will call your attention to the further part of the history which describes THE AWAKENING OF THE JAILER.

The first circumstance that appears powerfully to have affected the Jailer's mind was, great temporal calamity threatening his immediate ruin and death. Great, and sudden, and heavy afflictions are often sent by the providence of God on those whom he deeply loves, that he may bring them to their recollection, to their prayers, and to the bosom of their God: he cannot be satisfied till they are there, and will not therefore permit them to be so. But I am now speaking of this jailer. The songs of the prisoners, the noise of the earthquake which shook the foundations of the prison, and perhaps the shouts of the prisoners when they felt the chains and the bolts drop off them upon the ground-these sounds awakened him out of his sleep. The first sight that strikes his view, is the prison doors all open. The thought that the prisoners had escaped struck his mind with despair. He remembered, it may be, in a moment, how many enemies, who perhaps had resisted his appointment, would now triumph in his disgrace. He remembered the peculiar charges he had received concerning the prisoners. He knew the Roman law, that, if a jailer suffered his prisoner to escape, he was subject to his punishment. He, perhaps, also remembered the recent event mentioned in the eleventh chapter of the Acts, where we are informed that, when Peter had escaped from prison, Herod had commanded all the keepers to be put to death. He might at once, therefore, conclude that his doom would be still more terrible when all his prisoners were gone: and willing to save himself from all disgrace, and bring his troubles to a close at once, he draws out his sword, and is about to plunge it into his own heart.

Behold him, then, with only, as it were, one breath more between himself and that hell which he never thought of; when God interposes in his behalf: Paul's voice is heard to exclaim, "Do thyself no harm, for we are all here." Whatall there, and the prison doors open, and their fetters off! The finger of God begins to be discerned; a sense of God creeps over his whole man; the sword drops out of his hand; conviction of another kind flashes upon his conscience now. Perhaps at this moment the thought of his unfitness to die, and to appear

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