A Sermon
(No. 1844)
Delivered on Lord's Day Morning, June 7th, 1885, by
C. H. SPURGEON,
At the [12]Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington
"But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed
not on him: that the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled,
which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath
the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe,
because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and
hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor
understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.
These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of
him."–John 12:37-41.
THE BLINDNESS of Israel concerning our Lord was sadly remarkable. It
was a blindness of the eyes, for they saw his many miracles, and yet
believed not: their ears also seemed to be stopped, for they heard his
words and did not understand them; and their hearts also were heavy,
for they did not relent under the plaintive admonitions of a Saviour's
love. Their hearts were cruel towards the Messiah; they hated him
without a cause. No door was open to the heart of Israel; they had
hardened their heart, they had shut their eyes, they had stopped their
ears, and even he that spake as never man spake gained no access to
their souls. They went so far as to crucify him, and cried as they did
so, "His blood be on us, and our children,"–words so sadly verified
when Jerusalem was destroyed, and her children slaughtered, sold as
slaves, or scattered to the four corners of the earth. It was indeed, a
terrible blindness which happened unto Israel.
Her rejection of the Lord Jesus is the more amazing because Isaiah gave
so clear an account of the Messiah, and so clearly pictured Jesus of
Nazareth. Descriptions of him could not have been more explicit than
were the prophecies of Isaiah. It would be very easy to construct an
entire life of Christ out of the book of Isaiah, beginning with "a
virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel," and ending with "he made his grave with the wicked and with
the rich in his death." Isaiah spake of John the Baptist as the "voice
crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight
in the desert a highway for our God," and he foretold our Lord's
ministry by the way of the sea beyond Jordan in Galilee of the
Gentiles, where the people who sat in darkness saw great light. The
prophecy portrayed his Lord as "despised and rejected of men, a man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief." Clearest of all is he upon his
vicarious sufferings, concerning which he uses a variety of most
definite expressions, such as,–"The chastisement of our peace was upon
him; and with his stripes we are healed." Isaiah saw so clearly the day
of our Lord Jesus that he spake rather as an evangelist than as a
prophet; as an eyewitness, rather than as one foretelling a far-off
event. Yet all this clearness was lost upon the men of his generation,
and upon those who followed after. The nation had so long been fickle
towards God, and had trifled so long with God's truth, that it was at
length given up to a judicial hardness of heart, so that it could not
understand or perceive. They refused the plainest messages of grace,
and were so confirmed in unbelief that all their prophets cried with
one plaintive voice, "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the
arm of the Lord revealed?"
Nor was it alone grievous that Israel sinned against the light which
shone in Isaiah's testimony; but, alas, she closed her eyes against the
meridian splendour of our Lord's own life. Jesus bore his own witness
in his person, teachings, works, and gifts. A sad wonder lies in the
fact, that they did not know the Lord of glory although they saw his
miracles, which were sure witnesses to his claims. He wrought among
them works which none other man did. There is about our Lord a likeness
to God: in all that he does the Godhead shines forth. He is so pure
that he can say, "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" How like to him
who is saluted as "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!" His teaching
is so full of tenderness and gentleness that since God is love, we
conclude that Christ is God. His many miracles touch upon every point
in the great circle of omnipotence. What is there that God can do which
the Christ did not do? Was he not multiform and multitudinous in his
works of power and grace? Herein lay the wonder, that though he did so
many miracles before them, not in secret but actually before their
eyes; though he fed them with bread which they could see, and handle,
and eat; though he healed the sick and raised the dead, they yet
believed not on him. How sadly far can men go in unbelief, prejudice,
and hardness of heart! How dim can human eyes become when men refuse to
see! How darkened the understanding when men are unwilling to
comprehend! Let us tremble at this, lest ourselves by imitating the
chosen people in their unbelief should fall into like bondage to
prejudice and ignorance, lest we by tampering with truth should come at
last to be incapable of perceiving it, lest we also by rejecting the
testimony of God should be given up to our own willfulness, to believe
a lie and refuse the truth. Such, then, as Isaiah had foreseen, was the
state of Israel in our Lord's day: never clearer evidence, and never
more obstinate refusal to see it; never truth more plain, and never
rejection so determined. Woe to those who close their ears; for the day
cometh when they shall no longer hear! Woe to those who shut their eyes
to the light, for they shall ere long be made blind! Isaiah was
informed that such would be the outcome of his ministry: the Lord bade
him say to the people, "Hear ye indeed, but underststand not; and see
ye indeed, but perceive not." This must have been a very sad business
for so generous and tender-hearted a man of God. It was painful to him
to be so clear and yet to be so little understood. He was the Paul of
the Old Testament; to him belonged fulness of knowledge, clearness of
vision, plainness of speech, and faithfulness of spirit, and yet none
of these things could make the people understand his message and
receive it into their hearts. He was sublime in thought, attractive in
word, and affectionate in spirit, and yet they did not believe his
testimony; so that he must often have been astonished and heart-broken
as he spake in vain to a people who were determined that they would not
hear.
This morning I shall draw certain lessons for ourselves from the great
evangelical prophet, his ministry, and the people to whom he ministered
so vainly. Our first meditation shall be concerning Isaiah and his
ministry: and our second shall be concerning the people to whom he
spake. Alas! I fear that we who speak in the name of the Lord in these
last days have also to deal with hearts that are gross, ears that are
heavy, and eyes that are dimmed. Upon this generation also there is
falling a measure of judicial withdrawal of light and discernment; and
we also have to cry, "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the
arm of the Lord revealed?"
I. First, then, let me speak with you CONCERNING ISAIAH AND HIS
MINISTRY. Oh, that the Spirit of God may speak with power through me.
Our text says two things of Isaiah: first, that "he saw his glory," and
secondly, that "he spake of him."
The first statement is that Isaiah saw. Isaiah was a great seer: his
prophesy begins thus,–"The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he
saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem." All prophets were more or less
seers, and saw what they foretold; but Isaiah above others was endowed
with the seeing and foreseeing faculty. He had the clearest sight, and
for that reason he had the clearest speech. When a man speaks so that
you cannot understand him, the usual reason is that he does not
understand himself; and when a man speaks so as to be readily
comprehended, it is because the thought in his own mind is well
defined. He that would speak well must see well. Mark the two things in
the text–"When Isaiah saw his glory, and spake of him."
In what sense is Isaiah said to have seen that which he spake? Does it
not mean that he realized his thoughts? that they stood out vividly, so
as to make a deep impression upon his own mind? Things to come were
already come in his apprehension: he beheld what he believed, he felt
what he foretold. He was not a dreamy person, maundering about
half-fashioned, undeveloped thoughts; but he was a person who knew, and
perceived, and felt what he preached. He saw with his soul what he set
forth with his lips.
But what did he see? It is a most important thing that in these days
you and I should see the same, for the same work lies before us among a
people who are a repetition of that disobedient and gainsaying nation.
Read, then, with care the sixth chapter of Isaiah. Open your Bibles and
refer to the passage verse by verse.
First, what Isaiah saw was the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and
lifted up. When the prophet went abroad among the people he heard them
speaking against the Lord God; some contending for our deity and some
for another; some leaning upon an arm of flesh, and others despising
the promise of Jehovah the God of Israel. All this, I say, he saw out
of doors, and he was troubled. But when he went into the sanctuary of
God he saw the Lord sitting upon a throne : still reigning, still
glorious, undisturbed by opposition. He must then have felt like David
when he said, "Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain
thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take
counsel together against the Lord, and against his anointed. He that
sitteth in the heavens shall laugh: the Lord shall have them in
derision. Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion." As David
saw Christ upon the throne amid the strirvings of the people, so did
Isaiah see the Lord Jesus, not only upon the lowly mercy-seat, but upon
a throne high and lifted up. I pray you, brethren, settle this in your
hearts: our Lord is highly exalted as Lord of all. When you see evil
occurrent, do not imagine that it defeats the eternal purposes of
Jehovah: when you hear blasphemy and your blood runs cold, do not think
that Christ has lost his glory: when men riot in sin, do not dream that
the reins of affairs are out of Jesus' hands; for still he is "God over
all, blessed for ever." My heart exalts this day, as, by undoubting
faith, I am assured that he who died on Calvary is now exalted on high,
far above all principalities and powers. "Thou art the King of glory, O
Christ!" To thee our spirits ascribe infinite honour, world without
end. Though the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried into the
midst of the sea, yet the Lord reigneth. He that died upon the tree is
crowned with majesty, and all the angels of God worship him. "He must
reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet." Let us have no
question about this; for if we have, we shall not be prepared to speak
in the Lord's name with this evil generation. Amid the anarchy of the
ages we see the glorious high throne of our redeeming Lord unmoved,
unmovable: this is the rock of our refuge when the unsettled times rage
about us like the waters of the troubled sea. We cannot be afraid, for
Christ is on the throne.
Observe that in Isaiah's vision he not only saw the Lord "upon a throne
high and lifted up," but he saw that "his train filled the temple." so
that in that temple there was room for no one else. The robes of this
great King filled all the holy place; and neither priests nor offerers
could there find standing room. It is a great thing to see how Jesus
fills the heavenly places; in him dwelleth all the fullness of the
Godhead. Let it be acknowledged to be so in heaven, for the glory of
our Redeemer fills every street of the upper city, every mansion of the
Father's house. In the church below, which is also his temple, among
his spiritual people, the glory of the Lord Jesus engages and occupies
every heart. They feel that there is none other in whom they can trust,
none other whose words they will receive, none other in whom they
glory; the Lord Christ is all in all to us, and we know no other Master
or Saviour. His train fills the temple. I trust it is so among us. From
Sabbath to Sabbath the one glory of this Tabernacle is the person and
work of Jesus. What a glory hath God put upon the Only Begotten Son,
whom he hath raised from the dead that he should be head over all
things to his church, which he fills with his life, light, and love.
Nor may we forget that all the things that exist are in a sense his
temple, and the whole universe is filled with his train; for "he hath
ascended up far above all heavens that he might fill all things." Glory
be unto our ascended and reigning Lord.
In this vision Isaiah saw the flaming spirits that wait upon Christ of
God. He calls them "seraphims." The best interpretation we can give is
"burning ones:" they burn in the sense of consuming. They burn up that
which ought to be consumed, namely, all kinds of evil. There are powers
around our Lord which will destroy evil. You ask me to tell you
something about these seraphim; how can I? They have covered their
faces, and covered their feet. Since nothing is to be seen, what can I
tell you? Neither would it be right for us to speak concerning them,
for manifestly it is their desire to be hidden. Who will violate their
wish to be concealed? They covered their faces, they covered their
feet, and therein they did as good as they say, "Look not on us, but
look on him who sits upon the throne, whose attendants we are." This
much is all we know,–exalted intelligences are in waiting upon our
Lord, and are able to fly swiftly at his bidding. Tremble not
concerning this error, or that, it shall be burnt up by those agencies
which are at the command of our exalted Lord. Spirits from God shall
run to and fro, and smite, as with the fire of God, those powers of
darkness which now oppress our race. God himself is a consuming fire:
who can dwell with him but those that are like him? He maketh his
ministers a flame of fire. Around our Lord are the chariots of God,
which are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels. His power knows no
limit. His word runneth very swiftly; he speaks, and it is done; he
commands, and it stands fast. Glory be unto thee, O Christ! We will not
fear nor be discouraged, since these thy servants are ready to flame
forth at thy bidding. Truly thou art Jehovah of hosts.
This vision of the body-guard of the Prince of peace was enough to
strengthen Isaiah: thus comforted, he would calmly confront that
rebellious generation. If the prophet, when he opened the young man's
eyes strengthened his heart by making him see horses and chariots of
fire round about Elisha, shall not we be comforted as we behold legions
of burning ones surrounding our King, and standing ready to fulfil his
decrees?
Further, we find that Isaiah saw in that vision the perpetual adoration
which is rendered unto Christ concerning his holiness. Those bright
spirits had never tasted of his mercy, for they had never sinned: they
understood nothing of his grace, for they had not been guilty; but
being pure in heart they gazed on the Lord with opened eye and adored
his holiness. Their whole souls were filled with the contemplation of
that one all-embracing attribute; and in responsive song they said each
one to his fellow, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts." They
emphasized their words by repeating them three times; and perhaps they
alluded also to the Trinity in Unity as they cried, "Holy, holy, holy."
This is the supreme glory of Christ, that in him is seen the holiness
of God. Oh my friends, let us be like these seraphim, ravished with the
holiness of the atonement, awe-struck with the justice of God in the
great sacrifice. Reflect with reverence that God when he willed to save
his elect would not commit a breach upon his laws; though he would
redeem them from going down into the pit, yet he would not violate his
word, nor change that most righteous penalty of death, which is the due
desert of sin. Rather than stain his holiness he spared not his own
Son, but freely delivered him up for us all. Consider the great love of
holiness which must have been in the heart of the Father, that he would
give up his Son to bleed sooner than his law should be dishonoured; and
think of the great holiness of Christ, that he would rather give his
back to the smiters and his cheeks to them that pluck off the hair,
yea, rather stretch out his hands to the nails and expire forsaken of
his God, than suffer sin to go unpunished. God would not even for
mercy's sake issue an unjust pardon to the souls he loved.
As I stand here this morning I also have visions of God, and the cross
seems to me transformed into a burning throne, whereon justice is high
and lifted up to the uttermost, as I see God himself in Christ Jesus
bowing his head to death, that he might be just, and yet the Justifier
of him that believeth. Around that cross I see troops of angels
gathering, and I hear one crying unto another and saying, "Holy, holy,
holy, is Jehovah Jesus, the great sacrifice for sin." Do you not unite
in their reverent homage? If you do you will go forth and tell of
pardon bought with blood, and of the atonement finished once for all.
With hallowed confidence you will tell it out among the people that the
holy Lord reigneth from the tree, until all creatures fall down and
worship him that was slain, because his holiness was thereby revealed
in noonday splendour.
This was not all that was revealed to the prophet; for he heard the
seraphim say, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of Hosts; the whole earth
is full of his glory." Even when men rejected Christ, even when hearts
were fat, and eyes were dim, and ears were heavy, even then the whole
earth was full of the glory of Christ. When scientists tell us that
they cannot see God, I am amazed. To me it is impossible not to see
him. Though I cannot pry with the scalpel into the anatomy of the human
frame, yet when I look upon the mere skin of the human countenance I
see the handiwork of God. Though I cannot dig into the lower strata of
the earth and disentomb the fossil and decipher its stone preserved
memorial, yet to me rock, and clay, and sand, and relic of the past,
bear the sure hieroglyph of God. Though I cannot inform you of all the
interesting details of insect life, or descant upon the secrets of
botany, yet to me bees bring honeyed thoughts of God, and flowers
breathe the perfume of his love. Where is God? Say rather, Where is he
not? Not with these grosser senses, but by higher faculties I see and
hear my God; yea, he doth surround me, and my faith embraceth him. I am
no fool for this; the best authority declares that he is the fool who
saith in his heart "There is no God." Yes, the whole earth is full of
the glory of Christ, and above the earth in every cloud it is seen, and
above the cloud every star shines out concerning him. Alas, for the
blind-eyes that cannot see that which is evidently set forth in every
place. Alas for the ears which cannot hear when earth, and sea, and
heaven, and hell, are all echoing to the tread of the Omnipotent Christ
of God. Oh brethren, have you ever seen this vision, have you ever seen
God's glory filling the whole earth? If so, you are prepared for the
times that are and are to be times of gloom, and darkness, and sin, and
blasphemy–and yet your heart does not tremble for the ark of the Lord.
When all this was seen of the prophet, he noted that the posts of the
doors moved. If I am rightly informed, there were two huge columns
before the temple called Jachin and Boaz. These were made with singular
skill, and were the wonder of the age. They were of brass, cast by
Solomon; but in the course of ages they had no doubt mellowed into
bronze, and there they stood, two tremendous erections, upbearing
massive doors. We are told, I know not whether it be correct, that the
gates that swung upon these columns required at least twenty men either
to open or to shut them; but as the prophet saw that vision he noticed
that these massive columns trembled, and thus did obeisance to the God
who was within their gates. Our Revised Version reads it, "The
foundations of the thresholds were moved." Even to its foundations the
house trembled with solemn awe of the divine presence. Brethren,
heaven, and earth, and hell, and all created things reflect the glory
of the Lord, and thus adore him. Oh Lord Jesus, thou art worthy of all
honour. "All the earth doth worship thee." If it was so with posts and
doors, shall not our hearts rejoice with trembling? shall not our souls
be moved in the presence of the Most High? and will we not fall down
before the glorified Christ, as John did, who wrote, "When I saw him I
fell at his feet as dead?" Everything is filled with awe in his
majestic presence, save only man, the impious rebel who dares defy his
God.
Then came the best part of the vision for Isaiah. At the glorious
sight, he felt, "Woe is me, for I am undone, I am stricken dumb. I can
never speak again, for my lips are unclean, and I dwell among an
unclean people." Then, swift as lightning flew a seraph, bringing a
coal more burning than himself from off the altar of sacrifice,
wherewith he touched the prophet's lip. Beloved, this is what we need.
We need to feel the atonement laid home to us, to feel the power of the
great sacrifice of Christ, to hear a voice saying within our spirit,
"Thine iniquity is put away, and thy sin is purged." Though that live
coal must have blistered the lip which it covered, yet it made it
eloquent. Common fire would destroy the organs of speech, but the fire
of sacrifice does not so, but it unlooses a grateful tongue, and helps
a grateful heart to tell the love immense, unsearchable, which offered
itself upon the altar of sacrifice, that holiness and love might save
the sinner. Our peace comes from the Holy, Holy, Holy One, who is just,
and yet forgives his people's sin. Brother, if you are to proclaim the
glory of your Lord, you must feel the sacrificial coal applied to the
place where your impurity is most seen, even to your lips; you must
know that you are forgiven; for your conviction that you are clean
before God will give you confidence in telling out to others the story
of the cross. This is what Isaiah saw.
Listen for a minute to that further word that follows:–Isaiah when he
saw his glory "spake of him." He that hath seen this sight must speak.
He spake in deep humility. Never braver man than Isaiah, but never one
who walked in lowlier reverence before his God. He never forgot to his
dying day that "woe is me! for I have seen the King, the Lord of
hosts."
Yet, observe that he spake with very willing obedience. "Here am I," he
said, "send me." He offers himself to be God's mouth to the people,
whatever the message may be. He seems to say, "Here am I in the
entirety of my being, purchased to thee by thy great pardoning love;
use me as thou wilt, and send me where thou wilt." He continued to
report his Lord's message under constant rebuffs, and despite the
ceaseless obduracy of Israel. Though he cried, "Who hath believed our
report?" yet he continued that report. That chapter which begins with
his complaint, has in it not only a continuation of the report, but a
fuller version of it than he had ever given before. He was sad but
resolute, grieved yet persevering, broken in heart, but not broken down
in constancy. Brethren, it needs great grace to go upon a fruitless
errand. One had need see the glory of the Lord to be enabled to fight a
losing battle. I am sometimes afraid that I have to do this myself; but
if it be so, it is not ours to bargain for success, but to yield
implicit obedience. It is ours to abide faithful to our commission,
whether men will hear or whether they will forbear. Brethren, be it
ours to serve the Lord gladly, and testify to what we have seen, even
though no man should receive our witness.
But then it is said of Isaiah that he "spake of him," that is, of our
Lord Jesus Christ. In all that Isaiah said he had an eye to Christ. It
was all his business among men to speak of the glories of the coming
Son of God. May the Lord give us such a sight of Christ in his glory
that from this day forth we shall be absorbed in glorifying him. May
our life be a perpetual ministry concerning Christ. Remember that word
concerning John the Baptist, "John did no miracle, but all things that
John spake of this man were true." If we can do no miracle and achieve
no success, let us at least cry without ceasing. "Behold the Lamb of
God." Though we decrease, it matters not so long as he doth increase;
we are glad to disappear, as the morning star is lost at the rising of
the sun. It is our delight to imitate the seraphim, and with veiled
face and covered feet to attend about the throne of Jehovah Jesus our
Lord.
II. I now ask your kind attention to the second part of my subject,
which is a very painful one, CONCERNING THE NATION TO WHICH ISAIAH
SPAKE. Their terrible sin lay in this, that they were willingly blinded
by the light which ought to have been to them a help to see Christ, and
they were hardened by those very truths which ought to have melted
them. They became more and more adverse to Christ through beholding in
him such a character as ought to have won their hearts. To the
prophet's teaching they were entirely dead. A specimen of this we find
in the succeeding chapters of Isaiah. Israel and Syria attacked Ahaz,
whose reign followed those of Uzziah and Jotham. The prophet came and
said to Ahaz, "Take heed, and be quiet; fear not, neither fainthearted
for the two tails of these smoking firebrands." Ahaz was assured that
God would help him if he would but trust in him; but instead of doing
so, the king determined to petition for the help of the great king of
Assyria, with the result in the long run that "the king of Assyria came
unto him and distressed him, but helped him not." Isaiah, to confirm
his message, bade the king choose any sign either in the depth or in
the height above; but the infidel king replied, "I will not ask,
neither will I test Jehovah." He had so defiantly cast off allegiance
to the true God that he would not even accept a sign, though it was
left to his own choice. Thus Isaiah's message was rejected though put
in the most winning form, for the hearts of the people were blinded and
hardened so as to choose the way of destruction. Ultimately, as you
know, the Assyrians carried the whole people away; for they had
rejected God's message willfully, and wrath came upon them. What a
grievous task to be called to preach to such a people!
They went on from bad to worse as a nation; they turned aside
grievously, but not in heart, so that when Christ came they were unable
to discern him, for had they known him they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory. This blindness was in part a punishment for their
long rebellion. If men willfully shut their eyes, do you wonder that
they become blind? If men will not hear, do you wonder that they grow
deaf? He that perverts truth shall soon be incapable of knowing the
true from the false. If you persist in wearing glasses that distort,
everything will be distorted to you.
"Hear the just law, the judgment of the skies!
He that hates truth shall be the dupe of lies."
But although this blindness was a punishment for former sin, it was
itself a sin. They willfully rejected the testimony of God against
themselves; they refused the self-evident Christ who would so greatly
have blessed them. This wilful rejection was carried out so effectually
that it became impossible to convert and heal them; they could not be
instructed, or reformed, and therefore they were given over to
destruction. Nothing remained but to allow the Romans to burn the
temple and plough the site of the city. It was a dreadful thing that
they should deliberately choose destruction, and obstinately involve
themselves in the most tremendous of woes. Poor Israel, we pity thee!
It was sad indeed to fall from so great a height! Yet we are bound to
admit that God dealt with thee justly, for thou didst choose thine own
delusions. The Lord cries, "Oh that my people had harkened unto me."
Our Saviour weeps and cries, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I
have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her
chickens under her wings, but ye would not! Behold, your house is left
unto you desolate."
What I have to say this morning is this–that I am growingly fearful
lest our own country should furnish a parallel to all this. Read the
story of England, beginning where you will, and see how gracious God
has been to us. Note well our great deliverances, from the destruction
of the Spanish Armada to the overthrow of Napoleon. Do not forget how
often this little country has been made victorious in wars against
great peoples, who thought to swallow her up. Then reflect how God sent
the light to us; how the gospel spread all over England, and how it has
in many ways been rejected. How often since the days of Cromwell Rome
has been allowed to dim the light of our Protestantism, and how it
labours to do so still! See how this people have received the truth of
heaven, but again and again have proved false to it, turning at one
time to superstition and at another time to infidelity. At this moment
we are rich, and despite depression in business, we are less tried by
it than any other nation. And what comes of all this mercy but
increased sin? Why, at this moment we have sin rampant among us almost
beyond precedent. Think how the poor are oppressed and ground down with
awful poverty in many parts of this great city. Shall not God avenge
the cry of starving women? Worse still, if worse can be: those who dare
walk our streets after sundown tell us that Sodom, in its most putrid
days, could scarce exceed this metropolis for open vice. To our
infinite disgust and horror, the names of certain of the greatest in
the land are at this hour openly mentioned in connection with the
filthiest debauchery. This is not the place for details, nor can I
mention the matter, or even think of it without feeling my very soul on
fire. Faithfulness requires plain speech; but it is a hideous evil that
the dregs of vice should be the chosen luxury of certain of our
hereditary legislators and rulers. Woe unto thee, Oh land, when thy
great ones love the harlot's house! Deep is our shame when we know that
our judges are not clear in this matter, but social purity has been put
to the blush by magistrates of no mean degree; yea, it is said that the
courts of justice have lent themselves to the covering and hushing up
of the iniquities of the great. Shall not God be grieved by such a
nation as this? He who has read a certain story, which is but too-well
known, must have felt his ears tingle and his heart tremble. What is
coming over us? What horrible clouds are darkening our skies? There
were judges once who would not have suffered the laws to be trampled on
by the great, but would have dealt out equal justice to rich and poor:
I cannot persuade myself that it will be otherwise now, and yet I fear
the worst. O God, have mercy upon the land whose judgment-seats and
palaces are defiled with vice.
This is not all: a general indifference to all religion is creeping
over the country; at least over this vast metropolis. Ask those who
visit from door to door among our crowded populations, and they will
tell you that never before in their life-time were there so few persons
attendant upon the means of grace. Street after street of this city
scarcely possesses more than one regular attendant upon the preaching
of the word. The Sabbath is no longer a day of worship with millions.
What continual efforts are made to rob us of the Sabbath-day; to
degrade it into a common work-day, and to make a slave of the
working-man. To-day the revelation of God is treated with indifference,
or talked of as if it deserved no reverence or credit. Unbelief has
sapped the foundations of the social fabric. Worst of all,–I must not
hold back the charge, many of the avowed ministers of Christ are no
ministers of faith at all, but promoters of unbelief. The modern pulpit
has taught men to be infidels. What truth is there which has not been
doubted by divines, questioned by doctors of divinity, and at length
been denounced by the priests of "modern thought?" Nothing remains upon
which a certain school of preachers have not spit their scepticism. The
experience of the unbelief of Germany is being repeated here. Among
those who are ordained to be the preachers of the gospel of Christ,
there are many who preach not faith but doubt, and hence they are
servants of the devil rather than of the Lord. Think not that I am
aiming at the Church of England. With all my objection to a
state-church, I am not so unjust as to conceal my belief, that I see in
the Episcopal Church at this time less of unbelief than among certain
Dissenters: in fact, Nonconformity in certain quarters is eaten through
and through with a covert Unitarianism, less tolerable than
Unitarianism itself. So frequently are the fundamental doctrines of the
gospel assailed, that it becomes needful, before you cross the
threshold of many a chapel, to ask the question, "Shall I hear the
gospel here to-day, or shall I come out hardly knowing whether the
Bible is inspired or not? Shall I not be made to doubt the atonement,
the work of the Holy Ghost, the immortality of the soul, the punishment
of the wicked, or the deity of Christ?"
I know I shall stir a hornet's nest by these honest rebukes but I
cannot help it. I am burdened and distressed with the state of
religion; a pest is in the air; no truth is safe from its withering
infection. No signs can be more alarming than the growing infidelity
and worldliness which I see among those who call themselves Christians.
Does this nation really intend to cast off the fear of God and the
doctrines of Holy Scripture to follow the vain imaginings of the
sophists and the fashionable follies of the great? Are we to see again
unbelief and luxurious sin walking hand in hand? If so, there be some
of us who mean to take up our sorrowful parable, and speak as plainly
as we can for truth and holiness, whether we offend or please. Be it
ours still to thunder out the law of God, and proclaim with trumpet
clearness the gospel of Jesus, not bating one jot of firm belief in the
revelation of God, nor winking at sin, nor toning down truth, even
though we fear that the only result will be to make this people's
hearts gross, and their ears heavy, and their eyes blind. If it must be
so, my soul shall weep in secret; but still, Oh Lord, here am I, send
me. Be of good courage, Oh my heart, for the faithful have not ceased
from among men; other voices will cry aloud and spare not, if haply our
land may be purged of its present defilement.
Hearken yet again while I press this subject personally home to you.
Has not this word a personal bearing upon some of you? Certain of you
have heard the gospel preached plainly and honestly, and yet you have
never received it: is there not creeping over you a fatal indifference?
Are not your hearts turning to stone? Possibly you are professors of
religion, and yet you do not feel the power of it; what does this mean?
If you are not a praying people, nor a holy people, and yet you are a
professing people, what an awful doom awaits you! Shall my ministry be
a savour of death unto you? It may be that my voice grows stale to you,
and what I say seems common-place: but is this to be the reason for
your refusing Christ and his salvation, refusing the power of his word,
refusing holiness which we would work in you? Oh, shall it be so? Will
you die? Dear hearers, I should not like to meet one of you at that day
of judgment and have to feel that I preached you into a greater
blindness than you might have known. Oh, be converted! Turn ye, turn
ye, why will ye die? May God in infinite mercy speak to you that you
may believe in Jesus now, lest that should come upon you which is
spoken of by the prophet, "Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and
perish!"
Ere I have done, hear the sweet whisper which closes the sixth of
Isaiah. Notwithstanding all the terrible work that Isaiah had to do he
was not left without comfort; the Lord said to him, "In it there shall
be a tenth." You know how the prophet cried, "Except the Lord of hosts
had left us a seed we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto
Gomorrah." The Lord has his sacred tithe and these he will not lose.
The tree has lost its leaves, for it is winter time; but still it is
alive, and the sap will flow again, for its substance is in it! The
tree is leveled by the axe; but weep not despairing tears, for it shall
sprout again, for life is still in it. Even so the Church must live;
truth must be victorious; purity must conquer, the Christ must reign.
Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him. Reject
Christ if you will to-day, Oh ye who think yourselves so exceeding
wise, but there is a people who love him, a secret people who cling to
him; and when he comes, as come he must ere long, they will welcome him
and partake in his glory. As for you that refuse him this day, how will
you stand when he appeareth? Whither will you flee? You shall ask the
hills to cover you, but they will refuse. You shall bid the mountains
hide you, but they will not yield a cavern for your shelter. Be wise
now, therefore, and no more resist your Lord. "Kiss the Son lest he be
angry, and ye perish from the way while his wrath is kindled but a
little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him!" May you and
I and all of us be of that blessed number. Amen and Amen.
Portion of Scripture read before Sermon–John 12:37-50.
Hymns from "Our Own Hymn Book"–93, 12, 518.
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