VII. HIGHER OR LOWER: WHICH SHALL WIN?
"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
For as many as are led by the spirit of G.o.d, they are the sons of G.o.d.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father."--ROMANS viii. 12-15.
Let us try to understand these words. They are of quite infinite importance to us all.
We shall all agree, all of us at least who have thought at all about right and wrong, and tried to do right and avoid wrong--that there goes on in us, at times, a strange struggle. We wish to do a right thing, and at the very same time long to do a wrong one. We are pulled, as it were, two different ways by two different feelings, feel as if we were two men at once, a better man and a worse man struggling for the mastery. One may conquer, or the other. We may be like the confirmed drunkard who cannot help draining off his liquor, though he knows that it is going to kill him; or we may be like the man who conquers his love for drink, and puts the liquor away, because he knows that he ought not to take it.
We know too well, many of us, how painful this inward struggle is, between our better selves, and our worse selves. How discontented with ourselves it makes us, how ashamed of ourselves, how angry with ourselves. We all understand too well--or ought to understand, St.
Paul"s words: How often the good which he wished to do, he did not do, but the evil which he did not wish to do, he did. How he delighted in the law of G.o.d in his inward man; but he found another law in him, in his body, warring against the law of his mind--that is his conscience and reason, and making a slave of him till he was ready at times to cry, "Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"
We can understand too, surely the famous parable of Plato, the greatest of heathen philosophers, who says, that the soul of man is like a chariot, guided by a man"s will, but drawn by two horses. The one horse he says is white, beautiful and n.o.ble, well-broken and winged, too, always trying to rise and fly upward with the chariot toward heaven. But the other horse is black, evil, and unmanageable, always trying to rush downward, and drag the chariot and the driver into h.e.l.l.
Ah my friends, that is but too true a picture of most of us, and G.o.d grant that in our souls the better horse may win, that our n.o.bler and purer desires may lift us up, and leave behind those lower and fouler desires which try to drag us down. But to drag us down whither? To h.e.l.l at last, says Plato the heathen. To destruction and death in the meanwhile, says St. Paul.
Now in the text St. Paul explains this struggle--this continual war which goes on within us. He says that there are two parts in us--the flesh and the spirit--and that the flesh l.u.s.ts, that is, longs and struggles to have its own way against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.
First, there is a flesh in us--that is, a carnal animal nature. Of that there can be no doubt: we are animals, we come into the world as animals do--eat, drink, sleep as they do--have the same pa.s.sions as they have--and our carnal mortal bodies die at last, exactly as the animals die.
But are we nothing more? G.o.d forbid. St. Paul tells us that we are something more--and our own conscience and reason tell us that we are something more. We know that to be a man, we must be something more than an animal--a mere brute--for when we call any one a brute, what do we mean? That he has lost his humanity, his sense of justice, mercy, and decency, and given himself up to his flesh--his animal nature, till the _man_ in him is dead, and only the _brute_ remains. Mind, I do not say that we are right in calling any human being a brute, for no one, I believe, is sunk so low, but there is some spark of humanity, some spark of what St. Paul calls "the spirit," left in him, which may be fanned into a flame and conquer, and raise and save the man at last--unless he be a mere idiot--or that most unhappy and brutal of all beings, a confirmed drunkard.
But our giving way to the same selfish shameless pa.s.sions, which we see in the lower animals, is letting the "brute" in us conquer, is giving way to the works of the flesh. The shameless and profligate person gives way to the "brute" within him--the man who beats his wife--or ill-treats his children--or in any wise tyrannises over those who are weaker than himself, he too gives way to the "brute" within him. He who grudges, envies, tries to aggrandise himself at his neighbour"s expense--he too gives way to the "brute" within him, and puts on the likeness of the dog which s.n.a.t.c.hes and snarls over his bone. He who spends his life in cunning plots and mean tricks, stealthy, crafty, silent, false, he gives way to the "brute" in him, just as much as the fox or ferret. And those, let me say, who without giving way to those grosser vices, let their minds be swallowed up with vanity, love of admiration, always longing to be seen and looked at, and wondering what folks will say of them, they too give way to the flesh, and lower themselves to the likeness of animals. As vain as a peac.o.c.k, says the old proverb. And shame it is to any human being so far to forget his true humanity, as to have that said of him. And what shall we say of them who like the swine live only for eating and drinking, and enjoyment? Or what of those who like the b.u.t.terflies spend all their time in frivolous amus.e.m.e.nt, fluttering in the sunshine, silly and helpless, without a sense of duty or usefulness, without forethought for the coming frosts of winter, against which their gay feathers would be no protection? Do not all these in some way or other give way to the animal within them, and live after the flesh? And do they not, all of them, of the flesh, reap corruption, and fulfil St.
Paul"s words, "If ye live after the flesh ye shall die?"
But some one will say--"Die?--of course we shall all die--good and bad alike." Is it so, my friends? Then why does our Lord say, "He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die?" And why does St. Paul say, "If ye through the spirit do mortify," that is crush, and as it were kill, "the deeds of the body," all those low animal pa.s.sions and vices, "ye shall live."
Let us look at the text again. "If ye live after the flesh ye shall die." If you give way to those animal pa.s.sions and vices--low and cruel--or even merely selfish and frivolous, you shall die; not merely your bodies--they will die in any case--the animals do--for animals they are, and as animals die they must. But over and above that--you yourselves shall die--your character will die, your manhood or your womanhood will die, your immortal soul will die. The likeness of G.o.d in you will die. Oh, my friends, there is a second death to which that first death of the body is a mere trivial and harmless accident--the death of sin which kills the true man and true woman within you. And that second death may begin in this life, and if it be not stopped and cured in time, may go on for ever. The black horse of which I spoke just now, may get the mastery and drag us down, down, into bogs out of which we can never rise--over cliffs which we can never climb again--down lower and lower--more and more foolish, more and more reckless, more and more base, more and more wretched. And then there will be no more use in saying, "The Lord have mercy on my soul," for we shall have no soul left to have mercy on.
This is the dark side of the matter--a very dark one: but it has to be spoken of, because it is true; and what is more, it comes true only too often in this world. G.o.d grant, my dear friends, that it may not come true of any of you.
But there is also a bright side to the matter--and on that I will speak now, in order that this sermon may end, as such gospel sermons surely should end, not with threats and fear, but with hope and comfort.
"If ye through the spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." If you will be true to your better selves, if you will listen to, and obey the spirit of G.o.d, when He puts into your hearts good desires, and makes you long to be just and true, pure and sober, kind and useful.
If you will cast away and trample under foot animal pa.s.sions, low vices, you shall live. _You_ shall live. Your very soul and self shall live, and live for ever. Your humanity, your human nature shall live. All that is humane in you shall live. All that is merciful and kind in you, all that is pure and graceful, all that is n.o.ble and generous, all that is useful. All in you that is pleasant to yourselves shall live. All in you that is pleasant to your neighbours. All in you that is pleasant to G.o.d shall live. In one word, all in you that is like Christ--all in you that is like G.o.d--all in you that is spirit and not flesh, shall live, and live for ever. So it must be, for what says St. Paul? "As many as are led by the spirit of G.o.d, they are the sons of G.o.d." Those who let the spirit of G.o.d lead them upward instead of letting their own animal nature drag them downward, they are the sons of G.o.d. And how can a son of G.o.d perish? How can that which is like G.o.d and like Christ perish?
How can he perish, who like Christ is full of the fruits of the spirit?
of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance? The world did not give them to him, and the world cannot take them from him. They were not bestowed on him at his bodily birth--neither shall they be taken from him at his bodily death--for those blessed fruits of the spirit belong neither to the flesh nor to the world, but to Christ"s spirit, and to heaven--to that heaven in which they dwell before the throne of G.o.d--yea, rather in the mind of G.o.d Himself, the eternal forms of the truth, the beauty, the goodness--which were before all worlds--and shall be after all worlds have pa.s.sed away.
Oh! choose my friends, especially you who are young and entering into life. Remember the parable of the old heathen, about the two horses who draw your soul. Choose in time whether the better horse shall win, or the worse; whether your better self, or your worse, the Spirit of G.o.d or your own flesh, shall be your master--whether you will rise step by step to heaven, or sink step by step to death and h.e.l.l? And let no one tell you. That is not the question. That is not what we care about. We know we shall do a great many wrong things before we die. Every one does that; but we hope we shall be able to make our peace with G.o.d before we die, and so be forgiven at last.
My dear friends, that kind of religion has done more harm than most kinds of _irreligion_. It tells you to take your chance of beginning at the end--that is just before you die. Common sense tells you that the only way to get to the end, is by beginning at the beginning, which is _now_.
Now is the accepted time. _Now_ is the day of salvation, and you are accepted now, already, long ago.
What do you or any man want with making your peace with G.o.d? You are at peace with G.o.d already. He has made His peace with you. An infinitely better peace than any priest or preacher can make for you. _You are G.o.d"s child_. He looks down on you with boundless love. The great heart of Christ, your King, your Redeemer, your elder brother, yearns over you with boundless longing to draw you up to Him, that you may be n.o.ble as He is n.o.ble, pure as He is pure, loving as He is loving, just as He is just.
Try to be that. G.o.d will at the last day take you as He finds you. Let Him find you such as _that_--walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit; and then, and then only, there will be no condemnation for you, for you will be in Christ Jesus. Do not--do not talk about making your peace with G.o.d some day--like a naughty child playing truant till the last moment, and hoping that the schoolmaster may forget to punish it.
No, I trust you have received the Spirit. If you have, then look facts in the face. I trust that none of you have received the Spirit of bondage, which is slavery again unto fear. If you have G.o.d"s Spirit you will see who you are, and where you are, and act accordingly--you will see that you _are_ G.o.d"s children, who are meant to be educated by the Son of G.o.d, and led by the Spirit of G.o.d, and raised day by day, year by year, from the death of sin, to the life of righteousness, from the likeness of the brute animal, to the likeness of Christ, the Son of Man!
VIII. ST. PETER; OR, TRUE COURAGE.
"Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus. And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of G.o.d to hearken unto you more than unto G.o.d, judge ye."--ACTS iv. 13, 18, 19.
I think that the quality, the grace of G.o.d, which St. Peter"s character and story specially forces on our notice is courage--the true courage which comes by faith. The courage which comes by faith, I say. There is a courage which does not come by faith. There is a brute courage which comes from hardness of heart; from obstinacy, or anger, or stupidity, which does not see danger, or does not feel pain. That is the courage of the brute. One does not blame it or call it wrong. It is good in its place, as all natural things are which G.o.d has made. It is good enough for the brute; but it is not good enough for man. You cannot trust it in man. And the more a man is what a man should be, the less he can trust it. The more mind and understanding a man has, so as to be able to foresee danger and measure it, the more chance there is of his brute courage giving way. The more feeling a man has, the more keen he is to feel pain of body, or pain of mind, such as shame, loneliness, the dislike of ridicule, and the contempt of his fellow-men; in a word, the more of a man he is, the more chance there is of his brute courage breaking down, just when he wants it more to keep him up, and leaving him to play the coward and come to shame.
Yes; to go through with a difficult or dangerous undertaking a man wants more than brute courage. He wants spiritual courage, the courage which comes by faith. He needs to have faith in what he is doing to be certain that he is doing his duty--to be certain that he is in the right. To give one example. Look at the cla.s.s of men who in all England in times of peace undergo the most fearful dangers; who know not at what hour of any night they may not be called up to the most serious and hard labour and responsibility, with the chance of a horrible and torturing death. I mean the firemen of our great cities, than whom there are no steadier, braver, n.o.bler-hearted men. Not a week pa.s.ses without one or more of those firemen, in trying to save life and property, doing things which are altogether heroic. What do you fancy keeps them up to their work?
High pay? The amus.e.m.e.nt and excitement of the fires? The vanity of being praised for their courage? My friends, those would be but weak and paltry motives, which would not keep a man"s heart calm and his head clear under such responsibility and danger as theirs.
No; it is the sense of duty. The knowledge that they are doing a good and a n.o.ble work in saving the lives of human beings and the wealth of the nation--the knowledge that they are in G.o.d"s hands, and that no evil can happen to him who is doing right--that to him even death at his post is not a loss, but a gain. In short, faith in G.o.d, more or less clear, is what gives those men their strong and quiet courage. G.o.d grant that you and I, if ever we have dangerous work to do, may get true courage from the same fountain of ghostly strength.
Yes; it is the courage which comes by faith which makes truly brave men, men like St. Peter and St. John, who can say, "If I am right, G.o.d is on my side, I will not fear what men can do unto me." "I will not fear,"
said David, "though the earth be moved, and the mountains carried into the midst of the sea." The just man who holds firm to his duty will not, says a wise old writer, "be shaken from his solid mind by the rage of the mob bidding him do base things, or the frown of the tyrant who persecutes him. Though the world were to crumble to pieces round him, its ruins would strike him without making him tremble."
Such courage has made men, shut up in prison for long weary years for doing what was right, endure manfully for the sake of some great cause, and say--
"Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage, Minds innocent and quiet take That for an hermitage.
If I have freedom in my thought, And in my soul am free, Angels alone that soar above Enjoy such liberty."
Yes; settle it in your hearts, all of you. There is but one thing you have to fear in heaven or earth--being untrue to your better selves, and therefore untrue to G.o.d. If you will not do the thing you know to be right, and say the thing you know to be true, then indeed you are weak.
You are a coward, and sin against G.o.d. And you will suffer the penalty of your cowardice. You desert G.o.d, and therefore you cannot expect Him to stand by you. But who will harm you if you be followers of that which is right?
What does David say:--"Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved."--Psalm xv. 1-5. Yes, my friends, there is a tabernacle of G.o.d in which, even in this life, He will hide us from strife. There is a hill of G.o.d in which, even in the midst of danger, and labour, and anxiety, we may rest both day and night--even Jesus Christ, the Rock of Ages--He who is the righteousness itself, the truth itself. And whosoever does righteousness and speaks truth, dwells in Christ in this life, as well as in the life to come. And Christ will give him courage to strengthen him by His Holy Spirit, to stand in the evil day, the day of danger, if it shall come--and having done all to stand.
Pray you then for the Spirit of Faith to believe really in G.o.d, and for the spirit of ghostly strength to obey G.o.d honestly. No man ever asked honestly for that Spirit but what he gained it at last. And no man ever gained it but what he found the truth of St. Peter"s own words--"Who will harm you, if you be followers of what is good?"
IX. THE STORY OF JOSEPH.
"I fear G.o.d." GENESIS xlii. 18.
Did it ever seem remarkable to you, as it has seemed to me, how many chapters of the Bible are taken up with the history of Joseph--a young man who, on the most memorable occasion in his life, said "I fear G.o.d,"
and had no other argument to use?
Thirteen chapters of the book of Genesis are mainly devoted to the tale of this one young man. Doubtless his father Jacob"s going down into Egypt, was one of the most important events in the history of the Jews: we might expect, therefore, to hear much about it. But what need was there to spend four chapters at least in detailing Joseph"s meeting with his brethren, even to minute accounts of the speeches on both sides?
Those who will may suppose that this is the effect of mere chance. Let us have no such fancy. If we believe that a Divine Providence watched over the composition of those old Scriptures; if we believe that they were meant to teach, not only the Jews but all mankind; if we believe that they reveal, not merely some special G.o.d in whom the Jews believed, but the true and only G.o.d, Maker of heaven and earth; if we believe, with St. Paul, that every book of the Old Testament is inspired by G.o.d, and profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of G.o.d may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works--if we believe this, I say, it must be worth our while to look carefully and reverently at a story which takes up so large a part of the Bible, and expect to find in it something which may help to make _us_ perfect, and thoroughly furnish _us_ unto all good works.
Now, surely when we look at this history of Joseph, we ought to see at the first glance that it is not merely a story about a young man, but about the common human relations--the ties which bind any and every man to other human beings round him. For is it not a story about a brother and brothers? about a son and a father, about a master and a servant?
about a husband and a wife? about a subject and a sovereign? and how they all behaved to each other--some well and some ill--in these relations?