SUNDAY READING.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4174, 6 December 1884, Page 6 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING.

SERMON BY MR SAUNDERS

Luke 18 eh. 19 ver. " And Jesus said unto him, why c-allcst thou nic good? nono

is good, save one, that is, God."

Our text forms part of our Lord's answer to the rich young ruler who came making enquiry concerning things of eternal consequence. There, is no doubt that this youngmanmust have heard of our Lord, where he gathered his information we are not told, that he possessed it is almost certain by the whole tenor of the narrative. The young man camo running up before our Lord enquiring, what shall Ido to inherit eternal lifo '? In considering this subject it is almost necessary for us to make the enquiry, what was this young man's conception of Christ? Did ho understand Christ to bo the Messiah? Was he thoroughly acquainted with His divine character and attributes tho same as wo are to-day? Did ho know full' well when that council of a trinity asked, let us make man in our own imago after our likeness, did he know that Christ was part and part and parcel of the Council? Did it Hash on him iri full blaze that all things were made by Him, and that without Him was nothing made that wao made ? We say this young man knew Christ in no such character as this. He knew Him as a good man, coming to this conclusion that if Christ had not been a good man He could not have committed those miracles that were attributed to him. The dead were raised, the blind restored to sight, and the lame walked. Such evidence to a Jvvr must result in tho fact that Christ, to do these, must be a good man. Thus blinded by prejudice, he came to no othor conclusion than this. This young man : sincerely desired -salvation, and he thought by some sacrifice on his part, he would be able to attain unto that atmosphere, where he thought Christ stood. He thought Christ possessed goodness of mind apart from the divine, but Christ wished to "dispossess his mind of any such conclusion as this, and He said, There is none good, though Christ stood there as tho perfection of manhood, but it teaches us this lesson, that even He-had help from abovehelp from God. Whilst this young man followed the teaching of his lips, while he was acquainted 1 with all tho law, while he had kept that up to now, Christ said to him, Thou lackest one thing. Again, we make enquiry, what was,ho lacking? The casual observer at once comes to the conclusion, conversion ;- but it is something far more than that." It tells him he only understood the'law iii its mere formal character, that his religion was a mere formality instead of being vital and godly, that professing to love thy neighbor is. this, if' thou dost love thy neighbor as .thyself,/ sell,all that thou hast and give unto ' ( the poor. What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own life, or what will a man give in exchango for his life ? Hence he says to the yonng man, if thou love thy neighbor as thyself, sell all | thou hast and give to the poor; but the young man went away very sorrowful for he was very rich, and we no more hear of hinvcoming to Christ. Our text leads us to the consideration that the divino character is the source of human goodness, and in the first place we will riotiod,; that man does not possess goodness apart' from God. There is none good. Man's natural inclination is to wander further and further from the path of all that is good and pure, poisoned by evil.influences he allows himself to drift away on the great sea of iniquity until he becoroes tempest tossed, and ho has, to breast the billows, and fhen pogsjbly he may beginto think he is on the wrong way anc} ho wi|l endeavor to turn,- but he finds himself unable to burst asunder his fetters, and his, inclinations are quite foreign to a godly life; It .would bo impossible to picture man's' position apart from God, because no' man ever did love apart from the Great Supreme, and no man ever, will, no matter how we may repudiate our responsibility to Him, that responsibility exists nevertheless. Some men, we know, are very pretentious as to tho goodness they possess,.and that they are under no obligation to tho divi.ie character for the goodness they have, .but it is ho argument because a man'asserts, he is under no obligation that obligation does not 'exist. Water cannot rise above its own level, no good man rises to a: plane that is foreign to liim, he cannot enter into that plane without some other help than himself, and that other help is God, Scriptural statements P.!'° very, emphatic in 'that rpspeot., .Tho prophet. Jeremiah was contemplating 'on a similar. subject,when ho said, the heart is deceitful; above oil things, and. desperately wicked. Whatever goodness mankind does possoss, they get it from the Supremo, for every, good arid perfect gift comcth from above.The imagination of man's heart is evilfrom his youth, very corrupt," there is none that doeth good, there is nono righteous, no not one, is the natural position of man. .But, whilst man is without goodness, we thank the all wise and good for the manifestation of that goodness, which is ,in Christ, which he has. revealed to our hearts, yet man every where clings to the, evil, man clings to the ovil, clings right on till death overtakes him

in many instances, and then he has to stand before his Maker, and give an account of the deeds done in the body. While tho day is,

let us turn to tho God who is the God of Israel, and lot our hearts bo filled with His praise and joy, and. like the birds of tho air, let us fly to the Grace of God and.havo our hearts filled. 1 hough man does not possess goodness apart from God, wo notico in tho second place' that all goodness moral and spiritual is divine. Absolute goodness is, God.. Some may think of this statement it is strange at first, but if you look at it you will see the logical' conclusion of it. Absolute goodness is God. Wo do not say whero you see goodness in the creaturo it is God. That may do for tho pantheist but not for the trinitarian. Outside of God you

cannot find absolute goodness. God is love, and the scripture says there is nono good save one and that one is God. Primarily, essentinly, and above all other sources, God is good and tho source. of all goodness, that goodness is found in .no creaturo whatever,it is tho reflection of the divine', glory of the Creator, and this reflection.runs. through tho whole earth. The prophets of old say,

the wholo earth was, filled with Ilia glory, and wo re-echo tho sentiment, tho whole earth is'full of His, goodness. . Docs .'not 'every day of our experience point us to tho goodness of God ? ' Let us contcmplato the wonders of nature, how the. days and nights roll by in succession ;. view the cattle on a thousand hills, sec thorn'basking-.in >tbe sun,-, shine ;' or as night is approaching'as. we look do wo not see, all nature, animate and

inanimate, to be indispensable witnesses of the goodness of God. When wo.see the bright orb's; out yonder in space," and wo. begin to think, that this little earth on. wliich we stand is but'an atom in the great works' of creation, when wo look at tho Biin and all

I its attendants and we begin to think they float around their orbit, 'wp are lost in amazement/and wo are forced to the conclusion'that God is good, and that.His tender mercies aro over all His works. O may we/ono and all, endeavor to do that which is right and that which is true, and that we niay bo still further manifestations of that goodness which Christ has reflected on us. May.God belp us and .blejss ais'/bo. to dp. . "'' ' ••"'". ' -.<■ ■] ::,'■ . -.--:■ t.;\ '