THE RELIGIOUS COLUMN.

Otago Witness, Issue 2323, 8 September 1898, Page 62

THE RELIGIOUS COLUMN.

H.wiiij; mid-j ari i m£eJU2 -i t fjr ir'rtiug a f'tiur , ?eon Sermon fcrcni^titly 1.1 ihiei paver for civ ■ year, svuipatui^ers c-in bclp bj p'r.jer a:vi volui;- . tjry ofyerines, which will bu leceivcd a- <' a^kaowleJged by WiLLI^M li\GS, TilliJ .URBL/liV, UUNEDIiN.

I OT7£STIOSS **F TJiK DAY AS!) THE ' QUI&TIOtf OF THE DAY. A ?erii'cix delive-ed on Loi d's Dpy moniiug, Janunry 20, 1573, by C. Il.Si unuEON, p: \L» Metropolitan Tabor iiacle, JScwington. j " What think ye of Christ?"— Matthew xxii. 42. , It was a cu&toixi among the Jews before the Pasch,il Lfmb was killed to phiit _t up for j several dajs for examination. It v.-js c-i first j i soleotcr! with great caie, ioi: it liiml be ' a j [ lamb without blemish, o iup'c oi Vm first . ! year"; and lest at the h- ' v ho:cc tome j Llemisli should have been r -c v ~\fd, it was j continually inspected fioiu <>._ -,c ciay. It was ; meet that the lamb ot Got l t • stover should ' pas's through a fciaiiliur crrlptil. L\, is remark- ' abl* \\\&\ our Saviour, dating the days which ' preceded his being offered up foi us on Calvary, i\,i3 exnmmod and questioned, both by fiif'iidi and foes The shaipcst ej'es were biougfot to bear upon ]iim— eyes made pretei- ' natuially keen thiough the malice of wicked ' health. He passed under the scrutiny of Pharisees, of Heiodianv, of Sadducees, and of law- ' yers. They tested him in all paits, and tued i him from all points; yet they found no fault ' in him. " They marvelled, and loft him, and I wens their way ; but, like Pilate, they found no fault in him. Read the chapter before us ' in that light, and it becomes singularly mte- ' resting, as exhibiting the unassailable perfec- j tion of our Divine Redeemer. Let us pray j that when we are proved and tested we also ', may endure the fiery trial, and be found to be pure gold. As they tiled ova Master, so will they also try us: may we through his triumphant giac© endure even to the end. i As 1 looked upon our text in my study, ■ j another current of thought passed through my j i mind. Tho text stands in a- remaikablc con- j [ nection. The chapter which contains it ovjciis i ! with the parable of the wedding feast. The \ marriage banquet was spread, the guefts weie j invited, they would not come, f.nd therefore special messengers were sent to compel as ! many as they could h.id to partake of the ! i feast. Then as if to aj.al'.c ministers in all I I generations that the greatest hindrances they ! would eve..- m-Oet with would arise from the j quibbling, captious spirit of mankiud, we have j ! in tho same chapter a loaig account of the vaxi- ■ \ ous cavilleis that assailed our Lord. "When ! j wo preach the gospel, men do not repel us point j | blank by telling us that theie is no importance ! j in our mp?sage; but mstoad thereof they &ugj gest difficulties, pio^oxmd frivolous inquiries, I or fly off at a taiigciil upon £.01110 other ie'-d ! impoilani topic. They evade ihe pursuit of I the gospel by plunging into the inkts of cicI bate. Like the entile fish, which escapes by j eloudmg the water all aicund it, to do they i avoid the invitations and declarations ol the ! Word of God by raising questions of a secondary chaiacter. It was .so in Chriol'i day. His j adversaries met his aiguments with quibbles j o.- with '»vrpii^ling&. It is ccitainly j-o now. ) We cannot get at men; they stave us off, tney ! i pariy our homo thiusts, and baffle us by hiding behind the shielus of evil qiiestionmg. { | We cannot get to push of bayonet with them ; ! they lie entrenched behind ihe ram nail 3 of disputation. With other questions they pu°h eff tho main question, and keep fai from them tho soul-saving tiuth. The Loid Jo-us Christ here teaches his n misters the art of oveileaping the signer's defences, dashing into the centre of his stionghold, and smiting him witu the edgs of the swoid, by means of the inouirv: -What think ye of Christ'/" We fhouM cleat with matters of disputation as he did — answer them, as far as they are to be answered, with wisdom and prudence; but then he would have us carry the war into the enemy's country and attack tho human eo/i-scicnco with the demand, "What think ye of Chr<st'.'" This morning I purposes first to speak upon questions of the day, and then to pres.3 LoiuS" iipon sou the question of the day — the question of. i all questions, m which life and dcutli are wrap-nod up. I. First, a little upon some oi the questions j of the day, not at all with any intent of interest- 1 s ing you m them, but rather oi calling you j soivewbat awa; from thsni lest they too much, j ■ eng'oss you. i j Tho first question of the day is nearly ?kln ! I to that, wl jch vas proposed to our Lcr>l by | i the Phaiisees and tho Heiochans. It deals j j wi+h the connection between politics and leli- i I g:on, the vexatious question of Church and j j State. How far does Cte'-ar's rule go' ; Where I ■ docp it end? And where aie we amenable to ! ! God alone? Tins iuquhy in a very practical j shape pressed upon the Dis&eiiicis of Eng1 land. I very laigely attribi'te +he jm-tial dej cline or lcligioxia prosperity in some of our i cimrches to the interest which has been taken in the. questions which naturally arise out of tho unbcviptriral and adulterous connection at picsent existing between the Church sind the Sfcite in this land. We Inve each ot us a certain amount of mental power, ot i.'ne, a ins of energy, and no more: and ■•! it He -i necessity (as it is a necessity) ihat e\(iy .no.is onformi&t should contend for Li& lights ,ii:cf liberties, a2id Miould never rent tiii pej-iett rel j.-ious equality is established in the. land, then so ! much of our strength is trken away houi ' 1 lii'jher and better matters tv attend to tJiat ; ivhich novel theloss it is nnavon]oble that we ; .sboulcl consider. Tt ilsi 15 not possible for iis to ! cei-e from our efforts to obtain dehvoi.tnoe ; i from the degrading yoke ivhioh now bii'dons ' I us. T*."c aie told that \ve enjoy toloration; me j | very word is insult. What would the members i i of the dominant sect think if we talked of i ! tolerating them? We shall never bo satisfied | , until all ichgious communities stand upon an { ' equal footing before the law. Cccsar hss no j j ught to demand of us that we shall suppoit J the religion or the surceistifcion winch ho ciioo^ei to select.. An Established Church is ; a spiritual tyianny. We weai nc chains upon ; oui wiists, but on ou_ "-i pints on\ ovjiiic-^^on liavo thiust letters wlncli gall us woiso than j bands of steel. We aic compelled as a pail ( of the nation to suppoit a church whose busi- ; ness it is to pull down that which with piayers j ' ana tears wo live to build up, and would even ; die to maintain. As Protestant Dissenteis we ■ see the tiuths we preach assailed by an army of j Anglican Papists whom we aie compelled to ; suppoit that they may oppose our most chcs lished designs. Popeiy is this, diy installed i und endowed among us, and we aie compelled : to acknowledac its rnvrruidous as the cleigy

of our own. national church. That which our ititheis died to oveithiow we a^o compelled to ' suppoil. We cajiiiot help b;in{j; ii.di^.ui'iit ; we should bo !eio than raca il oui b'ooJ! did not ; boil witliiii 116 at such u.jii •slice. If men want ' l'ope'v, or any other foim o[ prior, let them pry I for 10 themcelvt=, and c?ll it their own; but 1 to foist their suyobUUon on us as pail o[ mo nation js an e;is'.ic t .«inn pgai'ist vhieh we , iipxal to the Jurigo ot all the earth. Men cannot, long bear to bo sau-ticd with the maintenance of a -ujci^l.tion Tvhica t^ey abhor; Icnsi of all cj.yl the dr-Tndnnts ot the iioni sides enchne it, who, though they have ' a^i.c all car-K'l v,erco:).->, c?,mot quite forget mo 'icl'U on which their ij-'hers uiado the f'jv \ju i fee l 1 "-IP v. ci&ht 01 i,heii" n-^lit aims. ■ ''_(.■ icmiH to our consciences whl'Ji is cmbodie'l 1.1 tbf> rjif-e"t Chinch arcl State is a daily i..0\ cji'liOii to us r>«- men aid Christians. ■ Of tho pundit unrighteous domination 1 would r-.">v, Down v. it'i it, dovii with it, ail ye who j Ir '•«> a spark of justice left in your eguls! as 10 ■• vs. Avc "will never lest ti!! we aro fre?, fioin this excu^clci injustice, aiid free we will b^. Ps =ure aa God, the GoJ ol jightcoinriosri, ' I L I.V ' 3. -,o'.v, wp Ce'-'iro' think abut ell this aiidibo ] ep*'jicst about 11 — vo co.ifc.^s it, and arc it )j sc — v/iiliout veiy nucii of our strorgth ! niii ■•i-i^ m thrl cliicc'ioii. st_cng'h \/hifli \.e .' cj'ild fr'.n spend n^on oiuo. spiutuil lcliglon. Wo '!e~!.e co -,o shvnvi and vloj<? pieaelung 1 Ci'iv;; -"vc fit; tie to b" building tip his chinch, 1 a, d h'vii.g at pe?co with all cue biethien: v, r e v ,'vi ip rf.ll tjtujg'j to b.-> c,"-i.ig unto God ?1I I our. iieait aud r oul and '■t'eaitli; bui tins ' «''fee:M + ii 11 ''iKt'i^ius C-o r l rnri Omsvr will ro.ae in. It avroctativiiy drmsneis our altenj tion, and ao it dist-acts us n: a mer.sure from our higher woik : and the'efoie the <-ojmer it ' is done with the bct'.er. V\ r e cannot bs ahvays t?l-en up with this matter, v;e count the gospel ■ to be woith ten thousand times as much. ! The Saviour, when ihe Crcsar question was i brought forward, answerrd it most coir>ple.ie l y. I They said, " Slnll wo pay tribute to Ctssar?" I ' Whose mopoy is this? paid he. " Cresar's J money." " Very well ; you have evidently sub- ! milted to Cresar's government, you are under I lm sway; therefore -pay to him the tnr. which 1 he demands of you, but still by vo means forget that you are unner God's etoa c - nuient; thorc-foia rciider unto God the things that are God's." He drew a lino c£ di ihinc-tioii here , which ever ought to bo maintained. "To Ccesar 1 the tilings that are Cs?sai's." To maintain order, to repress crimo, to piesoive individual , libert}-, to piotect each Iran's rights — this is I Gcsar's busiress. To teach us religion? Is J Cfcsar to do thrt 9 God forbid, for what re1 ligion will C'ajsar teach up' Is he a Psgan? I lio will enforce idolatry: is ];o a Papist?, he , will ordain Popery; is he an atheist? he will . establish infidelity, ttemcrabor the days of I Queen Maiy, and see what Ca?sar is capable ! of when he Jncactles with lehgion. It is none j of Cnesar's business to deal with our consciences, neither will we ever obc-y Casar in any matter which touches conscience. He may make what laws he will about religion, but by our loyalty to God we pour contempt or. Csesar when he usurps the place of God. i He is no more to us than the meanest beggar in ! the street if he goes beyond his own legitimate ! authority. To Cffsar, Ccssar's; politics to poli1 tic-inns; obedience, cheerful and prompt, to civil rule/f. ; to God, and to Gocl only, things that are God's; and what s>ro these? Out j h?arts, our souls, our consciences. Man hiniI self is tho coin ur/on which God has stamped I his image and superscription (though, alas! I both are sadly jjiairrd), awl we- must render I to God our Manhood, our vill&, our thoughts, j our judgments, our minds, oui hearts. Co;ij sciences are for God. Any lav/ that touches a 1 conscience is null and void iyso facto, for the ; simple recsoii that king') and parliaments have i no right to interfere in the realm of conscience. ! Conscience is imclpr lav to rrao but God. We do not bcliovc in liJTjity of conscience towards God. We are bound iowaids him, to believe what he tells us and lo do vhat ho bids us: but libeity of conscience in respect lo ail mankind is the natural right of every man of woman bom, and it ought to be tenderly respected. Our Lord here lays tho controvorpy to sleep by telling us to render unto Oosir tho things j that are Coesar's, aud to God the things that ' are God's. Kow, if there be pny perso.i here • who is unconverted, but whose mind is much occupied with the Church and State disputaI fcioD, whichever^ side of the question he may take up, I would earnestly sa3' to him — important as this is, and to some of us it is the question which, next to our soul's salvation, weighs most heavily on our hearts, yet still, first of all, attend to the more serious inquiry: "What think ye of Christ? Is he the Wondeifnl, the Counsellor, the Mighty Cod 111 your esteem? Are you saved by him? If not, I would bid you waive the topic upon which wo have just now spoken until the higher question is answered. When a man is at the point of death the question is, what can we do to res-tore him ? When xLe -^ssel is roing down, the one thing needful for cveiy lima is " How can I get to the boat ?" Sorn?t:mes in a desperate case, as that of sudden shipwreck, the love of life may drive men io do even more than they should do for themselves-, a.nd. tempt them in their incrtal terror to become forgetful of the claims of others. Oh, I wish that something like that excess of clili j gence, if such could be, would come upon I men's hearts with icgard to their souls. Theie j are enough saved men who can fight out t ! ie ecclesiastical dispute; you unsaved ones had { htticr go to the t ros.s, and there seek and r.a ' j icfvatio/i 'Ihe question has. doubtless, \a=,L j impcitanc.,, but wi+li you the far more imp ,r- [ fant matter is to believe in Christ. Suppose i you were to -lie to-nig'it, it would then' be aj .'-mill matter to you vhat may be d.me in Ino i next se^ 011 of Parliament won the quevtim j of t'ae .separation of Church and Stal^>. If yen jiave to ?.t,md before the bai of God oefo.-e llusyear is out, tlic ostabll--hi-d churches viil be of small account to you if you be banished from heaven and hope: theiefore see to it, T pray you, that no business interferes with the business of your soul. A second problem of the age also crops up m this chapter — the inquhy into the details of the future state. I think none of us remember a inno in which bo many strange theories have been brought fonvaid with regard to the doom oi the ungodly and ihe condition of the righteous. Some are teaching, and teaching with gieat vehemence, that believers as well as others die when they depait out ot this world, > and that there is no more existence for the righteous- until the day of the resurrection : + hat there are no such things as immortal souls, but that even the godly moulder into ■ thi^t ,id cease to be until the resurrection i raises Ihcm out o£ the grave. Isow these are j solemn topics, and I believe that it is highly ! ?.eed r ul to be orthodox upon them. I do' not think ai y man wastss his time who stands up I to defend tho old faith with rogaid to these things. I am pocfT.adcd that the goneially reI ceivod views <ne tiuthful and healthful, \-nfl ' th.it the ltoveitics which swprm around m will breed abomdinc, mischief; still for nIJ ; tb.it therj r.ie other muttt-is to be thought ; ebout besides ih.it carnival of enors, which coiiipii-es &ciil--lpcpins, annihilation, univeisal 1 icstoiatio:i, and the like. There is a piior I quc-fcion, and that is, '" What think ye of ; Christ?" j How over, since the facts ox the future ought j to be known, our Saviour dealt with the Sad- • duce?o' heresy. The SadOiucees believing in 1 pure mateiiati'-m and denying the rcPiureci tion, the Savio.u- declared to them the certdinty of a future slate, and took out oi their habch a weapon of fancud dif'Uully. In answer to tbtir question snout the woh 1,111 wm t:mf-= niauaed, he decipjed that m the. next -woijvi

men aro nutbor married i oi givon in marriage; _ w},tio depth's lß'-asos tre unknown tbeie is '.o i,"od of lepioduction Since the Sadducees rieirod th.it tiieic -v\^ie angels, cur Lord, without notici.ig tbeir scei ticism, declared that the j i'sen one-, are as J -hc angels of God, thus killing two Lads ttilh ono .stone; correct. :ig their . v,H7s as to what men -would ba in the 3 other ■woild, fiid quietly as'unnnn- that the,° a^-e | &piritd called anqcls. Thou the great toacher ; pioved beyond question tho continuous cas- ■ le->:ci- of t!<e Piiiijts. 1 y lpini^tluig the Spdduf"' c - p <-he yd cc I hat spake out of the bush to Moses. 'Ihe Pentateuch was tlic vrpi au- . t.ionty of the Scicldi.cecs ; they did not iejec4 iiiq oikcf mspjivd books, but they held the \»: it'-.-? oi Alore^ m snrerior vc/icut-on: ■ I hercfore ou^ Lord with \ isdom selects f lO ni the book ot Exodus and qucies the wo.ds of the ; Loicl s arldio^s lo Mosec oul of the bi;-h" "I j am the God ot Abraham, and the God of Is^ac 1 and lbs God of Jacob.' ilo the,i added o v,-ell-i known Jewish rxiom, "God is not the Gol of ' iiio dead, but of the living," and routed the . sceptics in ono battle. It followed clearly c.iough Ihit Abraham, Isaac, and Jrcob were Ju'irg in Mo=ps's day. They v.-ere in their I graves, that was certain ; th.ere-'oie it vas ■ equally ceitain that a something which v.-aa j tiuly Abraham was not in fie suave, but was I somewhere else; tha', is to say,"that the souls i of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob v-ere living I and living in the possession of God, lkoin"h j their bodies had been consumed by tho worm Thcie wai tho Saviour's argument. The pat- , warois, as to their bodies, had been dead for mmr- geneiations; yet God cnllcd himself their God: and, theiefore, m the tiuest tanse, tnoy i could not be really dead, but must still exist.' ] It lips been said that the nerve of this argu- • iiie-Jit lies m the fact that Abraham, Isaac, and I Jacob weie, as to their bodies, dead at tlia j time;— that is true, and yet the argument j yotild be stioiig if Abiaham, Isaac, and Jacob | uad bten riivo at the time. Kote this well, and consider tho point. When God says to a ultra " I am thy God," what an infinite blessing he bestows, e,nd how much tho vords imph ! As long as God exists he belongs to that man, and therefore the man himself must exist as long as God does ; for that which (.oes ii ot exist cannot possess anything. That which possesses anything must itself exist; hence it follows that as Abraham and all other i saints must for ever possess God as their God, according to the word — " lam thy God " —therefore they must eternally cxizt. In order to receive and experience the sum and substance of the divino promise, nothing less than eternity .vill suffice. When God bestows a blrsFing upon a man, b.3 gives him such a langc of bemg as shall give him the capacity for enjoying that blessing. Temporal blessings j have attached to them a natural being; the vast spiritual boon of possessing God "is mfiaite, and needs an everlasting existence for its enjoyment. The saints are living still, or else God could not be their God; and the saints aro conscious still, for God is not the God of unconscious things that by hundreds of years together neither think nor feel. He is the' God of those who are living in the sense of being active. They still worshin and adore and love and serve; their rest with" Jesus is not that of unconsciousness. They are living; not merely existing, but living unto the living God. This was our Saviour's proof, and it is one which is overwhelmingly convincing. The doctrine of the continued existence of the righteous is bound up with that of the resurrection. Immortality and the resurrection pre kindred truths. When God said, "I am the God of Abraham,' he did not say, " I am the God of Abraham's soul " ; if he had, the existence of Abraham's soul would have fulfilled the promise; but " I am the God of Abraham" includes tin whole of his person, and Abraham was body as well as soul ; it was needful, thcrefoL'e, Abraham's body should rise to enjoy the fulness of God. There was. as a learned writer observes, an advance all tho way. God was the God of Abraham while he was in the body of this death ; he was the God of Abraham when unclothed, and he will be thp God of Abraham when he is clothed upon his house vhich is from heaven. Now, my dear hearers, I would at once call you back to the main point. Those questions ought to be thought of, and you should receive the teaching of Christ about them, and yield : to none of the inventions of these evil days; yet is there for you this more pressing question: "What think ye of Christ?" Have you a part and a lot in him? Are you 'saved by him? It seems to me the merest folly for an j unconverted man to be asking, "What is the nature of heaven? What is the form of the resurrection body?" Did 3-011 ever see a poor, shivering miserable beggar in the street, starving for want of food, and vet curious about tho exact details of the imperial revenue for the current quarter of the year? What business can that be of his? Is not this his first busiI ness — viz., to win a morsel of bread? And ' should it not be your first concern, as a man, that you should be pardoned, and that you should be accepted before God, that you should be saved from hell? Speculations upon the ! second Advent and tho pronhecies of F.zekiei ! and Danial — what have they to do v/itli you ! while you are without Christ? Are ye mad, Iye unsaved ones? Will ye gratify curiosity j while your souls are perishing for the lack of j the knowledge of Christ? The wrath of God I abideth on you, you are like a man in a con- ■ demned cell waiting for the day of execution ; I is this a time to be puzzling your head about • things v.hich concern others, but which as yet , certainly do not concern you? "What think ' ye of Christ 9 " Put other things aside till that 'is settled ; then you shall attend to them in ■ Older, according as God shall help you. i There pre, however, other questions which I will arise — questions upon theology. One oE j these was asked of our Saviour by the Phari1 sees. They wanted to know which was the first ■ and chior commandment. They believed that I Moses had givea them three hundred and sixtyj five commandments, corresponding to the nnmJ ber of days in the year, and thnt he had given j them t>vo hundred and forty-eight prohibitions, j They made a great point of knowing the exact 1 numbers. Among them there were groat disI nutes as to which entailed the more sin, the ' breaking of this or the breaking of the otlifv i command. Some mainatmed that the ceremo1 nial ordinances were more important than tjio • moral commands: another party held that the I ceremonial precepts were very srccndai}* as i compared with the moral law. Scribes aud 1 lawyers wrangled without end. Our Saviour j answered their question by tolling them that j the love of Cfod and the love of their ncighi bour were the two great commandments ; and 1 so he ended that matter, but he did not permit j tlieir thoughts to stay theie. He pushed on j to the more \ital question, ' What think ye ! of Christ?" At tho present day, if you speak ! lo a man about his soul, ho will ask you,^ " Are I you an Arminian or a Calvinist?" To this we • reply: " Dear fellow, are you saved? That is your matter. We will tell you what we are an1 other time: for the preseui you need a Saviour, • and there ought your rniad to settle." " Well," says be, '" what is your opinion in reference to { Baptism?" Our answer is leady enough, for ws fee the Lord's will plainly enough in his word, but we beg you to think more of 3esus than of ordinances.*' " Hut," ?avs the caviller, ' me you Presbyterian in church polity or do you favour Kpi'yconpcy '!" Dear friend, what ■ , has that to <\o vitli yon? Have you paused i fiom death unto Lie? There is the point. A ■ i man 13 diowu^ng and I put out my arm to ■ ! rescue him, Wu he will not grasp ray hand till I can assure hhxi llwt I pionounce a certain • ' Latin word correctly -is lie not an idiot . My ' dear fellow, Tight quantities or false quantuies i are inconsiderable things cojnr^red witnypiu: ) beina cirownod ; lot us get you ou dry land nrsß s and "then wo will talk about lorg vovpls ana i short ones. So also we cannot afford <,o &DUI

hairs while souls are being lost. "We are far from saying that any doctrine is inconsiderable, •and that any truth is unimportant — a grain of truth is worth dying for ; still there are solemn facts to bo thought of before we come to controversial doctiines. There are persons who •will say, " But how would you celebrate the Lord's Supper?" I reply, ''We do not celebrate it at all with such as you are. Until you mow the Saviour we have no Lord's Slipper for you whatever." " But," saith he — and he begins to question you whether there should ba -an alta-r 'of stone 01 a table of wood, a:id ' whether the elements should be dispensed by a priest or by a minister, or by a ceninion Christian : " These are very weighty matters, and I must have them all solved at once." Dear friends, we also think them weighty, and our testimony about them never hesitates, but we are not going to dispute with you, for we earnestly entreat you first of all to know Christ and him crucified. Make your calling and election sure, and then we will be ready to give you reasons from the "Word for our faith and practice. At present, " What think ye of Christ?" is the one sole inquiry which demands your care. I think I spoke out plainly enough just now upon the first question referring to politics and religion to let you know that 1 am by no means lukewarm on minor points; and I would speak with equal definiteacss here about doctrines and oidinances if it were needful to show you that I do not undervalue them ; Taut for all that, "What think ye of Christ?" is far above all other questions for a man who is unredeemed, and I do beseech you not to' let those other points destroy you, as they may do by taking away your thoughts from the one thing needful. Till you are saved you want your mind concentrated on the one essential point. After that we will teach you to observe all things whatsoever the Lord has spoken; but just now " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" is the most important text in the Bible for you to consider. 11. Now let us come to the second pait of cur Bubject — the question of all questions, the question of the day, the question of all days until days shall end — "What think ye of Christ?" Observe that it is an inquiry which concerns the Saviour. " What think ye of the Messias, the Sent One, the Christos, the Anointed One of God?" Do you think his errand was necessary ? Was there a need foi a such a person lo co:ae hither? Was a Saviour necessary in youi* case? He came to save men from their sins : have you any sins ? Have you sins from which you cannot escape of youself, for which you can xnak"e no atonement yourself? Have you felt this ? Do you feel it now ? If you say you have no sin, your thoughts of Christ will be that he was a needless commissioner from heaven as fax as your case is concerned. He came not to call those who need not to be saved —why should he do such a work of suppreiogation ? Have you felt sin ? Do you confess it ? Do you believe "therefore that God m sending Christ to save his people from their sujs lias done a gracious and merciful act? Do you accept the person whom he has sen,,? Are you wiling to bo saved by him*" Are you willing to be saved on hia terms, which are that you do yield yourself lip to him, that lie shall be ycur sole Saviour, and that he shall have all the glory of your salvation, that you shall not be saved by any merit of your own, but be pardoned through his blood and righteousness? Doyou agree to that? Does your soul say, "Aye" to that before the living God? If so, your thoughts of Christ are right ; but if not, if yoti kick at his sacrifice, and say. '" I see no need for it " ; if you think it insufficient to put away sin, and if, therefore, you do not trust in it ; then have you made God a liar by not believing his testimony concerning his Son. But I trust that this anorning your thoughts of Christ are jus* these : "I am a sinner deserving punishment from God; I see that God has punished sin in Jesus Christ, and I trust myself in Christ the atoning sacrifice, wholly and alone: I give myself up to Cl&ist Jesus that he may save me, that he may rule me, that he may make me holy even as he is holy. If he will but have me, I hatfe no opposition to him; nay, I feel, on the contrary, a comt>lete yielding of my poul to nis divine will, happy to be saved by such a Saviour " I am favoured indeed to be addressing persons who feel this in -their very souls. Whatever else you have to perplex you, beioved, always hold to that, and let your thoughts of our dear Saviour ever be humble, ever sweet, and ever pleasant to your hearts; then shall you be strong for sacred service, but never, never, never cease to think well of Jesus. Please to notice that this question not only concerns the Saviour, but it concerns the person of the Saviour, and this is a point too often forgotten. We speak of the Lord's teachings and doings, but we ought more often to remember that he is a real personage, not a name or a fiction; not a shadow that has passed across the historic page, but a man of whom we may ask the question — "Whose son is he?" as the master asked it here. Now, shall I put the question to you? What think you of the person of Christ? Do you understand how sonship and lordship blend in him? Do you understand Him to be the Son of David; and, therefore, yielding obedience on earth, both to man and to God, becoming the servant of servants for our sake, and obedient even unto death; and yet do you comprehend that he is the Lord of all, that the government is upon His shoulders? Is Christ your Saviour, and yet your Master? Has He washed your feet, and yet do you bow down and kiss His feet? Has- he done all for you, and now do you feel that He is enthroned in your heart's best love, and that you would ao anything and everything for him? Bleeding on the cross, and "yet exalted on the throne; can you reconcile these two things? liie crown of thorns, and the crown of universal monarchy ; have you seen how these two are united in his blessed person ? What think ye of Christ— sonshira and lordship blended? And have you seen, and does your faith know, that he is both human and divine, — Son of David, truly such by natural descent; Son of God, also by nsvture and essence ? It is no use our mincing matters ; we cannot believe in the salvation of a man who does not believe in the diety of Christ. We would have the utmost charity possible, but we must have honesty, too, and it does seem to us that the rejection of Christ as God is the rejection of hig salvation altogether. Beloved, have you accepted Christ, the whole Christ, the Man Christ, the God Christ, Imjnanuel, God with us? Is he your trust? If not, may the Lord bring you to look the question in the face before any other. Put all tne rest in tho background and consider this : Have you thought rightly concerning God in Christ Jesus, the Saviour of men?

Have you thought rightly of him, too, in the matter of the opposition which is rendered to His kingdom, ana yet of the sure conquest lie will again ? Notice how the Holy Ghost has led David to write concerning it, ""The Lord said unto my Lord, sit thou at my ri^ht hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool." Christ is opposed; you see it; do you .ileo lament it? Does your faith at the' same time grasp tke thought that all tuis opposition will be overcome, that Christ will yet sit upon the throne of his father David, and will sway his sceptre over the jnoct ftprce of his adversaries? Oh, it is well when we can get to thi= — Chnst in my own soul fighting with am; Christ res.sted by my depravity and couunfc.oij. and y/t Christ svire to reign and sit as king when all my sins &,ra overcome, and all my conuptions overthrown. It is a. blessed sight to sec the struggling, and anon the triumphing of the Saviour, and to think of him in that respect. I exhort you to make sure work about the divine person of our dear Lord Jesus Christ, and to let all things else go or wait their turn for inaay a long day, until you know lain and

are found in him, and are saved with a complete salvation in him. But I must pass on a litle further. This question is not only about the Redeemer and his person, but it is about I'ioughU. "What think ye of Christ?" It has been said that we shall not bs hanged for out thoughts. It may bo But many have been damned for their thoughts. Indeed, this is a source of damnation, that men will tiiink amiss, and from thinkijiK amiss go on to speak and act amiss. "What thmk ye of C'hiist?" This is a searching mquny to some, for their relations to Christ consist of anything else you like except thinking. Many who attend a pkice of worship never give themselves the trouble of thinking. They say a prayer night and morning, but as to thinking, that is out of the question. They go to the sacrament, and they do not mind how often, but they never think. What is a priest but an invention to thmk for me, to do Biy relio-ion for me? But the question is, "What think ye of Christ?" If there is no thought in your religion, there is no life in it. Man invents mechanical forms and modes in» older to get away fiom the horrible necessity of thinking, but m so doing he destroys his soul. Eveiy man should do his own thinking,, and do it at horns, too, and not need to put it out for somebody else to perform it foj him. The mind must exercise itself towards God, and if it does not our worship is dead worship. Our Saviour suggests to us that we must think, and think of him : "\V nat think ye of Christ?" Is it a pleasure to you to think of Christ? Do you so love him, is he so comely in your esteem, that you delignL to think of him? Do you frequently think of Christ, just as yon often think of those you Jove? And do you naturally think of Christ, just as we naturally think of food without bemg reminded of it. seeing we have to live tipon it, and therefore inward appetite renders impossible to forget ? Have you s. pass.oa for Christ ? These are the kind of nquiries which try a man. Is your nature so changed that Christ has become your friend, and therefore you delight in him ; become your food, and therefore you inevitably ' long for him, and must do so because of new appetites and cravings within your nature? Do you think of Christ joyfully? Can jou ( say: j " In the heavenly Lamb j Thrice happy I am, j And my heart it doth leap At the sound of His name?" Do you think of Christ, eiesiring still nearer access and a clearer view of him, sighing out with sacred love-sickness, saying, " O that I were with him where he is, or that he were with me where I am?" Do you think of him with admiration, wondering at the altogether Lovely One. Do you think of him with an ardent wish to be conformed to his image, saying, "Gracious Saviour, make me like thyself" ? \ Do you thmk of Lim with practical love, so that you help hi 3 cause, succour his poor people, pioclaim his truth, aid his church, aud pity sinners for whom he shed Ins blood? Do you so think cf Christ as to speak well of him and commend him to the love of mankind? Do In oughts of Jesus keep you back from sin, and incite you to continue in the paths of holiness foi his name's sake? Do you so think of Chiist that jou pray for him, that you give to him, that you work for him? ' What think ye of Christ?" Is he worthy of your actual, practical, diligent service, or is it to be all talk and idle chat and broken resolutions and vain professions? "What think yo of Christ?" Then notice, the question is about " your own thoughts." How pleased we all are with the work of judging other people. There are certain persons to whom if you will speak against all churches and all religious people, and ssy, " How all are departing from the truth and all going aside," you are furnishing the sweetest possible nuts. They delight in sacred scandal. Now, it may be tine that everybody is very bad, but I do not particularly see what I have to do with that. The main thing, at any iatc, for the most of you to consider is — "What think ye of Christ?" — ye. " Ah," says one, " I like to see abuses exposed." Very well, come hither, and let us turn your heart inside out. '' What think ;yo of Christ'" "I like a searching niinlstry,' says one. Veiy well, then let this question search you,' and go light through your soul like a huiricane, — " What think yo of Christ? " "Alas! my neighbours are great Sabbath-breakers." What are you, sir? Cannot you break tho Sabbath and yet attend a place cf worship? Do you not carry burdens in your soul on the Sabbath day, and is it not ordained to be a day of rest for the mind as well as for the body? "Ah, but some of my neighbours are very erroneous in their doctrine." What ore you the better for your orthodoxy? That is the point. May it not involve more sin to have the litjlit and not to act upon it than to be in tho dark altogether? 1 beseech you each man, each woman, for himself put the question to your own soul, " What think ye of Christ?" lio-v many times after a sermon you have said, "I wonder how So-and-£.o could sit still said listen to that part of it. I thought as I was sitting there, what a homethrust the preacher gave So-and-so." Were such thoughts right? Is tuat the way to hear the gospel ? Are we not to hear for ourselves ? Should there not be a personal application on all matters? I push home this demand with vehemence; with leave o~ without leave, ] beseech each one of you to answer this inquiry — " What think ye of Christ?" Aud here let me close by saying that this question, though it only deals with thoughts, is entangled_with every other spiritual subject. If you are* not right hore you are light in nothing. The hymn says correctly — " Ye cannot be light in the rest Unless ye think rightly of him." I never knew a- man thmk little of the Saviour but what he thought little of sin. There was never a man who thought little of the Mediator but what be had very strange ideas of the Godj head. Never a oian went astray in his thoughts about Christ without also going wrong in his thoughts of himself. If you know Jesus to be a Saviour to the full, putting away all sin by the sacrifice of himself, then you will know yourself to be a sinner, with sin to put away ; and soon you will know yourself to be a saint with sin put a\\ay, and so you will gel right ideas of everything else. Do go to the fountain head, I pray you. Make heart-work of that essential question, — "What think ye of Christ?" If you would allow me to catechise you upon your spiritual plate, I shall not treat of any peculiarity of creed or sect, but I shall begin and end with this one thing, " What think ye of Christ?" If a man has disease in the vitals, the mere adornment of his person will .avail little — the inward parts must be set right ; and if you are wrong in lefcrence to Lord Jesus, the evil must be remedied by the grace of God, or you will die eternally. Remember, if our i views of Christ be wrong, our state is wrong. vVhen a man is born again he knows Christ; he may think he knows him before, but he does not, for only the spiritual man understandeth spiritual things. If your present state be ! wrong, your future state will be wrong, unless 1 you be set right m refcience to the Lord Jesus. | So that the question before us encompasses I both time and eternity. I Do I address any brother heie who is already I fwed, but who possesses a scant measure of , joy' Dear biother, i should not wonder but v. hat the reason of your despondency may mean ! unworthy thoughts of Cimst Jesus. If you ' knew more about your union, with the living , Saviour, about the peifeclion that is given to all his people thiough his bioo'l and righteousness, surely your ioy would ovei flow and your despondency would cease? If we permit grovelling idea 3of our Lord to dwell m our minds, our whole sphitual naturfc will decline

in consequence. Narrow notions of the Redeemer narrow our love to him, and our enterprise for his glory. Low thoughts of Christ will palsy the strongest arm; but a great Saviour greatly lovpcl lescls to great deeds. See him to bo lovely beyond all tilings, and let him engross your heart and fire your spirit, and lie will mako a map of you to the fuLiess ot' your manhood, &o that you shall serve God to purpose. Let nBl Jesus be a shadow to you or your religion will be unsubstantial ; let him not be a narug to you or your religion will be nominal ; let him not be a myth of history or your religion will be mere fancy ; let him be not alono a Lpacher or you will lack a Saviour ; let him ba not alone an exemplar or you will fail to appreciate the merit of his blood; let him be the beginning and the ending, the first and the last, the all in all of your spirits. As ho is God's beloved, so let him be your beloved ; as he is Lord of Lords, let hini be your Lord and when any inquire of you, " What thiukest thou of Christ?' feil them, "lie is all my salvation, and he is till my dssire." Amen and