The Spies

The Spies

A Sermon

(No. 197)

Delivered on Sabbath Morning, June 6, 1858, by the

REV. C.H. SPURGEON

at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens

"And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched
unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have
gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof;
and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great
stature."–Numbers 13:32.

"And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were
of them that searched the land, rent their clothes. And they spake unto
all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land which we
passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land."–Numbers
14:6-7.

THE UNBELIEF OF THE CHILDREN of Israel, prompted them to send spies
into Canaan. God had told them that it was a good land, and he had
promised to drive out their enemies, they ought therefore to have
marched forward with all confidence to possess the promised heritage.
Instead of this, they send twelve princes to spy out the land, and
"alas, for human nature," ten of these were faithless, and only two
true to the Lord. Read over the narrative, and mark the ill effect of
the lying message, and the holy boldness of the true spies.

Now I must take up my parable. The land of Canaan is a picture of
religion; I do not think it was ever intended to be a picture of
heaven, for there are no Canaanites in heaven, certainly in heaven
there are no sons of Anak, no giants to be driven out, no walled
cities, and no kings with chariots of iron. Canaan is, however, a very
excellent picture of religion. The children of Israel must stand this
morning as the representatives of the great mass of mankind. The great
mass of mankind never try for themselves what religion is; they neither
search our sacred books, nor taste and try our religion. But this is
what they do; they consider those who make a profession of religion as
spies who have entered the land, and they look upon our character and
our conduct as the message which we bring back to them. The ungodly man
does not read his Bible in order to discover whether the religion of
Christ is holy and beautiful, no, he reads the living Bible–Christ's
church–and if the church is inconsistent he condemns the Bible, though
the Bible is never to be accountable for the sins of those who profess
to believe it. Ungodly men of course do not come and by repentance and
faith make a trial of the love of Christ; they do not enter into
covenant with the Lord Jesus, or else they would soon discover that it
is a good land that floweth with milk and honey; but instead thereof
they stand still, and they say, "Let be, let us see what these
Christians make of it. Do they find it to be a happy thing? Does it
succor them in their hour of trouble? Does it comfort them in the midst
of their trials?" And if they find that our report is a gloomy or an
unholy one, they turn aside, and they say, "It is not a good land; we
will not enter into it, for its difficulties are great, but its
enjoyments are few."

Beloved brethren and friends, to put the parable as simply as I can, I
am about to make out every Christian man and woman here to be a spy who
has entered into the good land of religion, and who by his conduct and
conversation brings either an evil or a good report of this good land,
and either moves the world to murmur at and to despise religion, or
else inspires it with a holy dread of goodness, and something of a
longing after a portion therein.

But I shall begin with a word of caution. In the first place I shall
notice that the men of the world are not to be excused for their folly
in trusting to mere report from other persons. Then secondly, I shall
endeavor to describe the evil reporters, the evil spies, which are in
the camp; then we will mention some good spies, who bring a good report
of the land; and, in conclusion, bring a few weighty reasons to bear
upon Christian men, why they should act like Caleb and Joshua, and
bring up a good report of the land.

I. In the first place, then, THE UNGODLY WORLD ARE NOT TO BE EXCUSED
for that, which must nevertheless be admitted to be a very natural
matter, namely, that INSTEAD OF INVESTIGATING RELIGION FOR THEMSELVES,
THEY USUALLY TRUST TO THE REPRESENTATION OF OTHERS.

The worldly man looks at a Christian to see whether his religion be
joyful. "By this," says he, "shall I know whether there is that in
religion which will make a man glad. If I see the professor of it with
a joyous countenance, then I will believe it to be a good thing." But
hark, sir! hast thou any right to put it to that test? Is not God to be
counted true, even before we have proved him? And hath he not declared
himself, "Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no guile?" Doth not the Scripture itself
declare that godliness is profitable, not only for this life, but for
that which is to come–that it hath the blessing of two worlds, the
blessing of this world below the sky and of that upper world above the
stars? Would you not know from Scripture if you were to take the Bible
and read it, that everywhere the Christian is commanded to rejoice,
because it is comely for him? "Rejoice in the Lord ye righteous and
shout for joy all ye that are upright in heart." "Rejoice evermore."
"Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, rejoice." Remember you
have no right to put the joyfulness of religion to any test short of
your own experience, for you are bound to believe God on his naked
word. It is not for you to stand still till you can see it to be true.
It is your duty to believe your Maker when he declares that the ways of
religion are pleasantness and all her paths are peace.

Again, you say you will test the holiness of Christ's religion by the
holiness of Christ's people. You have no right, I reply, to put the
question to any such test as that. The proper test that you ought to
use is to try it yourselves–to "taste and see that the Lord is good."
By tasting and seeing you will prove his goodness, and by the same
process you must prove the holiness of his gospel. Your business is to
seek Christ crucified for yourselves, not to take the representation of
another man concerning the power of grace to subdue corruption and to
sanctify the heart. Your business is yourselves to enter into its
valleys end pluck its grapes; yourselves to climb its hills and see its
inhabitants. Inasmuch as God has given you a Bible, he intended you to
read it, and not to be content with reading men. There is his Holy
Spirit; you are not to be content with feelings that rise through the
conversation of others, your only power to know true religion is, by
having that Spirit operating upon your own heart, that you may yourself
know what is the power of religion. You have no right to judge religion
from anything extra or external from itself. And if you despise it
before you have tried it yourself, you must stand confessed in this
world as a fool, and in the next world as a criminal. And yet this is
so with most men. If you hear a man rail at the Bible, you can usually
conclude that he never reads it. And you may be quite certain if you
hear a man speak against religion, that he never knew what religion
was. True religion, when once it takes possession of the heart, never
allows a man to quarrel with it. That man will call Christ his best
friend who knows Christ at all. We have found many who have despised
the enjoyments of this world, but we never found one who turned from
religion with disgust or with satiety, after having once enjoyed it.
No, remember my hearers, if you take your religion from other people,
and are led by the example of professors to discard religion, you are
nevertheless guilty of your own blood. For God has not left you to the
uncertain chart of men's characters; he has given you his own Word; a
more sure word and testimony, whereunto you do well if ye take heed.

It will be in vain for you to say at the day of judgment, "Such and
such a man was inconsistent, therefore I despised religion." Your
excuse will then be discovered to be idle, for you shall have to
Confess, that in other respects, you did not take another man's
opinion. In business, in the cares of this life, you were independent
enough; in your political opinions you did not pin your faith to any
man's coat; and, therefore, it shall be said of you at last, you had
enough independence of mind to steer your own course even against the
example of others, in business, in politics, and such like things; you
certainly had enough of mental vigor, if you had chosen to have done
so, to have stood out against the inconsistency of professors, anal to
have searched for yourselves. If all Christ's church were inconsistent,
so long as there is a Bible upon earth, you could have no excuse in the
day of judgment; for Christ was not inconsistent, and you are not asked
to follow Christ's followers–you are asked to follow Christ himself.
Until then you can find a flaw in his character, a mistake in his
conduct, you have no right to fling the inconsistency of his followers
in the teeth of Christ, nor to turn from him because his disciples
forsake him and flee. To their own Master they stand or fall; they must
bear their own burden, and you must bear yours too. "Every man shall
bear his own burden," saith Scripture, "for we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ, to give an account for the things which we
have done in the body, whether they be good, or whether they be evil"
You will not be accountable for another man's sins, but for your own;
and if another man by his sin has brought reproach upon Christ, still
it shall be no excuse for you if you do not follow him wholly, in the
midst of an evil generation.

II. With that, by way of caveat and guard, I shall now bring forth THE
BAD SPIES. I wish that the men mentioned in the text, had been the only
spies who have brought an evil report: it would have been a great mercy
if the plague that killed them, had killed all the rest of the same
sort; but alas! the breed, I am afraid, will never be extinct, and as
long as the world endureth, there will be some professors who bring up
an evil report of the land.

But now let me bring forth the evil spies. Remember, these spies are to
be judged, not by what they say, but by what they do; for to a
worldling, words are nothing–acts are everything. The reports that we
bring of our religion are not the reports of the pulpit, not the
reports that we utter with our lips, but the report of our daily life,
speaking in our own houses, and the every day business of life.

Well, first, I produce a man who brings up an evil report of the land,
and you will see at once that he does so, for he is of a dull and heavy
spirit. If he preaches, he takes this text–"Through much tribulation
we must inherit the kingdom." Somehow or other, he never mentions God's
people, without calling them God's tried children. As for joy in the
Lord, he looks upon it with suspicion. "Lord, what a wretched land is
this!" is the very height of poetry to him. He could sing that always.
He is always in the valley, where the mists are hovering: he never
climbs the mountain's brow, to stand above the tempests of this life.
He was gloomy before be made a profession of religion–since then he
has become more gloomy still. See him at home. Ask the children what
they think of their father's religion. they think they could wish their
father was anything except religious. "Father will not let us laugh,"
they say; "he pulls the blinds down on the Sunday; he tries to make us
as dark and miserable as he can on the Sabbath day;" he thinks it his
duty as a strict Sabbatarian, to make the Sabbath the greatest day of
bondage out of the whole seven. Ask his wife what she thinks of
religion: she says, "I do not know much about it myself, but I wish my
husband were be little more cheerful." "Nay, but is it his religion
that makes him miserable?" "I do not know what it is," she says, "but I
know when he is most miserable, he is generally most religious." Hear
him pray: when he is on his knees he gives a long list of his trials
and troubles; but he never says at the end, "More are they that are for
us than all they that are against us." He usually dwells upon the
valley of Baca, and about crying so much that he makes it a well. He
never goes on to say, "They go from strength to strength, every one of
them in Zion appeared before God." No, it is just the black part of the
story. If you want to see this brother in perfection, you must see him
when he is talking to a young convert. The young man is full of joy and
gladness, for he has found the Saviour, and, like a young fledgling
that has just taken wing, he delights to fly about in the sunshine, and
chirp merrily in the joy of his faith. "Ah!" says the old Christian,
"the black ox has not trodden on your toes yet; you will have more
troubles than you dream of." Old Mr.Timorous was a friend of mine: did
you ever hear what he said to Christian, when he met him on his
journey? I will tell you the same. "The lions; the lions! the lions!"
he cries; however says "The lions are chained." "The giants! the
giants! the giants!" he exclaims. He never saith, "He carrieth the
lambs in his bosom, and gently leadeth those that are with young." He
takes always the dreary side of the question, bringing up an ill report
of the land. And, do you know, some of these people are so proud of
their in report, that they form themselves into a little knot, and they
cannot hear any preacher except his face he of an extreme length, and
except he has studied the dictionary to find all the most lugubrious
terms, and except he appear unto men to fast, just like the Pharisees
of old. Now, I do not hesitate to say that these men are evil spies.
Far be it from us to mask the great fact that religion does entail
tribulation, and that a Christian, like everybody else, must expect in
this world to have trouble, for man is born to it as the sparks fly
upward; but it is as false as God is true, that religion makes men
miserable. So sure as God is good, his religion is good. and as God is
good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works, religion is
an atmosphere in which those tender mercies play, and the sea in which
his lovingkindness swims. Oh, come, ye dreary professors, take away
those storm-clouds, and wreathe a few rainbows on your brow. Come, now,
anoint your head and wash your face, that you appear not unto men to
fast; take those harps from the willows; down with them, and now try if
your unaccustomed fingers cannot make them alive with melody. And if
you will not do it, and cannot do it, permit me to bear my testimony. I
can say, concerning Christ's religion, if I had to die like a dog, and
had no hope whatever of immortality, if I wanted to lead a happy life,
let me serve my God with all my heart; let me be a follower of Jesus
and walk in his footsteps, for never was there a truer word spoken than
that of Solomon, "Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths
are peace." It is a land that floweth with milk and honey; there are
clusters even on earth too heavy for one man to carry; there are fruits
that have been found so rich that even angel lips have never been
sweetened with more luscious wine; there are joys to be had here so
fair that even cates ambrosial and the nectared wine of Paradise can
scarce excel the sweets of satisfaction that are to be found in the
earthly banquets of the Lord.

Perhaps, however, this poor man that I have just sent off is to be
pitied. Not so the next one, for he is a rascal indeed. See him! he
comes forward as Mr. Meekface, making a great profession of religion.
How he mouths the hymns! When he stands up to pray, with what a
spiritual kind of voice he prays. Nothing carnal about his voice! He is
among the Christian people a great leader. He can preach sermons by the
yard. He can dissect doctrines by the hour. There is not a metaphysical
point in all our theology that he does not understand,

"He can a hair divide,

Betwixt the west and north-west side."

His understanding is, in his own opinion, infinite; and he makes very
boastful pretensions to piety. Everybody says when they see him in his
good frames in chapel or elsewhere, "What a dear good man he is!" You
follow him to business. He will not swear, but he will lie. He won't
out-and-out rob, but he will cheat. He will not curse a man to his
face, but he will do worse–he will speak ill of him behind his back.
You watch him! He, if he could find a drunkard in the street, would
upbraid him, and talk to him so proudly against the sin of
intoxication, but he himself very seldom knows his own way upstairs to
bed; only that is in a quiet way, therefore nobody sees it, and he is
thought to be a very reputable member of society. Don't you know any
such people? I hope you do not; but I have met with them. There is a
great stock of them still living; men that make grand professions, and
their lives are as much opposed to their professions, as hell is
opposed to heaven. Now what does the world say of religion when they
see these people? They say at once, "Well, if this be religion, we had
better have none of it." Says the business man, "I could not do what
So-and-so does, it is true, I could not sing out of his hymn book, but
I could not keep his cash book." We have known many men say; "I could
not make so long a prayer as So-and-so, and could not make out my
invoices in the dishonest way he does." We have met with worldly men
who are far more honest as tradesman and professional men than persons
who make a profession of religion. And we have known on the other hand,
men who have made the greatest profession, indulging in all kinds of
evil. Horrible shall he that man's fate, who thus ruins other men's
souls by bringing up a bad report of the land. But, oh! I beseech you,
my hearers, if any of you have seen such professors, let the righteous
stand out to-day, like Joshua and Caleb of old; let the Church stand
before you and rend its garments, while it entreats you not to believe
the lying and slanderous reports of such men. For, indeed, religion is
holy; as Christ is holy, even so do his people desire to be holy. And
the grace of God which bringeth salvation is pure and peaceful; it
produces in men things that are holy and of good report, things that
magnify God, and that make human nature appear glorious. But scarcely
do I need to tell you that, in your own circle while you have met with
hypocrites, you have met with men whom you could not doubt. Yes, you
have sometimes seen even in your evil company, a man who was like an
angel; you have felt as Satan did when Abdiel, the faithful among the
faithless, stood forth, and would not turn a rebel to his God.

"Abashed the devil stood, and felt how awful goodness was"

I beseech you therefore, do not believe the ill report of the
hypocrite, and the unholy man.

But there is a third class of professors who bring up a bad report of
the land. And this I am afraid will affect us all in some measure we
must all plead guilty to it. The Christian man, although he endeavors
uniformly to walk according to the law of Christ, finds still another
law in his members warring against the law of his mind, and
consequently there are times when his witness is not consistent.
Sometimes this witness is, "The Gospel is holy" for he is holy himself.
But, alas with the very best of men, there are times when our witness
contradicts our faith. When you see an angry Christian–and such a
thing may be seen–and when you meet with a Christian who is proud, and
such a thing has been known, when you catch a Christian overtaken in a
fault, as you may sometimes do, then his testimony is not consistent.
He contradicts then what he has at other times declared by his acts.

And here, I say again, I fear that all of us must plead guilty. We have
sometimes by our actions put in words which seem to conflict with the
general testimony of our lives. Oh! brothers and sisters, do not
believe all that you see in us, and if sometimes you see a Christian
man betrayed into a hasty or a wrong expression, do not set it down to
our religion, set it down to our poor fallen humanity. If sometimes you
should catch us overtaken by a fault, and we trust it shall be rarely
enough you so see us, abuse us, but do not abuse our Master: say what
you will concerning us, but do not, we beseech you, impute it to our
religion, for saints are sinners still, and the most holy men have
still to say, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that
trespass against us." But we do beseech you, when the madness of sin
deludes us, do not believe the maunderings of our madness, but have
regard to the general testimony of our lives, and that, we trust, you
will find to be consistent with the gospel of Christ. I could bear to
be abused, but I should not like to have the Master abused. I would
rather have it believed that I was not a Christian at all, than allow
any one to say that any faults I have were caused by my religion. No,
Christ is holy; the gospel is pure and spotless. If at any time we seem
to contradict that witness, do not believe us, I beseech you, but look
into the matter for yourselves, for indeed it is a good land, a land
which floweth with milk and honey.

III. Thus I have brought forth the evil spies who bring up a bad
report. and now, thank God we have some GOOD SPIES too. But we will let
them speak. Come Joshua and Caleb, we want your testimony; though you
are dead and gone, you have left children behind you; and they, still
grieved as you were at the evil report, rend their clothes, but they
boldly stand to it that the land they have passed through is an
exceeding good land.

One of the best spies I have ever met with is an aged Christian. I
remember to have heard him stand up and tell what he thought of
religion. He was a blind old man, who for twenty years had not seen the
light of the sun. His grey locks hung from his brow, and floated over
his shoulders. He stood up at the table of the Lord, and thus addressed
us:-"Brethren and sisters, I shall soon be taken from you; in a few
more months I shall gather up my feet upon my bed, and sleep with my
fathers. I have not the tongue of the learned nor the mind of the
eloquent but I desire before I go, to bear one public testimony to my
God. Fifty and six years have I served him, and I have never found him
once unfaithful. I can say Surely goodness and mercy have followed us
all the days of my life, and not one good thing hath failed of all the
Lord God has promised.' " And there stood that old man, tottering into
his tomb, deprived of the light of heaven naturally, and yet having the
light of heaven in a better sense shining into his soul; and though he
could not look upon us, yet did he turn himself, and seemed to say,
"Young people, trust God in early life, for I have not to regret that I
sought him too soon. I have only to mourn that so many of my years ran
to waste." There is nothing that more tends to strengthen the faith of
the young believer than to hear the veteran Christian, covered with
scars from the battle testifying that the service of his Master is a
happy service, and that if he could have served any other master he
would not have done so, for his service was pleasant and his wages
everlasting joy.

Take the testimony of the sufferer. "Behold that fragile form of
delicate transparent beauty, whose light-blue eye and hectic cheek are
lit by the bale-fires of decline, all droopingly she lieth, as a
dew-laden lily, her flaxen tresses, rashly luxuriant, dank with
unhealthy moisture." I have seen her when her eyes were sunk, when she
could scarce be lifted out of the bed, when the frame was wearied of
life; and I have seen her quite complacent, as she took her Bible from
beneath her pillow and read, "Yea, though I pass through the valley of
the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod
and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table for me in the
presence of mine enemies." I have sat down and spoken to her, and have
said to her, "Well, you have been in this sad place these many months.
Do you find religion cheers you now?" "Oh, Sir," she has said, "what
could I do without it? I cannot leave this bed; but it has been to me a
couch of joy, where Christ has spread a banquet. He has made my bed in
all my sickness. he has put his left hand under my head, and his right
hand has embraced me; he has given me joy in my sorrows, and has
prepared me to face death with a calm and unflinching countenance."
Such a case bears witness to the Master. Like that of the gray-headed
saint, it is an excellent report of this good land.

But we need not look to sick beds and to grey heads for the only
witness. We know a Christian merchant; he is immersed in the cares of
this life, and yet he always finds time to prepare for a world that is
to come. He has as much business as any man in the city, and yet family
prayer is never neglected. And perhaps you find him serving the office
of civic magistrate–as was the case in one instance–and yet even on
the day of banquet, he rises from his chair, in order that family
worship may still be kept up in his house. He is known in business as
one who is willing to help little tradesmen. He likes good securities,
as other people do; but he will sometimes run a risk to help a rising
man. When you go to him, you find him a sharp man of business, he is
not to be taken in; but at the same time you will find him a man that
will not take you in. You may trust him. Whatever the transaction may
be, you have no need to look over the invoice if he has had anything to
do with it. There will be no mistake there; or if there be a mistake,
it will be palpably a mistake, and immediately confessed with the
greatest possible sorrow, for he is upright in his dealings. There has
come sometimes in his case an unhappy crisis, and when houses were
tumbling, and bankrupts were as common as leaves upon the trees he was
not disturbed and distracted like other men, for his confidence was in
his God, and his trust in the God of Jacob. He had some anxiety, but he
had more faith. and when his prosperity returned to him, he dedicated
part of his substance unto the Lord, not in a noisy way, so that it
might appear in a report that So-and-so gave a hundred a year to a
society, but he gave five hundred and nobody knew of it. Men said of
him in the Exchange and in the Market, "If there is a Christian, it is
that man." When they saw him, they said, "There is something in
religion. We have watched him; we have never found him trip or turn
aside. We have always found him the same upright character, fearing his
God, and fearing no man." Such a man brings up a good report of the
land. I may talk here Sunday after Sunday, and every day in the week
elsewhere, but I cannot preach in so forcible a way as you can, who by
your actions are preaching to the world. Ah! and I cannot preach so
well as those who are servants, who by their holy action in the midst
of trial and difficulty have an opportunity to show what grace can do
in the heart. Those are good spies who bring up a good report of the
land.

And, my sisters, let me say a word to you. It is possible for you, too,
to bring up a good report; not by neglecting your households in order
to attend to visiting societies. Let visiting societies be attended to.
God be thanked for them, for they are among the best institutions of
our times. But I have known some people who would have been a great
deal better employed in scrubbing their dressers, and seeing their
servants wash up the tea things, than going out visiting the sick from
house to house; for their house has run to riot, and their families
have been quite out of order, because the wife, like a foolish woman,
was plucking everything down at home, while trying to do good abroad.
We have known many true sisters of mercy, who are really blessed among
women, and God shall bless them abundantly. We have known others who
very seldom go out visiting the sick, but they are at home ordering
their household. We have known an ungodly husband converted by a godly
wife. I remember to have heard an instance of a man who had a wife of
so excellent a disposition, that though he was a worldly, gay man, he
used to boast in his gay company that he had got the best wife on
earth. Said he, "You cannot put her into a passion. I go home late at
night, in all sorts of trim, but she always receives me meekly, and I
feel ashamed of myself every time I see her, for her holiness rebukes
me. You may put her to any test you like, you will find her the best of
women." "Well," said they, "let us all go to supper with you to-night."
They did. In they rushed. She did not hint there was nothing in the
house, though there was very little; but she and her maid set to with
all their might, although it was past twelve o'clock, and very soon had
supper, and she waited on them with all the grace of a duchess, seeming
as glad to see them as if they were her friends, and had come at the
most opportune time. And they began to tell how it was they had come,
and asked her how it was she could bear it so patiently. She said, "God
has given me a husband. I was not converted before I was married, but
ever since I was converted, my first endeavor has been to bring my
husband to know Jesus. and I am sure," said she, "he will never be
brought to do so except by kindness." Her husband, through these words,
after the company had gone, confessed how wrong he had acted to her;
his heart was touched; next Sabbath he went to the house of God with
her, and they became a happy couple, rejoicing in the Lord Jesus Christ
with all their hearts. She was a good spy, and brought a good report of
the land. I doubt not there are many women whose names will never be
heard of on earth who will receive the Master's commendation at last,
"She hath done what she could;" and when you have done what you can for
Christ, by holy, patient, quiet meekness, you are good spies; you have
brought a good report of the land.

And you servants, you can do the same. A religious servant girl ought
to be the best servant anywhere. A religious shoeblack ought to black
shoes better than anybody else. If there be a religious man who is set
to clean knives, he ought to take care that he does not take the edge
off. You know the negroes' piety in America is such, that a religious
negro is worth many dollars more than another and always sells well; so
that the masters like them to get religious because they are the men
that do not rebel, but submit meekly and patiently, and the men who,
finding themselves slaves, much as they may hate their position, yet
regard one to be their master who is higher than all, and "not with eye
service as men pleasers, but with singleness of heart," they endeavor
to serve God.

IV. And now I want to press with all my might upon every professing
Christian here, THE GREAT NECESSITY OF BRINGING OUT A UNIFORMLY GOOD
TESTIMONY CONCERNING RELIGION. Brethren, I feel persuaded if Christ
were here to-day, there are some of us who love him so well that we
would turn our own cheek to the smiter, rather than he should be
smitten. One of Napoleon's officers loved him so well that when a
cannon ball was likely to smite the emperor, he threw himself in the
way, in order that he might die as a sacrifice for his master. Oh
Christian, you would do the same, I think. If Christ were here you
would run between him and insult, yea, between him and death. Well,
then, I am sure you would not wantonly expose Christ; but remember,
every unguarded word you use, every inconsistent act puts a slur on
Christ. The world, you know, does not find fault with you–they lay it
all to your Master. If you make a slip to-morrow they will not say,
"That is John Smith's human nature;" they will say, "That is John
Smith's religion." They know better, but they will be sure to say it;
they will be sure they put all the mischief at the door of Christ. Now,
if you could bear the blame yourself you might bear it manfully; but do
not allow Christ to bear the blame–do not suffer his escutcheon to be
tarnished–do not permit his banner to be trampled in the dust.

Then there is another consideration. You must remember, if you do wrong
the world will be quite sure to notice you. The world carries two bags:
in the bag at the back they put all the Christian's virtues–in the bag
in front they put all our mistakes and sins. They never think of
looking at the virtues of holy men; all the courage of martyrs and all
the fidelity of confessors, and all the holiness of saints, is nothing
to them; but our iniquities are ever before them. Please to recollect,
that wherever you are as a Christian, the eyes of the world are upon
you; the Argus eyes of an evil generation follow you everywhere. If a
church is blind the world is not. It is a common proverb, "As sound
asleep as a church," and a very true one, for most churches are sound
asleep; but it would be a great falsehood if anyone were to say, "As
sound asleep as the world," for the world is never asleep. Sleeping is
left to the church. And remember, too, that the world always wears
magnifying glasses to look at Christians' faults. If a man trips who
makes no profession, oh! it is nothing–you never hear of it; let a
minister do it, let a Christian professor do it, and then comes out the
magnifying glass. It is nothing in anybody else, but it is a great sin
in us. There are two codes of morality in the world, and it is very
right there should be. If we make profession to be God's children, and
to have God's grace in our hearts, it is no more wrong in the world to
expect more of us than of others than it is for a gardener to expect
his plants to grow more quickly on a hot-bed and under a glass-shade
than he would out of doors in the cold frost. If we have more
privileges, and more culture, and make more profession, we ought to
live up to them, and the world is quite right in expecting us to do so.

There is another consideration I must offer you before I have done.
Recollect if you do not bring a good testimony for your religion, an
evil testimony will defeat a great deal of good. All the saints in a
church but one may be faithful to Christ, and the world will not honor
the church for it; but let one professor in that church turn aside to
sin, and you will hear of it for many a day. It is even so in nature.
Take the days in the year. The sun rises and shines upon us, and we do
not note it; all things continue as they were: the stars smile sweetly
by night, and the day and night roll on in quiet: but there comes one
day, a day of thunder and lightning, a day of earthquake and storm, and
it is put on the rolls of our history that such-and-such a remarkable
day occurred at such-and-such a time. Why not note the good day? But so
it is. The world will only note the evil. You may cross through a
country, and you will notice a hundred fair rivers, like silver streams
threaded with emeralds running through the pastures, who hears the
sound of their waters, as they flow gently to the sea? But there is one
precipitous rock, and a waterfall dashes there; you may hear that half
a mile off. We never hear anything about the river St. Lawrence, in all
its lengths and breadths, it is only the falls of Niagara that we hear
of. And so the Christian may flow on in a steady course of life,
unseen, unheard; but you are sure to hear of him, if he makes a fall.
Be watchful, therefore; your Master cometh. Be watchful: the enemy is
at hand even now. O may the Holy Spirit sanctify you wholly, that you
may abound in every good work, to the glory of God!

As for you who fear not God, remember, if Christians do sin, that shall
not be an excuse for you. Suppose a man you are dealing with says to
you, "I cheated you, but I did not make any profession of being
honest." You would tell him he was a confirmed rogue. Or if a man were
taken before a magistrate, and were to say, "You need not put me in a
prison, I never made a profession of being anything but a thief. I
never said I would not break into people's chambers and get at their
plate baskets!" The magistrate would say, "You speak honestly, but you
are by your own confession a great rogue, and I will transport you for
life, and you shall never have a ticket of leave." It will be of no use
for you at the last day, to say that you never made a profession of
wanting to go to heaven or to escape hell, of leaving sin and trusting
in Christ. If you never made a profession of serving God, you may rest
assured he will have short work with you. You have made no profession.
O there is no judgment required. Depart! Thou didst make no profession
of loving me, and now thou shalt have no posesssion of my glory.
Depart, accursed, into everlasting fire. May the Lord deliver us from
that, for Jesus' sake.
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