Inaugural Address (Continued)

(CONTINUED.)

Dr. Marigold is sharp and shrewd because self-interest makes him so; and his extemporary observations are so patly uttered and adroitly arranged that he wins the attention of all and the custom of many. Would to God that preachers and other workers for God had a tithe as much common sense as cheap-jack, and were half as earnest to bring men to Jesus Christ as cheap-jack is to bring them to buy that tea-tray and set of real china! Oh, that we were as wise to win the ear and heart of the particular case with which we have to deal, as he is in extorting a laugh and compelling the attention of the passer-by! — C. H. Spurgeon.

(CONTINUED.)

THE next thing necessary to us is FAITH; I might say the first, second, third, and last thing is FAITH. “Without faith it is impossible to please God,” and if we are pleasing God it is not by our talent but by our faith. Just now we much need faith in the form of fixity of belief. We know more than we did some time ago; at least I hope we do. I just now heard one of you say to another: ‘* How broad you get! “Well, we do widen out; but not as some men, for we are not of the broad school who believe little or nothing aright because they desire to believe everything. We have cast our anchor; it has taken a firm grip; we have ceased to drift; we remain at rest. Some men have no creed; or, if they have, it is altered so often that it is of no use to them. It must be like the blanket of a gentleman who came from the Emerald Isle, of which he said: “See here! Our skipper has given me a shamefully bad blanket. Just look at it: it is too long at the top and it is too short at the bottom; it gets over my head, and yet my feet are always cold. I cut a whole foot off the top, and I sewed it on to the bottom, but it is not altered a bit; it still comes over my eyes, and is too short to cover my feet.” That is what certain “thinkers” do with their creed, they keep cutting it off at one end, and putting it on at the other; but it never gets right, — it is always forming, never formed. Modern creeds are like the clothes of Italian peasants, which I have gazed upon with wondering inquiry. It would puzzle the most learned geologist to discover the primary formation of a pair of trousers which have been patched and mended with cloth of all patterns and colors from generation to generation. Such and so varied are some men’s beliefs and unbeliefs; an agglomeration of philosophic rags, metaphysical tatters, theological remnants, and heretical castoffs. Certain thinkers have reached the blessed ultimatum of believing nothing at all with anything like certainty of belief. When these cultivated persons speak of us they manifest great scorn, and affect to believe that we are natural fools. Ah, dear! People are not always what they are thought to be, and it may happen that a man sees himself as in a glass when he thinks he is looking out of window at a neighbor. It is a sign of great weakness when persons are full of contempt for others. If in any review or pamphlet a writer parades his culture, you may be sure that he has been lying fallow of late, and his affectations are the weeds which have come of it. If it came to a fair contest upon the matter of education and culture, the orthodox would be quite able to hold their own. Boasting is sorry work; but sometimes persons must be answered according to their folly, and I say boldly that in any sort of mental tournament we should not tremble to tilt with the men of “modern thought.” Be it so or not, it is ours to believe. We believe that when the Lord our God gave forth a revelation He knew His own mind, and that He expressed Himself in the best and wisest manner, and in terms that can be understood by those who are teachable and truthful. We therefore believe that no new revelation is needed, and that the idea of other light to come is practically unbelief in the light which now is, seeing the light of truth is one. We believe that though the Bible has been twisted and turned about by sacrilegious hands, it is still the infallible revelation of God. It is a main part of our religion humbly to accept what God has revealed. Perhaps the highest form of adoration possible on this side the veil is the bowing of our entire mental and spiritual being before the revealed mind of God; the kneeling of the understanding in that sacred Presence whose glory causes angels to veil their faces. Let those who

please worship science, reason, and their own clear judgments; it is ours to submit ourselves before the Lord our God, and say: ‘’This God is our God for ever and ever: He shall be our guide even unto death.”

Brethren, rally to the old standard. Fight to the death for the old gospel, for it is your life. Whatever forms of expression you may use as you advance in knowledge, ever keep the cross of Jesus Christ in the forefront, and let all the blessed truths which gather around it be heartily maintained.

We must have faith not only in the form of fixity of creed, but also in the shape of constant dependence upon God. If I were asked what is the sweetest frame within the whole compass of human feeling, I should not speak of a sense of power in prayer, or abundant revelation, or rapturous joys, or conquest of evil spirits; but I should mention as the most exquisite delight of my being, a condition of conscious dependence upon God. It has been often associated with great pain and humiliation of spirit, but it is inexpressibly delightful to lie passive in the hand of love, to die into the life of Christ. It is deep joy to feel that you do not know, but your Heavenly Father knows; that you cannot speak, but *’ we have an Advocate “; that you can scarcely lift a hand, but that He worketh all your works in you. The entire submission of our soul to our Lord, the full content of the heart with God’s will and way, the sure reliance of the mind upon the heavenly presence and power, — this is the nearest approach to heaven that I know; and it is better than rapture, for one can abide in it without strain or reaction.

“Oh, to be nothing, nothing;
Only to lie at His feet.”

It is not so sublime a feeling as soaring aloft on the wings of eagles; but for sweetness — deep, mysterious, indescribable — it bears the palm. It is a blessedness which can bear to be thought of, a joy which never seems to be a stolen one; for surely a poor, frail child has an unquestioned right to depend upon God, a right to be nothing in the presence of the All-supporting One. I love to preach in such a mood, not as though /was about to preach at all, but hoping that the Holy Spirit would speak in me. Thus to conduct prayer-meetings, and church-meetings, and all sorts of business will be found to be our wisdom and our joy. We generally make our worst blunders about things that are perfectly easy, when the thing is so plain that we do not ask God to guide us, because we think our own common sense will be sufficient, and so we commit grave errors; but in the difficulties, the extreme difficulties which we take before God, He gives young men prudence, and teaches youths knowledge and discretion. Dependence upon God is the flowing fountain of success. That true saint of God, George Müller, has always struck me when I have heard him speak as being such a simple, childlike being in his dependence upon God. But, alas! the most of us are far too great for God to use us; we can preach as well as anybody, make a sermon with anybody — and so we fail. Take care, brethren; for if we think we can do anything of ourselves, all we shall get from God will be the opportunity to try. He will thus prove us, and let us see our nothingness. A certain alchemist who waited upon Leo X. declared that he had discovered how to transmute the baser metals into gold. He expected to receive a sum of money for his discovery, but Leo was no such simpleton; he merely gave him a huge purse in which to keep the gold which he would make. There was wisdom as well as sarcasm in the present. That is precisely what God does with proud men: He lets them have the opportunity to do what they boasted of being able to do. I never heard that so much as a solitary gold piece was dropped into Leo’s purse, and I am sure you will never be spiritually rich by what you can do in your own strength. Be stripped, brother, and then God may be pleased to clothe you with honor, but not till then.

It is essential that we should exhibit faith in the form of confidence in God. Brothers, it would be a great calamity if it could be said of any one of you: “He had an excellent moral character and remarkable gifts; but he did not trust God.” Faith is a chief necessary. Above all, taking the shield of faith “was the apostolic injunction. Alas! some men go to the fight, but leave their shield at home. It would be dreadful to think of a sermon as all a sermon ought to be in every respect except that the preacher did not trust in the Holy Spirit to bless it to the conversion of souls; such a discourse is vain. No sermon is what it ought to be if faith be absent: as well say that a body is in heahh when life is extinct. It is admirable to see a man humbly conscious of weakness, and yet bravely confident in the Lord’s power to work through his infirmity. We may glory at large when God is our glory. Attempting great things, we shall not overdo ourselves in the attempt; and expecting great things, we shall not be disappointed in our expectation. Nelson was asked whether a certain movement of his ships was not perilous, and he replied, “Perilous it may be, but in naval affairs nothing is impossible, and nothing is improbable.” I make bold to assert that in the service of God nothing is impossible and nothing is improbable. Go on, in the name of God; risk everything on His promise, and according to your faith shall it be done unto you.

The common policy of our churches is that of great prudence. We do not, as a rule, attempt anything beyond our strength. We measure means and calculate possibilities with economical accuracy; then we strike off a large discount for contingencies, and a still larger as provision for our ease, and so we accomplish little because we have no idea of doing much. I would to God we had more “pluck.” I know of no fitter word: though the word may better suit the camp than the church, we will for once borrow from the barracks. Bear in mind that there is nothing like courage, even in ordinary things. Sir Richard Sutton, when he was ambassador to Prussia, was taken by Frederick the Great to see his regiment of giants, every one of whom stood six feet six in his shoes. The king said to him, “Do you think any regiment in the English army could fight my men, man for man?” Sir Richard answered, “Please your majesty, I do not know whether the same number could beat your giants, but I know that half the number would try at it.” Let us attempt great things, for those who believe in the name of the Lord succeed beyond all expectation. By faith the worker lives. The right noble Earl of Shaftesbury said the other afternoon of Ragged-school teachers and their work, — “It was evident to all thinking persons that we had a great danger in the ignorance of the children of the lower classes, and so the senators began to think of it, and the philosophers began to think of it, and good men of all sorts began to think of it; but while they were all engaged in thinking, a few plain, humble people opened Ragged Schools, and did it!’ This is the kind of faith of which we need more and more: we need so to trust in God as to put our hand to the plough in His name. It is idle to spend time in making and altering plans, and doing nothing else; the best plan for doing God’s work is to do it. Brothers, if you do not believe in anybody else, believe in God without stint. Believe up to the hilt. Bury yourselves, both as to your weakness and your strength, in simple trust in God. “Oh,” said one, “as to that man, there is no telling what mad thing he will start next!” Let the sneer pass, though it may be as well to say: “I am not mad, most noble Festus; but carry out works of truth and soberness.” The end of all things will show that faith in God is sanctified common sense, without an atom of folly in it. To believe God’s Word is the most reasonable thing we can do, it is the plainest course that we can take, and the safest policy that we can adopt, even as to taking care of ourselves; for Jesus says, “Whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.” Let us stake all upon the faithfulness of God, and we shall never be ashamed or confounded, world without end.

You must also have faith in God in the form of expectancy. Our brethren Smith and Fullcrton would not have a blessing on their work if they did not expect the blessing to come; but expecting the blessing, they provide an inquiry-room, and persons to look after the converts. Shall we commence farming and provide no barn? In many a village the Lord has saved souls under the preaching of the gospel, but the minister has never said, ‘* I shall be in the vestry on such and such an evening to see inquirers; “or “I shall stop after the sermon to talk with the anxious.” He has never given the people a chance of telling what the Lord has done for them, and if he should hear that a dozen people have been convinced of sin, he would be surprised, and fear that they were hypocrites. We have not so learned Christ. We look to take fish in our nets, and to reap harvests in our fields. Is it so with you, my brethren? Let it be more so. “Open thy mouth wide,” saith the Lord, “and I will fill it.” So pray and so preach that if there are no conversions you will be astonished, amazed, and broken-hearted. Look for the salvation of your hearers as much as the angel who will sound the last trump will look for the waking of the dead. Believe your own doctrine! Believe your own Saviour! Believe in the Holy Ghost who dwells in you! For thus shall you see your hearts’ desire, and God shall be glorified.

It is time to talk of the fourth thing, namely, LIFE. The preacher must have life; he must have life ui Jiiinself. Are you all alive, my brother? Of course you have been quickened as a plain believer; but as a minister are you altogether alive? If there is a bone in a man’s body which is not alive, it becomes the nidus of disease; for instance, a decayed tooth may cause more serious injury than most people imagine. In a living system a dead portion is out of place, and is sure sooner or later to create intense pain. It is a wise arrangement that it should be so, for decay has a tendency to spread, and mischief might be caused imperceptibly if pain did not sound the alarm-bell. I hope that any part of our soul which is not truly alive may pain us till the evil is removed.

Some brethren never seem to be thoroughly alive. Their heads are alive, they are intelligent and studious; but, alas! their hearts are inactive, cold, lethargic. Many preachers never spy out opportunities, for death seems to have sealed up their eyes, and their tongue also is not half quickened, so that they mumble and stumble, and all around them sleep rules the hour. I have been told that if certain preachers would only for once stamp a foot, or lift a handkerchief, or do anything out of their regular way, it would be a relief to their people. I hope none of you have become quite so mechanical; but I know that some are heavy and yet not weighty, solemn and yet not impressive. My brother, I want you to be alive from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head, — alive in brain and heart, in tongue and hand, in eye and ear. The living God should be served by living men.

Labor to be alive in all your duties. John Bradford, the martyr, used to say, “I never go away from any part of the service of God till I feel thoroughly alive in it, and know that the Lord is with me in it.” Carry out this rule conscientiously. In confessing sin, go on confessing till you feel that your tears have washed the Saviour’s feet. In seeking pardon, continue to seek till the Holy Spirit bears witness to your peace with God, In preparing a sermon, wait upon the Lord until you have communion with Christ in it, until the Holy Spirit causes you to feel the power of the truth which you are to deliver. “Son of man, eat this roll.” Before you attempt to give out the word to others, get it into yourself. Is there not too much dead praying, and dead preaching, and dead church work of all sorts? Do you not know churches which are like the ghostly ship in the legend, the captain, the mate, and all the crew are dead men?

“The mariners all do work the ropes
As they ‘ve been wont to do;
They raise their limbs like lifeless tools — They are a ghastly crew.

“The body of my deacon’s self
Stands by me knee to knee;
The body and I pull at one rope,
But nothing of life have we.”

This is a grim business, but I have beheld such a sight, though never have I seen a ghost. I recollect being years ago in a church which was almost defunct externally, and altogether defunct internally, and after sermon, during which I felt a terrible chill of soul, I went into the vestry, and there I saw two important persons leaning heavily against the fire-place. I said to them, “Are you the deacons of the church?” They answered, “Yes, sir.” I replied, “I thought so!” I did not explain further. These pillars of the church evidently needed propping up. Sluggish ease will not do! Brethren, we must have life more abundantly, each one of us, and it must flow out into all the duties of our office: warm spiritual life must be manifest in the prayer, in the singing, in the preaching, and even in the shake of the hand and the good word after service. I delight in these conferences because they are living assemblies; the room does not feel like a vault, nor do you salute each other like a set of living skeletons without hearts, or a company of respectable mandarins fresh from the tea-shops, who nod and bow mechanically. I cannot endure meetings where the only exhibition of life is seen in heated discussions over points of order, amendments, and movings of the previous question. One marvels at the little things over which an assembly will waste hours of precious time, contending as if the destiny of the whole world and the fate of the starry heavens depended upon the debate. How the mountain heaves, but how small a mouse is born! Brethren, may you be alive, and keep alive, and disseminate your life. We read in Plato that the Egyptian priests said concerning the Greeks, “You Greeks are always youths, there is not an old man among you.” Neither, sirs, is there an old man among us at this hour; we are full of youth even unto this day, and if you want to see one whose vigor and cheerfulness prove that his gray hairs are all external, there sits the man [pointing to Mr. George Rogers]. It is a grand thing to be perpetually renewing your youth, never getting into the ruts, but making new tracks with your glowing wheels. Those who are old when they are young, are likely to be young when they are old. I like to see the liveliness of the child associated with the gravity of the father; but especially do I rejoice to see a godly man keep up the vivacit)’, the joy, the earnestness of his first love. It is a crime to permit our fires to burn low while experience yields us more and more abundant fuel. Be it ours to go from strength to strength, from life to more abundant life.

Be full of life at all times, and let that life be seen in your ordinary conversatio7i. It is a shocking state of things when good people say, “Our minister undoes in the parlor what he has done in the pulpit; he preaches very well, but his life does not agree with his sermons.” Our Lord Jesus would have us perfect even as our Father who is in heaven is perfect. Every Christian should be holy; but we are laid under a sevenfold obligation to it. God help us so to live that we may be safe examples to our flocks: how can we expect the divine blessing if it be not so? In such a case life will go out of tcs to others. The man whom God uses for quickening is the man who is himself quickened. May we and our people become like those ornamental waters which we have seen while travelling in foreign parts; the water leaps up as a fountain, and descends into a basin; when that basin is full the crystal runs over the brink in a sparkling sheet and rolls into another basin, and the process is repeated again and again till the result charms the eye. At our conference, my brethren, may the living waters flow into us, and then flow from us till thousands shall receive a blessing, and communicate it to others. “He that believeth in Him, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” God fill you to the brim, and cause you to overflow. This is essential: life we must have. If among us there is a slumbering brother, who does everything in a slow way, let him wake up. If any one among us performs his duty in a lifeless manner, as if he were paid by the pound, and would not give half an ounce over, let him also wake up. Our work requires that we serve the Lord with all our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and with all our strength. Ours is no place for half-heartedness. Go, ye dead ones, take a chaplain’s place at the cemetery and bury your dead; but work among living men needs life — vigorous, intense life. A corpse among angelic choirs would not be more out of place than a lifeless man in the gospel ministry: God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

The last thing, but not the least important, is LOVE. Assuredly we must abound in love. It is a hard thing for some preachers to saturate and perfume their sermons with love; for their natures are hard, or cold, or coarse, or selfish. We are none of us all that we ought to be, but some are specially poverty-stricken in point of love. They do not “naturally care” for the souls of men, as Paul puts it. To all, but especially to the harder sort, we would say. Be doubly earnest as to holy charity, for without this you will be no more than sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. Love is power. The Holy Spirit for the most part works by our affection. Love men to Christ; faith accomplishes much, but love is the actual instrument by which faith works out its desires in the name of the Lord of love.

Brethren, love your wor’k. You will never preach well unless you are enamored of it: you will never do well in any particular charge unless you love the people, and would almost say the village and the meeting-house. I would have you believe that

Slocum-in-the-Marsh is a gem among villages. Think that London may be all very well as a city, but as a village Slocum bears the palm. Even your chapel, with all its plainness, should have charms for you: be of opinion that the Tabernacle is very well in its way, but that it has great deficiencies about it; that it is too big for one thing — at least, too big for you. Your meeting-households only three hundred and twenty; but in your judgment that is quite as large a number as one man can see after with any hope of success; at least it involves a responsibility quite as large as you desire to bear. When a mother’s love to her children leads her to believe that they are the sweetest in the parish, she takes more care in their washing and their dressing; if she thought them ugly, troublesome beings, she would neglect them; and I am sure that until we heartily love our work, and love the people with whom we are working, we shall not accomplish much. I can truly say that I do not know anybody in all the world that I would like to change places with. “Ah,” say you, “that is very likely, for you have a fine position.” I am quite of that opinion; but I thought just the same of my little pastorate at Waterbeach, and it was with the utmost reluctance that I removed from the first to the second. I still retain the belief that there were people in my first congregation whose like I shall never see again, and that as a position of usefulness there are great attractions about that Cambridgeshire village. It is a rule to which I know of no exception, that to prosper in any work you must have an enthusiasm for it.

You must have also intense love to the souls of ineiiy if you are to influence them for good. Nothing can compensate for the absence of this. Soul-winning must be your passion, you must be born to it; it must be the very breath of your nostrils, the only thing for which you count life worth the having. We must hunt after souls even as the Swiss hunter pursues the chamois because the spirit of the chase has mastered him. Above all, we must feel an iiitejise love to God. Our dear brother who led us in prayer this morning rightly spoke of the power which girds us when we burn with love to God. Why is it we tell children and young people, “You must love Jesus in order to be saved”? This is not the gospel. The gospel is, ‘* Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” We are careful to state the matter correctly to the grown people; why give it inaccurately to the young? If we make a difference at all it will be wiser to tell the children to believe, and the old people to love: the error will be less injurious, for love is the great lack of most men. The holy grace of love needs to be more preached among us, and more felt by us. ‘’Oh,” said a woman when she was speaking of the Lord to her minister, “He has heard my prayer many a time, and I can have what I want of Him, for by His grace I am very thick with Him.” She meant that communion had wrought sweet fellowship, and so her prayers were heard. Oh, that we lived on familiar terms with the Well-beloved, and felt His love within our bosoms always. Love to God will help a man to persevere in service when otherwise he would have given up his work. “The love of Christ constrainetk us,” said one whose heart was all his Master’s. I heard one say the other day that the “love of Christ ought to constrain us.” This is true, but Paul did not so much speak of a duty as of a fact: he said, “The love of Christ constraineth us.”

Beloved brethren, if you are filled with love to your work, and love to souls, and love to God, you will gladly endure many self-denials which else would be unbearable. The poverty of our country brethren is very trying, and ought by all means to be relieved; but we may well feel proud that so many men are forthcoming who, for the sake of preaching the gospel of Christ, are willing to leave remunerative callings and endure hardness. Other denominations might pay them better, but they spurn the golden bribe, and remain faithful to Christ and to the ordinances as they were delivered. All honor to those life-long martyrs who put up with sore privations for the sake of Christ and His Church. The devil once met a Christian man, so I have heard, and said to him: “You call yourself a servant of God. What do you do more than I do? You boast that you fast: so do I; for I neither eat nor drink. You do not commit adultery; neither do L” The fiend mentioned a long list of sins of which he is incapable, from which he could therefore claim exemption. The saint at last said to him: “I do one thing which thou never didst; I deny myself.” That is the point in which the Christian comes out: he denies himself for Christ’s sake; believing in Jesus, he counts all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus his Lord. Brethren, do not leave your charges because the stipend is small. Your poor people must* be looked after by somebody. Do not despair when times are hard, for they will be better by and by; and meanwhile your Heavenly Father knows your needs. We have heard of men who have remained in plague-stricken cities when others fled, because they could be of service to the sick. Abide, then, with your people when work fails them; be as faithful to your God as many a man has been faithful to his philanthropy. If you can anyhow manage to tide over the present distress, stick to the people. God will help you and reward you if you have faith in Him. May the Lord confirm your confidence, and comfort you in your tribulation!

Go on, brethren, go on preaching the same gospel; but preach it with more faith, and preach it better every day. Do not draw back: your place is to the front. Qualify yourselves for larger spheres, you that are in little places; but do not neglect your studies to look after better positions. Be prepared for an opening when it comes, and rest assured that the office will come to the man who is fit for the office. We are not so cheap that we need go hawking ourselves in every market; the churches are always on the look-out for really efficient preachers. Men whose fitness for the ministry is doubtful are at a great discount nowadays; but for men of ability and usefulness there is great demand.

You cannot hide a candle under a bushel, and you cannot keep a really able man in an insignificant position. Patronage is of the smallest importance; fitness for the work, grace, ability, earnestness, and a loving disposition soon push the man into his place. God will bring His servant into his true position, if he has but faith to trust in Him. I put this word at the tail-end of my address, because I know the discouragements under which you labor. Do not be afraid of hard work for Christ; a terrible reckoning awaits those who have an easy time in the ministry, but a great reward is in reserve for those who endure all things for the elect’s sake. You will not regret your poverty when Christ Cometh and calleth His own servants to Him. It will be a sweet thing to have died at your post, not turning aside for wealth, or running from Dan to Beersheba to obtain a better salary, but stopping where your Lord bade you hold the fort.

Brethren, consecrate yourselves to God afresh. Bring hither new cords. Bind the sacrifice again to the altar! Struggle as it may, anxious to escape the knife, fearful of the fire, yet bind it with cords, even with cords, to the horns of the altar; for until death and in death we are the Lord’s. Entire surrender of everything to Jesus is our watchword this day. Only may the Lord accept the living sacrifice for Jesus Christ’s sake! Amen.