CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
Cornell University Libraiy 
 arV15172 
 
 The voice of sacred triples / 
 
 3 1924 031 696 986 
 olln.anx 
 
The original of tliis bool< is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
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 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924031696986 
 
THE VOICE 
 
 SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Eev. THOMAS APPLEGATE, 
 
 ADTHOR OP " SACEED QEOGEAPHY AND HIBTOET," " FEUITS OF THE 
 SPIRIT," ETC. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 
 niBLISHED FOE THE AUTHOE ET 
 
 E. P. DTTTTON AND COMPANY. 
 NEW YORK: HURD AND HOUGHTON. 
 
 1866. 
 
 0^ 
 
-^f^^fi-^rf-c^ 
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865) by 
 
 E. P. DdTTON AMD CoaPAWY, 
 
 In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Massachnsetti* 
 
 BITESSntE, CASfBRIDGS ! : 
 
 8TSBE0TTPEJ) AND P&IHT^X> BT 
 
 H. 0. HOnOHTON AND COUPANT. 
 
PEEFACE. 
 
 The triples of Holy Writ are associated with some 
 of the most interesting features of the dispensations of 
 God to man. Twelve comprehensive and important 
 themes are discussed in the pages of this work. Each 
 subject is distinct and independent of the rest, and 
 designed to afford material for reflection " when sitting 
 in the house, and when walking by the way." If the 
 reader will take this volume with him in his seques- 
 tered walks, and make it the sharer of his temporary 
 seclusion from the corroding anxieties of business, the 
 triples which it aims to elucidate may serve to shed the 
 perfume and lustre of the name of Jesus around his 
 lone and pensive path, kindling his fervor, and dispos- 
 ing hini to renewed devotion to his best Friend that 
 " sticketh closer than a brother." 
 
 The Three Revelations of Christ embody appro- 
 priate thoughts for Advent and Christmas. The gaze 
 of the Church has ever been fixed on the contem- 
 plation of Christ's coming — Christ come — Christ 
 
IV PKEFACE. 
 
 returning. Patriarchs and prophets caught far-off 
 glimpses of Him on His earthward mission. Kings 
 and priests reflected the kindling glories of the Sun 
 of Righteousness, before He rose upon the world. 
 They were His appointed forerunners, like clouds in 
 the eastern sky, flushed h^ the breaking dawn. 
 
 The holy ministrj' points back to the Nativity as the 
 ijentral fact of the Bible, around which the history of 
 the world has crystallized, and taken its shape ; and it 
 looks forward to that august era, when the Lord Jesus 
 shall be "revealed from heaven," t6 judge the world in 
 righteousness, and consummate the triumphs of His 
 reign. The past, the present, and the future have an 
 inseparable connection with Christ.. Pluck His sacred 
 name from the record, and the annals of our race are 
 only a chaotic enigma, a maze without a clue. Preach 
 Christ crucified, Christ risen, ascended, and glorified, 
 and the mystery of the world's destiny becomes solv- 
 able ; the ways of God are justified, and the actions of 
 men have a light, and an aim, and an end that would 
 otherwise be wanting. 
 
 The Three Temptations are drawn from the Gospel 
 for the First Sunday in Lent ; and though particularly 
 appUcable to that solemn season, w'ill be found equally 
 serviceable in confronting the eneipy, on any occasion 
 that he makes his attack. 
 
 The Marys at the Cross, and the Last Words of 
 
PREFACE. V 
 
 Christ, belong to that class of subjects suitable for 
 Good-Friday ; but the holy lessons, which they incul- 
 cate, appeal to our hearts ever, with melting tender- 
 ness. The Three Ascensions, and the Three in One, 
 will remind the reader of the goodly custom of the 
 Church, in the celebration of Holy - Thursday and 
 Trinity - Sunday. The field travelled over, in the 
 range of these threefolds, is rich and suggestive. Im- 
 portant truths are latent in every theme ; and the prac- 
 tical lessons are numerous and obvious. The writer 
 regrets that he has brought so much feebleness and 
 infirmity to the treatment of topics so interesting and 
 instructive, and hopes that the Spirit of God wiU 
 accept the efi'ort, and give it usefulness in the Church, 
 and the glory shall be to the Father, and to the Son, 
 and to the Holy Ghost, three Persons in One God, 
 world without end. Amen. 
 
 COBTLANB, N, T,, September, 1865. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 TABS 
 
 The Three Kevelations ov Christ 1 
 
 The Three Sister Graces -. 29 
 
 The Three Jewish Festivals • 50 
 
 The Three Sacred Moxtntains 70 
 
 The Three Loved Ones op Bethany 105 
 
 The Three Chosen Disciples 125 
 
 The Three Temptations 145 
 
 The Three Marts at the Cross 162 
 
 The Three Dying Words of Christ 179 
 
 The Three Ascensions 200 
 
 The Three Mysterious Unions 216 
 
 The Three in One 236 
 
.ty-"- 
 
THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 THE THREE REVELATIONS OF CHRIST. 
 
 "The everlasting Son of the Father" made 
 frequent visits to earth before He became in- 
 carnate. His deHghts were With the sons of 
 men, to whom He vouchsafed His presence in 
 angehc form as their counsellor and guide. 
 When the venerable Abraham was at Mamre, 
 sitting in the doorway of his Arab tent, en- 
 joying the fresh breeze astir, he espied three 
 men approaching him, two of whom were 
 angels, and the third was the Son of God. 
 The distinguished visitors partook of the pa- 
 triarch's friendly cheer, gave renewed assur- 
 ances of the birth of Isaac, and resumed their 
 journey. St. Paul, commenting upon the inci- 
 dent, says : " Be not forgetful to entertain 
 strangers: for some have thereby entertained 
 angels unawares." The Angel of the Cove- 
 
2i THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 nant conducted Abraham to an eminence that 
 commanded an imposing view of Sodom and 
 Gomorrah, and, pointing to those silent cities 
 among the mountains, disclosed the startling 
 intelligence that he was abojit to inflict on 
 them a terrible destruction ; because of the 
 wickedness of the people. The patriarch inter- 
 ceded with impassioned earnestness for the 
 guilty inhabitants, till he hoped he had won a 
 reprieve. The illustrious speaker with whom 
 he pleaded was Jesus Christ, who afterwards 
 enunciated the solemn truth, " Before Abraham 
 was, I am," " Tour Father Abraham rejoiced 
 to see my day : and he saw it, and was glad." 
 " No man hath seen God at any time ; the only- 
 begotten Son, who is in the* bosom of the 
 Father, He hath declared Him." 
 
 There occurred another remarkable manifes- 
 tation of deity one memorable night, in the 
 history of Jacob. Between him and his brother 
 Esau there exteted a long standing grudge 
 about the birthright ; and tidings reached him 
 that his offended brother was coming against 
 him, on the morrow, with four hundred armed 
 
THE THREE REVELATIONS OE CHRIST. 6 
 
 men. Dejected and anxious, the patriarch be- 
 took himself in the extremity to the God of 
 Bethel, and felt in the ardor of his devotion a 
 mysterious conflict, as if a person were wres- 
 tling with him, "twisting, thrusting, straining, 
 and striving to hurl him to the ground." The 
 assault came from no enemy. His opponent 
 was the second person in the adorable Trinity. 
 " And Jacob called the name of the place, 
 Peniel, the face of God ; for he said, I have seen 
 God face to face, and my life is preserved." 
 Thenceforth his name was no more called 
 Jacob, but Israel : because as a prince he had 
 power with God, and with man, and had pre- 
 vailed. 
 
 The burning bush at Horeb was a singular 
 phenomenon, outshining in brilliancy the blaze 
 of noon. The fire occasioned no consumption 
 of the leaves and branches, but reflected them 
 with beautiful transparency. And when Moses 
 turned aside to see this great sight, it became 
 vocal with instruction. The- Lord spoke to 
 him, " out of the midst of the bush, and said, 
 Draw not nigh hither : put off thy shoes from 
 
4 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 off thy feet ; for the place whereon thou standest 
 is holy ground. Moreover He said, I am the God 
 of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of 
 Isaac, and the God of Jacob." But for the as- 
 surance of the voice which addressed him, the 
 astonished Hebrew might have concluded that 
 the supernatural exhibition was in some way 
 connected with the revelation of an angel. 
 Now, he was favored with indisputable testi- 
 mony that it was Jehovah Jesus, the mysteri- 
 ous, incomprehensible One, who afterward con- 
 ducted the exodus by a pillar of cloud by day 
 and fire by night, supplied miraculously the 
 migratory hosts with manna from the skies and 
 water from the rock, and of whom it is re- 
 corded, " They did all eat the same spiritual 
 meat ; and did all drink the same spiritual 
 drink : for they drank of that Rock that fol- 
 lowed them : and that Rock was Christ." 
 
 To Moses Christ revealed Himself as a 
 Prophet like Unto him, that' should rise in 
 Judea; to Job, as the living Redeemer, who 
 should stand in the latter day upon the earth ; 
 and to the patriarch Jacob, as the Shiloh, who 
 
THE THKEB REVELATIONS OF CHRIST. 5 
 
 should come in Judah's line. Balaam, in his 
 blindness, had dim glimpses of the Messiah 
 under the image of a star ; and with the com- 
 posure of one who reposed his confidence on 
 God, uttered, as the Lord had taught him, the 
 wondrous prophecy : " I shall See Him, but not 
 now : I shall behold Him, but not nigh : there 
 shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre 
 shall rise out of Israel." The sublime vision of 
 Isaiah, exhibiting Jehovah as "'high and lifted 
 up, whose train filled the temple," was a mani- 
 festation of the glory of Christ. The Son of 
 man, whom Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, 
 saw walking with the three Hebrew youths, in 
 the midst of the burning fiery furnace, was the 
 Son of man, who came to seek and to save them 
 that were lost. The Ancient. of days that ap- 
 peared to Daniel, was the Infant of days, born in 
 a stable at Bethlehem. We recognize, under 
 every modification of development, the self-same 
 Eevealer of the Father, the self-same Head of 
 the Church, the self-same Saviour of our race, 
 who is Christ, the Lord. 
 
 The Augustan Age brought in the fulness of 
 
6 THE VOICE OF SACEED TRIPLES. 
 
 time, when " God's blessed Son was manifested, 
 that he might destroy the works of the de-vil." 
 The event is referred to, in Holy Writ, as a 
 mystery, " Great is the mystery of godliness : 
 God manifest in the flesh." It is so regarded 
 in our admirable Litany ; " By the mystery of 
 thy Holy Incarnation. By thy Holy Nativity 
 and Circumcision." His assumption of our 
 nature was an arrival from another sphere, — 
 an incident in an existence thq,t had no begin- 
 ning. Christ could speak of a life that He had 
 spent elsewhere. He could say, " I came out 
 from God." "I came forth from the Father, 
 and am come into the world." " I leave the 
 world, and go to the Father." " His goings 
 forth were of old, from everlasting." The chil- 
 dren of faith must not pry into the hidden 
 secret, but rejoice in the Advent, till the Lord 
 shall lift the vail, and exhibit the inscrutable 
 mystery as a subject of the clearest vision. 
 
 If it be asked, Why was so long a period 
 allowed to elapse between thg bestowment of 
 the promise of the Messiah, and its actual fulfil- 
 ment ? it is sufficient to reply. The world was not 
 
THE THREE REVELATIONS ,QF CHRIST. 7 
 
 fitted, by its population and general condition, to 
 receive him earlier. Christ came thus late, that 
 scoffers might find no excuse fgr their unbelief. 
 There was as much propriety in the delay, as 
 there is in not permitting a minor to come into 
 the full possession of the property to which he is 
 an heir. " The heir," says the Apostle, " differeth 
 nothing from a servant, as long as he is a child, 
 though he be lord of all ; but is under tutors 
 and governors until the time appointed of the 
 father. Even so we, when we were children, 
 were in bondage under the elements of the 
 world : but when the fulnffss of time was 
 come, God sent forth His Son, made of a 
 woman, made under the law, to redeem them 
 that were under the law, that we might receive 
 the adoption of sons." " The fulness of time " 
 was the best for introducing the Saviour and 
 His Gospel. The minds of men were more at 
 rest, and better prepared to detect Him, if He 
 had been an impostor. The Jews were under 
 the Roman yoke, and looked to the Messiah as 
 their deliverer. He was a bright star in their 
 horizon, and they were disponed to scrutinize 
 
8 THE VOICE OP SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 His claims with the nicest accuracy. The 
 authorities of the Koman government were 
 jealous of losing any portion of their influence, 
 and were prejiared to investigate His character 
 with equal vigilance. The policy of both 
 parties was to dispute everything they met 
 with, and to admit nothing without proof. 
 Christianity threw down the gauntlet, and chal- 
 lenged the closest research. The collisions 
 that ensued served to rub the diadem into 
 brightness, and to manifest to. the world that 
 Christ was certainly '^ He that should come, and 
 that they need not look for another." 
 
 The aspect of human affairs had not looked 
 so favorable for the Advent at any previous 
 period. Men had been unwittingly preparing 
 the way of the Lord, and mg-king His paths 
 straight. The nations of the earth, which, only 
 a few centuries before, were in a state of internal 
 antagonism, had become consolidated into one 
 empire ; and an appeal to Caesar was deemed a 
 sufficient protection in almost every capital and 
 village of the habitable globe. The Romans had 
 constructed Appian ways, and opened up arterial 
 
THE THREE REVELATIONS OF CHRIST. 9 
 
 roads, thus forming paths for the Gospel to track 
 its course over the known world. The Greek 
 language, the noblest, and the grandest, began 
 very much to dominate and prevail ; and this 
 constituted an appropriate vehicle, in which to 
 embody and transmit the glad tidings of salva- 
 tion, in the most expressive and permanent 
 shape. Such were the happy results of the 
 movements and changes of four thousand 
 years, — the stirring of the waters, prior to the 
 descent of the angel to impregnate them with 
 the element of universal health. When the 
 world was thus at peace, and the blessings of 
 civilization were diflFused, and the people were 
 expecting a deliverer, and the- nations were ac- 
 cessible to the feet of them that publish glad 
 tidings, Christ came, — the Sun of Eighteous- 
 ness arose, — the Gospel of the Son of God was 
 announced, — the national cistern became a 
 world-wide fountain, and the Jerusalem lamp 
 was superseded by the bright Sun in the sky, 
 for the benefit of the race, the word of love 
 and mercy went forth as the day breaks ; and 
 where it poured its meridian splendor, it eclipsed 
 
10 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 all light in its surpassing lustre. Its yoice was 
 more powerful than thunder,- its echo softer 
 than the summer breeze. It was whispered in 
 the East, and rolled round to the West. It is re- 
 peated in the West, and rolls back to the East. 
 It is gentle and fructifying as'the spring show- 
 er ; vivifying and enlightening as the sun ; glori- 
 ous and eternal as the heaven to which it leads. 
 The restrictive process, to which Deity had 
 recourse, in selecting the nation of the Jews, 
 the tribe of Judah, the family of David, and 
 the Virgin Mary, to manifest the Godhead in 
 human form, led him also to determine that the 
 little town of Bethlehem should be the pre- 
 destined and distinguished locality. " But 
 thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little 
 among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee 
 shall He come forth unto me that is to be Euler 
 in Israel." The town of Bethlehem was indeed 
 of little celebrity among the thousands of its 
 neighbors, remarkable neither for elegance, nor 
 commerce, nor the number of its inhabitants ; 
 but aggrandized by an event that will render it 
 illustrious in the annals of eternity. 
 
THE THREE BEVELATIONS OF CHBIST. 11 
 
 The residence of Joseph and Mary is the 
 obscure village of Nazareth, in the province of 
 Galilee. They are accustomed to repair to the 
 synagogue to hear the Law and the Prophets, 
 and sing the songs of Zion. And the soul of 
 Mary, encouraged by the announcement of the 
 angel, rises to heaven in the tuneful inspira- 
 tion of her own splendid Magiiificat, " My soul 
 doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath 
 rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He hath re- 
 garded the low estate of His handmaiden : for 
 behold, from henceforth all generations shall 
 call me blessed. For He that is mighty hath 
 magnified me : and holy is His name." 
 
 To consummate the wondrqus aiFair agreea- 
 bly to ancient prediction, the Roman Emperor, 
 as if moved by a special decree of Heaven, de- 
 termines to take a census of all the people in 
 his dominions, and requires them to appear 
 for enrolment at the head - quarters of their 
 respective famiHes. The lineal descendants of 
 David must present themselves in David's 
 city. Joseph and Mary must undertake a 
 journey to Bethlehem. They found the city 
 
12 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 much crowded, full of buzz and excitement. 
 And as they could obtain no accommodation 
 at a public inn, or in a private lodging, they 
 were glad to avail themselves* of the humble 
 retirement of a stable. " And so it was, that 
 while they were there, the days were accom- 
 plished that she should be delivered. And she 
 brought forth her first-born sOn, and wrapped 
 Him in swaddling-clothes, and laid Him in a 
 manger." 
 
 " Cold on His cradle the dew-drops are shining ; 
 Low lies His bed with the bealts of the stall ; 
 Angels adore Him in slumber reclining, 
 Maker, and Monarch, and Saviour of all." 
 
 The starry night is lit up with unusual 
 brilliancy. The air is filled with music from 
 the skies. Angels sing in strains of inimitable 
 sweetness, " Glory to God in the highest, and on 
 earth peace, good will toward men." Sweeter 
 and softer melody never fell on the ears of 
 humanity. 
 
 Shepherds who were watching their flocks in 
 the fields saw a radiance at midnight of more 
 than earthly light, and heard the flutter of 
 
THE THREE REVELATIONS OF CHRIST. 13 
 
 angels' wings. " And lo, the angel of the Lord 
 came upon them, and the glory of the Lord 
 shone round about them ; and they were sore 
 afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear 
 not : for behold, I bring you, good tidings of 
 great joy, which shall be to all people. For 
 unto you is born this day, in the city of David, 
 a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." The 
 shepherds were probably ambng the number 
 of those who were looking for redemption in 
 Jerusalem, silently musing at that moment 
 when the kingdom of God should come, sigh- 
 ing, in the language of David, " 0, that the 
 salvation of God were come out of Zion." And 
 " they said one to another. Let us now go even 
 unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is 
 come to pass, which the Lord bath made known 
 unto us." They told Joseph and Mary what it 
 was that brought them, explained the angels' 
 visit, caught a glimpse of the new-born king, 
 and returned praising the Lord for the abun- 
 dance of His mercy. Ever after, they would 
 tread those fields as hallowed ground. If they 
 slept, it would be in expectation of some fresh 
 
14 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 revelation, starting at imaginary sounds, fancy- 
 ing that an aerial orchestra was floating by. 
 
 The Saviour's birth was signalized by an 
 unaccustomed orb, that gleamed in the path- 
 way of the heavens. The Star of Bethlehem 
 shone. Its brilliancy gave presage of a new 
 and glorious dynasty. The wise men of Ara- 
 bia and Chaldea were on the look-out for it. 
 They had scanned with keenest search the 
 radiant maze. They had made sure of every 
 speck of light, though ever so small. And 
 when the stranger star crossed their field of 
 vision, and travelled westward toward Judea, 
 they followed its guidance to Jerusalem, and 
 inquired, " Where is He that is born King of 
 the Jews? for we have seen His star in the 
 east, and are come to worship Him." They 
 evidently understood the connection between 
 the sign and the circumstance, and were anx- 
 ious to attest the birth of the illustrious per- 
 sonage, and do Him homage. The star that 
 disappeared during their continuance in the 
 Holy City, resumed its brightness when they 
 left it, and, conducting the visitors to Beth- 
 
THE THEEE REVELATIONS OF CHRIST. 15 
 
 lehera, drooped so low, as tq single out the 
 house where the young child was. The star 
 pointed out the Star. The starry orb showed 
 "the root and the offspring of David, the 
 bright and the morning-star." The supernat- 
 ural phenomenon died out above that humble 
 dwelling as the Magi entered it ; and they, 
 opening "their treasures, presented the Holy 
 Jesus with gifts ; gold, frankincense, and myrrh." 
 These were the richest offerings it was in their 
 power to make. And these tangible and sub- 
 stantial proofs of their sincere devotion were 
 not more the promptings of love, and joy, and 
 grateful adoration, than the fulfilment of what 
 David and the prophet Isaiah had before de- 
 clared : " The kings of Tarshish and of the 
 isles shall bring presents : the. kings of Sheba 
 and Seba shall offer gifts." " They shall bring 
 gold and incense ; and they shall show forth the 
 praises of the Lord." " The Gentiles shall come 
 to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy 
 rising." 
 
 But the precious things of earth belonged to 
 Christ before the Magi presented them. " For 
 
16 THE VOICE OF SACKED TKIPLES. 
 
 all things were made by Him." He made the 
 woman of whom He was boril under the law. 
 The star that shone over Bethlehem was an 
 emanation of His own true light. The angels 
 that announced His birth were His ministers 
 to do His pleasure. The cattle that fed in the 
 manger, where He was cradled, were His legiti- 
 mate creatures; and the he]:bage, on which 
 they subsisted, He caused to grow. " The gold 
 and the silver are the Lord's, and the cattle 
 upon a thousand hiUs." The clear cool waters 
 that filled the sea of Tiberias were poured from 
 His sacred hand ; and the blasts that stirred 
 them to their depths, and rolled the tumultu- 
 ous billows to the shore, were hushed by His 
 "Peace, be still." The foundations of Tabor 
 and Olivet, and the mountains round about 
 Jerusalem, were aU laid by Him. And as He 
 walked up and down the earth. He could recog- 
 nize in its rocky ribs, and in all its adornments, 
 the nice adjustments and familiar strokes of 
 His own Almighty hand. Th^ volcano's burst, 
 the upheaving earthquake, the roar of ocean, 
 the thunder-peal, and the howl of the tempest 
 
THE THKEE KEVELATIONS OF CHRIST. 17 
 
 were the workings of His oWn energies, and 
 He listened to them as the echoes of His own 
 voice. The flowers that smiled in tlie opening 
 spring He painted. The rainbow that decided 
 His cloudy chariot He pencilled. The light 
 that spread around Him was His mantle. The 
 darkness that covered the landscape was His 
 pavilion. What need of offerings to a being 
 of such boundless affluence, whom our services 
 can laeither enrich, nor our wants impoverish ? 
 Does not the Lord reqiiire the heart ? Will 
 He not be better pleased with the warmth and 
 fervor of our affections than with the sweat of 
 our brow, the toil of our hands, the gold of our 
 purse ? The sophistry of this species of rea- 
 soning; comes from an evil heart of unbelief, in 
 departing from the living God. The grateful, 
 joyful, loving soul asks, " What shall I render 
 unto the Lord ? " and forgets not gifts of gold, 
 frankincense, and myrrh. 
 
 The several gradations of human condition 
 were open to the Saviour's acceptance, and of 
 these He chose the lowest. The varieties of 
 earthly splendor were, in His estimation, only 
 
18 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 as SO many degrees of littleness and insignifi- 
 cance. When He came down to earth, He 
 came not to a throne, nor to ease and elegance, 
 but to the cot of a poor carpenter. When He 
 might have spoken to His Father, and com- 
 manded the attendance of legiOns of angels. He 
 chose for his confidential associates twelve poor 
 fishermen. When He hungered, instead of 
 calling to His aid the stores of heaven, He 
 partook with His disciples of their homely fare. 
 " They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and of 
 a honey-comb." What an instance of the con- 
 descension of the Son of God ! Only love, 
 pure, perfect, disinterested, and eternal, could 
 brook such a painful ordeal. If God so loved 
 the world as to give His only-begotten Son, the 
 Son so loved our race as to give us Himself. 
 "This was compassion like a God," It com- 
 prised aU gifts in one, and was so liberal as to 
 preclude the possibility of its being ever said, 
 that God could give us morfe. "Beloved, if 
 God so loved us, we ought also to love one 
 another." " God is love, and he that dweUeth 
 in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." 
 
THE THREE REVELATIONS OF CHRIST. 19 
 
 The birth of Christ was the earnest of the 
 world's redemption. It was virtually its ac- 
 complishment, revealing justice and mercy, and 
 wisdom and power, in the sweetest form of 
 manifestation. The highest angel never saw 
 so much of God before. It is probable that up 
 to this time the angels had only obscure inti- 
 mations of the plan of redeeming love. The 
 cherubim that bent over the. ark seemed to 
 denote, by their attitude of desire to look into 
 these things, that God had not fully revealed 
 to them His great purpose of mercy. St. Paul 
 speaks of the manifold wisdom of God, now 
 made known by the Church, unto the powers 
 and principalities in heavenly' places, as some- 
 thing to which the highest created intelligences 
 were strangers, till they saw the Son of the 
 Eternal stoop to clothe Himself with the habili- 
 ments of mortality. The amazing discovery 
 was made the joyful occasion of gratulatiou 
 and praise. If Christ had come to us differ- 
 ently, or suddenly and unexpectedly, we should 
 have been slow to believe that His embassy 
 was fraught with such kindly results. " But 
 
20 THE VOICE OF SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 God sent not His Son into the world to con- 
 demn the world, but that the world through 
 Him might be saved." The Nativity is a theme 
 of overflowing consolation and exquisite tender- 
 ness. It brings thoughts of a precious Saviour, 
 and angels and men rejoice together in the 
 glad history of His love. The doubts which 
 some insinuate whether the twenty-fifth of 
 December be really the day when Christ was 
 born are of little moment. It is the day which 
 Christians, from an early period, have chosen 
 to observe as such, and it accomplishes every 
 purpose which any other day could answer, in 
 the celebration of the festival. • It unites upon 
 itself, through a long observance, the hearts of 
 the faithful all over the world, and comes down 
 to us with such pleasant memories, and blessed 
 services, that it would be a shock to the sensi- 
 bilities of Christendom not to follow this goodly 
 custom of the Church, with the burst of grate- 
 ful acknowledgment, " Thanks be unto God 
 for His unspeakable gift." 
 
 The grandest revelation of Christ is destined 
 to be realized in the splendors of the last day, 
 
THE THREE REVELATIONS OF OH&IST. 21 
 
 when He shall come again in His glorious 
 Majesty, to judge both the quick and dead. 
 The unreserved disclosure, which He will then 
 make, was explicitly taught, both by the Lord 
 Himself, and His apostles. " The Son of Man 
 shall come in His glory, and all His holy angels 
 with Him ; then shall He sit upon the throne of 
 His glory ; and before Him shall be gathered all 
 nations." " Ye shall see the Son of Man coming 
 in the clouds of heaven, with power and great 
 -glory." " Hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man 
 sitting on the right hand of power, and coming 
 in the clouds of heaven." The language em- 
 ployed in the Apostolic Epistles is equally em- 
 phatic, affirming the second advent to be preem- 
 inently a revelation of Jesus Chtist. " Wherefore 
 gird up the loins of your minds ; and be sober 
 and hope to the end, for the grace that shall be 
 brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus 
 Christ." "The Lord Jesus shall be revealed 
 from heaven, with His mighty angels, in flam- 
 ing fire, taking vengeance on them that know 
 not God, and obey not the Gospel." "The 
 Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a 
 
22 THE VOICE OF SACKED TKIPLES. 
 
 shout, with the voice of the archangel, and 
 with the trump of God." Pa,ssages of this 
 complexion show the terrible contrast between 
 the previous revelations of Christ and the one 
 which will close up the series. Then, His glory 
 was veiled, and the world knew Him not : now, 
 He comes robed in the majesty of the God- 
 head, and the heavens and the earth flee before 
 Him. Then, a tiny star guided to the spot 
 where He lay : now, the sun, moon, and stars are 
 merged in the intenser splendor of the glory 
 that excelleth. Then, He waa seen by only a 
 few : iww, "■ every eye shall see Him ; and all 
 kindreds of the earth shall wail because of 
 Him." Then, He was revealed as the Son of 
 Mary : now, He comes clothed with the all-sus- 
 taining power of Deity to judge the world in 
 righteousness, and minister tr«e judgment to 
 the people. Then, He stood at Pilate's tribunal : 
 now, Pilate must appear before the judgment- 
 seat of Christ. Then, His voice was heard in 
 the feebleness of infancy : iww, it pierces the 
 deepest charnels, causing all in their graves to 
 hear the voice of the Son of God, and to come 
 
THE THREE REVELATIONS OS CHRIST. 23 
 
 forth. Cemeteries of rock, and monuments of 
 bronze, rend and explode, and pour forth their 
 buried tenantry to meet the liord. The sleep- 
 ing dust in cathedral-tombs, and vaults of 
 churches, and beneath the green turf, are si- 
 multaneously quickened and rise to give an 
 account. 
 
 The scenery of the judgment is graphically 
 painted by St. John, in the twentieth chapter 
 of the Revelations. There is no human lan- 
 guage half so magnificent. Oratory, rhetoric, 
 poetry, and imagination are all beggared by its 
 simple grandeur. "And I saw a great white 
 throne, and Him that sat on, it, from whose 
 face the earth and the heavens fled away, and 
 there was found no place for them. And I 
 saw the dead, small and great, stand before 
 God ; and the books were opened ; and another 
 book was opened, which is the book of life, 
 and the dead were judged out of those things 
 that were written in the books, according to 
 their works. And the sea gave up the dead 
 which were in it ; and death and hell delivered 
 up the dead which were in them ; and they 
 
24 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 were judged every man according to their 
 works." Toward that huge assembly of im- 
 mortal beings the most rigid justice charac- 
 terizes every procedure, and not one solitary 
 tongue dares to arraign the equity of the Lord. 
 The faithful in Christ Jesus anticipate the 
 solemn transactions of that day as the only 
 prospect worthy of their hope. The day of 
 judgment is the day of their coronation, when 
 they will receive their " perfect consummation 
 and bliss, both in body and soul, in " Christ's 
 "eternal and everlasting glory." They are de- 
 scribed as looking for His advent, as the return 
 of a conqueror, the coming of a friend, " look- 
 ing for and hastening unto the coming of the 
 day of God;" "Looking for; the Saviour;" 
 " Looking for that blessed hope, the glorious 
 appearing of the great God, and our Saviour 
 Jesus Christ." Whether He descend upon the 
 lightning's wmg, or, the eddying air, at mid-day, 
 or at midnight, they know that when Christ, 
 \Aho is their life, shall appear,- they also shall 
 appear with Him in glory. ''•It doth not yet 
 appear what we shall be; but we know that 
 
THE THREE REVELATIONS OP CHRIST. 25 
 
 when He shall appear we shall be like Him: 
 for we shall see Him as He is." Our frail 
 bodies of dust, and death, shall be " changed, 
 and made like unto His glorious body ; accord- 
 ing to tiie mighty working whereby He is able 
 to subdue all things unto Himself" 
 
 " Array 'd in glorious grace, 
 Shall these vile bodies shine, 
 And every shape, and every face, 
 Look heavenly and divine." 
 
 This comes of having our life hidden with 
 Christ in God ; our hearts linked to His by a 
 living faith ; our natures renewed by the Holy 
 Ghost ; our sins washed away in atoning blood ; 
 our souls robed with Christ's spotless righteous- 
 ness, and Christ formed within us the hope of 
 glory. 
 
 Look on the picture as sketched by the mas- 
 ter's hand, and say which is the most pleasant 
 and attractive, the dread approach of the grim 
 king of terrors, or the glorious appearing of 
 the Lord from heaven ? The moment that the 
 clouds shall waft Him from the throne, on 
 which He now sits, within the range of the 
 
26. THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 earth's attraction, the curse shall be extin- 
 guished, and death shall be swallowed up in 
 victory. The dead of many thousand years, 
 that fell asleep in Jesus, shall rise to greet Him. 
 The saints, who are alive and remain, shall be 
 caught up together with them in the clouds to 
 meet the Lord in the air, and so shall they be 
 ever with the Lord. " Then shall the righteous 
 shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their 
 Father." The clouds of infirmities and re- 
 proaches, that now assail thehi, shall drop to 
 the earth, as they ascend to the skies. And 
 when the purity, and beauty, and blessedness 
 on the right hand of Christ shall be seen in 
 contrast with the dreadful array on the left, it 
 shall be acknowledged that the salvation of the 
 redeemed exceeds the most glowing descrip- 
 tions that have been uttered Concerning them. 
 The splendor of that one scene will combine 
 the consummation of all the plans of time, and 
 the glories of eternity. This fabric of a globe, 
 on which men have so fondly doted, shall be 
 enveloped in one vast conflagration. All this 
 wonderful exhibition of grandeur and minute- 
 
THE THREE REVELATIONS OF CHRIST. 27 
 
 ness, beauty and sublimity, adaptation and 
 counteraction, shall be reduced to ashes. The 
 brightest and noblest productions of man shall 
 be consumed in the general fire. Trophies of 
 victory, monuments of genius, cities and pal- 
 aces, temples and statues, bridges and triumphal 
 arches, shall melt like wax in the red flame. 
 " The earth also, and the vForks that are therein 
 shall be burnt up." 
 
 The promises of God shall receive their full 
 and final accomplishment. Much as they may 
 have been slighted, and called in question, and 
 denied, that day will fix the seal upon them all. 
 The Saviour's injured name shall be vindicated ; 
 His just rights asserted ; the nations shall bow 
 before Him ; " His enemies shall lick the dust." 
 "Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for 
 such things, what manner of persons ought ye 
 to be in all holy conversation and godliness." 
 " Be diligent that ye may be found of Him in 
 peace, without spot and blameless." Trim the 
 flickering lamp; nerve the trembling arm; 
 lift the drooping head. Let your loins be 
 girded, and your lights burning. " Be ye also 
 
28 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 ready, for in such an hour as je think not, the 
 Son of Man cometh." " Blessed is that servant, • 
 whom his Lord, when He cometh, shall find 
 watching." Yet a little while, and He that will 
 come, shall come, and will not: tarry." Ponder 
 much upon the scene. Meditate on the ap- 
 pearing of Jesus Christ. 
 
 " The Lord shall come, the earth shall quake, 
 The mountains to their centre shake, 
 And, withering from the vault of. flight 
 The stars shall pale their feebler light. 
 Can this be He, who wont to stray 
 A pilgrim on the world's highwajr, 
 Oppress'd by power, and mock'd by pride, 
 The Nazarine ! the Crucified ? 
 While sinners in despair shall call. 
 Rocks, hide us ; mountains, on us, fall ; 
 The saints ascending from the tomb, 
 Shall joyful sing, The Lord is come.'' 
 
THE THEEE SISTER GEACES. 
 
 The three beautiful sisters, Faith, Hope, and 
 Charity, have some features of resemblance in 
 common. Faith has something of the expecta- 
 tion of Hope, and Hope something of the desire 
 of love. Faith justifies the soul at the bar 
 where the Law condemns. Hope lifts it above 
 the dark and dismal shadow of mortality. And 
 love animates it to run the heavenly race, till it 
 shall win and wear the crown incorruptible. 
 Like the colors of the rainbow, they maintain 
 their distinctions, yet melt and soften into each 
 other, by almost imperceptible degrees. 
 
 The beauty of this triplet has furnished the 
 Arts with one of the most exquisite subjects for 
 the exercise of human skill, toets have sung 
 the praises of Faith, Hope, and Charity; the 
 painter has exhibited the Holy Three, in all the 
 glowing colors of his pencil ; the sculptor has 
 
30 THE VOICE OF SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 carved them in the pure, and almost breathing 
 forms of his marble ; and the orator has made 
 them the ornaments of a powerful and stirring 
 eloquence. The excellences a:scribed to them 
 has called forth many kindly feelings, and 
 kindled a taste for the subhme and beautiful. 
 
 The eldest sister of the grotip is Faith. She 
 is superhuman. She comes down from above, 
 and is the gift of God. She deals with the 
 spiritual, and herself is spiritual. She has to 
 do with the divine, and herself is divine. She 
 beheves God's word, trusts in His Son, and be- 
 holds the invisible. She leads us to Jesus, and 
 by her gentle and persuasive influence disposes 
 us to put our whole trust and confidence in His 
 mercy, and receive from His fulness, and grace 
 for grace. Her province is to discover to us 
 the surpassing worth and preciousness of 
 Christ J to enrich us with His unsearchable 
 riches, and to make us one with Him, and He 
 with us. 
 
 " Faith is the substance of things hoped for, 
 and the evidence of things not seen." This is 
 the definition given of it by St. Paul, in his 
 
THE THREE SISTER GRACES. 31 
 
 Epistle to the Hebrews. It receives and uses 
 as substance whatever the Saviour, in the plen- 
 itude of His mercy, has promised to bestow. 
 If we read, " I give unto my sheep eternal lifOj 
 and they shall never perish, neither shall any 
 one pluck them out of my hand ; " " Ask and 
 ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock 
 and it shall be opened ; " these are promises 
 which we enjoy as substance ; and this sub- 
 stance becomes a reality, when that reality is 
 wanted. Just as certainly as the promissory 
 notes issued by a bank are equivalent to their 
 value in cash, on account of the confidence 
 which we repose in the directors, so faith in 
 Christ, who is immutably faithful, is the sub- 
 stance of those ardent longings, which He has 
 excited in our hearts, and the evidence of their 
 realization, present and to come. The action 
 of faith uniformly requires somie promise as the 
 basis of operation ; otherwise, it would lose its 
 character, and become daring presumption. 
 When the Israelites were about to pass through 
 the Eed Sea, they were emboldened with the 
 promise of God's protection to go forward fear 
 
32 THE VOICE OP SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 lessly. To the Egyptians no such promise had 
 been made ; and therefore it was not faith, but 
 presumption, on their part which led them to 
 venture in pursuit, so reckless of the result. 
 The faith, that leans upon an Almighty arm, 
 finds a promise for every condition, a helper 
 in every emergency, a soother for every sor- 
 row. This is the intrinsic gold, that procures 
 all blessings, and enriches with all good. Nor, 
 is it simply one single act of the mind, but a 
 series, a repetition of acts, forming the habit 
 of believing, that constitutes faith. It is this 
 that gives a distinctive character to the Chris- 
 tian, and makes him a believer. He lives, 
 he walks by faith. " The life that he Hves in 
 the flesh is a life of faith on the Son of God, 
 who loved him and gave Hinjself for him." 
 
 There is a divine unity in faith, which dis- 
 tance of time and differences of opinion, are 
 powerless to affect. It continues essentially 
 the same in every age of the Church, and all 
 over the world. As the glorious sun, which 
 now flings abroad his golden b6ams, is the same 
 that shone on Eden's bowers; that veiled his 
 
THE THREE SISTER GRACES. 33 
 
 face in sackcloth at the crucifixion of the 
 Saviour, and that illumines all creation, so 
 the faith that now pulsates in the breast of the 
 lowliest believer, is the faith once delivered to 
 the saints, and which inspired in the minds of 
 our first parents a glorious hope, when God 
 revealed to Adam the promise of Christ. It is 
 denominated in Holy Scripture precious faith, 
 — precious in its nature, precious in its ob- 
 ject, and precious as the product of the Spir- 
 it. The trial of faith is more precious than 
 gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, 
 and will be found unto praise and honor and 
 glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ. The 
 sweet singer of Israel had tested its power to 
 sustain the mind in the hour of the severest 
 trial, when he said, " I had fainted unless I had 
 believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the 
 land of the living." The prophet Habakkuk 
 could sing amid the wintry blasts of adver- 
 sity, " Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, 
 neither shall fruit be in the vines ; the la- 
 bor of the olives shall fail, and the fields shall 
 yield np meat : the flock shall be cut ofl from 
 
 3 
 
34 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 the fold, and there shall be no herd in the 
 stalls ; yet will I rejoice in tha Lord, I will joy 
 in the God of my salvation." wondrous 
 faith that sees Hght in darkness, blessing in 
 calamity, and discovers cause for triumph in 
 the dreary and saddening scenes of our check- 
 ered pilgrimage. To her far-seeing eye the 
 matchless, peerless One is all m all. She sees 
 majesty in His meanness, dignity in His con- 
 descension, honor in His humiliation, and glory 
 transcendent in His cross. She looks to Him 
 as the wounded Israelites, in the wilderness, 
 looked to the brazen serpent for healing and 
 hfe. She looks upon Him as invested with sur- 
 passing loveliness, the object of supreme affec- 
 tion, deserving the warmest adoration that hu- 
 man hearts can offer. The look reflects back 
 the radiance of His countenance, and transforms 
 us into the same image from glory to glory, by 
 the spirit of the Lord. 
 
 It would seem as if it were nearly impossible 
 to award to so useful a grace too high a distinc- 
 tion. But Faith, divine as she is, affords no 
 substitute for the Saviour. She is only a mean 
 
THE THREE SISTER GRACES. 35 
 
 to an end, — the instrument of salvation to 
 bring us to Christ, to be sav6d by His right- 
 eousness alone. The ship riding in the roads 
 heaves not her anchor to fetch the little boat 
 from, the shore, but throwing out a line, bids 
 the frail vessel grasp it, and draw itself to the 
 ship. The Lord Jesus, who is in heaven, says, 
 " Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise 
 cast out : " and inviting us to lay hold of that 
 promise, assures us that we shall receive from 
 His fulness the treasures of His grace. Faith 
 does not bring Christ to the soul, but brings 
 the soul to Christ. " Say not in thine heart, 
 Who shall ascend into heaven ? that is, to 
 bring Christ down from above ; or, "Who shall 
 descend into the deep ? that is, to bring up 
 Christ again from the dead. But what saith 
 it ? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, 
 and in thy heart ; that is the word of faith 
 which we preach ; that if thou shalt confess 
 with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt be- 
 lieve in thine heart that God hath raised Him 
 from the dead, thou shalt be. saved." " Only 
 believe." " All things are possible to him that 
 
36 THE VOICE OJF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 believeth." Such was the advice of St. Paul to 
 the jailer at Philippi, who asked, " What must 
 I do to be saved ? " The Apostle set him 
 about the work of believing. " Believe on the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." 
 " This is the work of God, that ye believe in 
 Him, whom He hath sent." 
 
 The youngest sister in the triad, is Christian 
 Hope. We say Christian hope, because there are 
 other hopes that influence the mind. There 
 are good hopes and bad hopes, true hopes 
 and false hopes, — hopes laid up on earth that 
 will disappoint the heart, and hopes garnered 
 in heaven that wiU never fade*. The star, that 
 guides the Christian's course through stormy 
 seas, shines from celestial skies. The haven, 
 where he seeks his repose, lies on no earthly 
 coast. It is embowered in no sheltered inlet, by 
 fragrant flowers, and verdant fields, and tropic 
 groves. It is reserved in no sequestered nook, 
 where crystal waves and golden sands invite 
 from sterner chmes. The home of the soul is 
 fast by the throne of God, where the waters of 
 perennial life flow gently, and the sun of un- 
 
THE THREE SISTER GRACES. 37 
 
 clouded day shines steadily. And as the heart 
 is often wearied with fading hopes, and sighs 
 despondingly for rest, the hope inspired by the 
 Gospel, comes like a bright and beautiful bird 
 from the better world, to cheer us amid the 
 darkness. It sings to us its sweetest songs 
 when the spirit is saddest. It wakes its sufi- 
 niest notes when the soul is harassed, and 
 tightening the slender fibres of our hearts, that 
 grief has torn away, it points beyond the grave 
 and says, " There remaineth a rest for the 
 people of God." The eye of Faith and Hope 
 sweeps, at one glance, both sides the dark river 
 of death — takes in at one view, the mortal and 
 immortal scenery — sees on this side, earthly 
 dwellings falling to decay, gathering gloom 
 and flickering sunshine, dark clouds and 
 deep waters, hanging over thq landscape ; and 
 on the other side descries gloriously, in the dis- 
 tance, the golden towers of the New Jerusalem, 
 the bowers of the heavenly paradise, and the re- 
 deemed and glorified in their ecstasies, reposing 
 in the sunlight of the Lamb. Such is the land 
 of its rest, and the home of its promise. The 
 
38 THE VOICE OF SACRED TEIPUES. 
 
 Christian, as he views this rich, this comprehen- 
 sive, this splendid and heavenly prospect, in all 
 its fulness, reality, and dignity, is furnished with 
 holy incentives to action, and reckons that the 
 sufferings of this present time are not worthy 
 to be compared with the glory that shall be 
 revealed. He travels toward the scene of his 
 happiness with a mind elastic and buoyant, and 
 finds the yoke of Christ easy, and His burden 
 light. Pushing aside the obstacles that impede 
 his progress, and fixing his steadfast eye on the 
 crown of life, held out to him, to beckon him 
 onward and upward, he aspires towards it, with 
 an energy invincible and resolute, hoping to 
 put his foot upon the neck of every foe, and to 
 wave the victor's palm, — hoping to be glorified 
 with the glory of his triumphant Eedeerner, 
 and to outshine the brightness of the sun in 
 his meridian lustre, — hoping to be perfect in 
 every grace, to be free from every sin, to be 
 perfectly holy, and to be perfectly happy, and 
 to be forever with the Lord. 
 
 How much the influence of this hope con- 
 tributes to solace and support the mind, amid 
 
THE THEEE SISTER GRACES. 39. 
 
 the manifold chances and changes of this mor- 
 tal life, it is almost needless to affirm. It is an 
 anchor of the soul sure and steadfast, entering 
 into that, which is within the veil. Life's sor- 
 rows and sufferings may beat like a raging 
 storm upon the spirit ; blow after blow may fall 
 on the stricken and bleeding heart ; wave piled 
 on wave, like the surging billows of a tem- 
 pestuous sea, may break over the tossed and 
 troubled soul ; but hope in God holds the mind 
 serenely in danger, and disposes it to retain its 
 confidence, which hath " great recompense of 
 reward." You are summoned, it may be, to 
 witness the last moments of endeared con- 
 nections. Death's hand has severed the fairest 
 flowers of your earthly promise. The curtain 
 drops and darkens your future prospects. But 
 Hope comes soothingly to your aid, in the try- 
 ing crisis, and whispers words of comfort, about 
 reunion above, where ties that bind us to loved 
 ones are never broken. You stand by the grass- 
 grown sod that covers full half your earthly 
 joys. Your heart is dissolved in grief, and you 
 seem to covet for a while tbe sleep of the 
 
40 THE VOICE OF SACBED TRIPLES. 
 
 sleeper beneath. You feel as if it would be 
 rest, to slumber, in that silent bed from all your 
 care ; but Hope gives forth her voice, and 
 speaks of the Resurrection and the Life, — mor- 
 tal putting on immortality, and the Saints' 
 sleeping in Jesus, waking up in His likeness. 
 The scene instantly changes ; and the cofl&ned 
 clay, and the mouldering dust, are allowed to 
 rest, in the safe-keeping of the Lord, who has 
 promised to " raise it up again at the last day." 
 Christian hope is therefore more than hope 
 generally. It is hope with all its attractiveness, 
 and with none of its uncertainty, — hope with 
 all the beauty and brilliancy that usually fas- 
 cinate, and with none of that delusiveness 
 which so often deceives, — hope with a bland 
 and soothing voice, whispering nothing, but 
 truth, — hope with untiring wing, lifting the 
 sovl to regions of glory, honor, immortality, 
 eternal life. Christ is its author, Christ its 
 object, Christ its medium, Christ its model and 
 foundation. 
 
 " He gives our souls a lively hope 
 That they shall never die.'' 
 
THE THREE SISTER GRACES. 41 
 
 Other hopes droop and die, like leaves in 
 Autumn ; this puts forth bloom amid the snows 
 of infirmity and age, changing winter into 
 beauty, and dreariness into light and rejoicing. 
 
 The most sanguine temperament must ac- 
 knowledge that human hopes are seldom real- 
 ized. We may indulge in visions of romance, 
 and bid defiance to the evil day, and form 
 schemes for happiness for years to come. But 
 experience soon undeceives us. We take but 
 a few steps in life without finding the world to 
 be a turbulent scene. Changes perpetually 
 await us, and we feel the thorns of the wilder- 
 ness, in which we dwell. Our most cherished 
 hopes are frequently blasted in the bud ; our 
 designs defeated at the very moment of execu- 
 tion, and we meet with sorrow, vexation, and 
 disappointment on every hand. Just when we 
 have laid a plan for a happy life, when we 
 have found out a few chosen friends, and have 
 begun to enjoy that little cirfcle, in which we 
 would wish to live, and to die, a stroke unex- 
 pected overthrows our hopes, and lays our 
 schemes in the dust. When after much labor 
 
42 THE VOICE OF SACRED TEIPLES. 
 
 and care we have fondly succeeded in raising 
 the goodly structure, and fenced it in, as we 
 imagine, from every storm that blows, an invis- 
 ible hand interposes, and bringg it to naught. 
 
 There is no stability, but in that sure and 
 steadfast hope, which takes a loftier range, and 
 fastens on objects, which the limits of earth and 
 time are unable to disturb. The good hope 
 through grace never disappoints. The man 
 who enjoys it cannot but be happy. He may 
 be poor in the estimation of the world, and 
 have to contend with difficulties, many and 
 various, but with the means of grace, and the 
 hope of glory, he has heaven in his heart ; and 
 the God of hope so fills him' with "joy and 
 peace in beheving, that he abounds in hope, 
 through the power of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 The queen grace of the cluster is Chaeitt. 
 Her holiest and divinest name is Love. She is 
 so called in several portions of the New Testa- 
 ment. It is said of her, " Love is the fulfilling 
 of the law ; " " Faith, which worketh by love." 
 Love among the other virtues is, as poets 
 have expressed it, Gabriel among archangels, a 
 
THE THEEE SISTER GRACES. 43 
 
 seraph loftier than the seraph train. The 
 Apostle, commenting on the group, ascribes a 
 distinction to Charity, which belongs not to the 
 others. " And now abideth faith, hope, char- 
 ity, these three, but the greatest of these is 
 charity." The preeminence, whi*ch Charity holds 
 over the other sisters, excites no jealousy, and 
 impairs in no way the connection that subsists 
 between them. Separate from them, she can 
 have no existence. Any attejnpt to dispense 
 with their cooperation would be like endeavor- 
 ing to raise a superstructure without a founda- 
 tion. We are accordingly exhorted to give all 
 diligence to add to our faith virtue, and to vir- 
 tue brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kind- 
 ness charity. 
 
 Charity is the greatest in rank. She is 
 what may be called an ultimate virtue, while 
 Faith and Hope are merely preliminaries, — the 
 instrumental means of bringing her into exer- 
 cise. " For the end of the commandment is love. 
 out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, 
 and of faith unfeigned." 
 
 Charity is the greatest in resemblance. She 
 
44 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 is like God, for God is love. The impress of 
 His likeness on the heart is the highest glory 
 of created beings. It is the richest gem in the 
 crown of honor. It is heaven-Bke and glorious, 
 the element of the just made* perfect, and of 
 angels in light. 
 
 Charity is the greatest in iltUity. We be- 
 lieve and hope with an immecjiate reference to 
 ourselves; but love is a social feeling, and sheds 
 its influence on others. Throtigh the aid of 
 faith and hope we were made heirs of salvation, 
 ministered to by angels ; and love qualifies us to 
 act the part of ministering angels in our turn. 
 The welling up of the heart's affection to God 
 will most certainly develop the feature of love 
 to man, — love limited to no circle, restricted 
 by no partialities, around which no boundary 
 line is drawn by prejudice or aversion, and 
 which reahzes as its proper objects, friends, 
 foes, and strangers. 
 
 The grace of Charity is preeminently the 
 greatest in duration. She will ascend with us 
 to the skies, and live in our souls forever. We 
 have no reason to suppose that Faith, in any 
 
THE THllEE SISTER GJIACES. 45 
 
 modification of the term, will be necessary in 
 heaven. The objects to which she now refers 
 are absent, but there, they will be present in all 
 their nearness. Nor is there any just ground 
 to conclude that Hope will have existence in 
 the heavenly state. But the flame of holy 
 love will burn in every bosom, sparkle in every 
 eye, and inspire every tongue. 
 
 We take leave of Faith and ISope at the gate 
 of death. Were it possible we could drop a 
 tear as we enter the mansions of our Father's 
 house above, it would be at bidding an ever- 
 lasting farewell to these beloved and profitable 
 companions. They have been our solace at 
 every stage of our heavenward journey. They 
 are our staff and support in the dark valley. 
 They give us victory over all our adversaries, 
 and are our ceaseless privilege and joy. 
 
 Now glance at these sisters separately. Ob- 
 serve their attitude, countenances, and the feat- 
 ures of divinity which they so finely develop. 
 Look at the firm step, the majestic gait, the 
 fixed yet serene gaze of Faith. See how she 
 tramples upon thrones, and dominions, and 
 
46 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 principalities, and powers, and all the parapher- 
 nalia of emblazoned rank and titled dignity, — 
 how she spurns the pomps and pleasures of this 
 passing world, and courts joys which cannot 
 decay, — how closely she walks with God, and 
 holds fellowship with the kingly Mediator, — 
 how steadfastly she looks into the open heav- 
 ens, beholding with open face the glory of the 
 Lord, catching the Saviour's reflected likeness, 
 and exhibiting His image. 
 
 Look at the younger sister, Hope, — her 
 countenance radiant with light, her form ethe- 
 real, her movements vivid and elastic, obstacles 
 receding at her approach, before her all bright- 
 ness, her finger pointing to v-isions of beauty 
 and blessedness beyond the .shadows of the 
 sepulchre. Thither the warm current of her 
 desires and emotions flow, and thence is all her 
 expectation. 
 
 And look at the lovely Charity, the Mend 
 and almoner of our race. See her penetrating 
 the abodes of sorrow, mitigating want and 
 wretchedness, hushing the groans of creation, 
 and healing the woes of humanity. Survey 
 
THE THREE SISTER GRACES. 47 
 
 her splendid operations and achievements with- 
 in the hallowed pale of Christianity, — the 
 institutions she has formed, the heathen coun- 
 tries she has visited, the dark places of the 
 earth she has enlightened, and the multitude 
 of the outcast and perishing she has brought to 
 the foot of the cross. Reflect on her sublime 
 combination of energy, property, and influence, 
 and ask. What are these but monuments of 
 that heaven-born "charity," which "suflfereth 
 long and is kind," — " charity " which " envieth 
 not, vaunteth not itself, is not* pufied up, doth 
 not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her 
 own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, 
 rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the 
 truth, beareth all things, beli'eveth all things, 
 hopeth all things, endureth all things?" 
 
 The exercise of charity constitutes one of the 
 chief springs of happiness, which God has so 
 mercifully pointed out to man. It flows most 
 beautifully and effectively where there is most 
 good to be done. When a rose-tree puts out 
 its buds, and the air is soft, and the sky genial, 
 it is not long before they burst. The life within 
 
48 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 is SO abundant that it is unable to contain itself. 
 It must needs go forth and gladden the air with 
 blossomed brightness, and swimming fragrance. 
 If, when thus ripe, it refused to expand, it would 
 rot at the core and die. Now Christian charity 
 is just its counterpart; it is godliness with its 
 petals spread, developing itself, and making the 
 earth a happier world. It is true blessedness, 
 the life of God in the soul, Jiffusiag itself in 
 kindly emotions and good offices. As we are 
 moved by its impulse we shall do good unto 
 all men, especially unto those, who are of the 
 household of faith. We admire the grace and 
 beauty of the triple crown, and must exemplify 
 it as our own. " Without faith it is impossible 
 to please God." " Without hqpe we are of all 
 men the most miserable." And "though we 
 speak with the tongue of men, and of angels, 
 and have not charity, we become as sounding 
 brass or a tinkling cymbal." 
 
 The superlative importance of this triplet 
 makes it the first prayer of the Church for her 
 members that they " may be steadfast in faith, 
 joyful through hope, and rooted in charity." 
 
THE THEEE SISTER GRACES. 49 
 
 The culture of the graces is sought at the very- 
 threshold of our Christian life, in every festival 
 and fast, to the last, and at the last, when hav- 
 ing "served our generation according to' the 
 will of God," we are gathered to our fathers, in 
 the confidence of a certain faith ; in the com- 
 fort of a reasonable, religious, and holy hope," 
 in favor with God, " and in perfect charity with 
 the world." 
 
THE THEEE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 
 
 Three times a year all the Jewish males 
 were required to go up to Jerusalem to cele- 
 brate certain festivals, and to make an offering 
 unto the Lord. And " thither the tribes went 
 up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony 
 of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the 
 Lord." One might suppose that the enforce- 
 ment of such a law would leave their wives and 
 children, and property, unprotected and ex- 
 posed to the invading foe. But God conde- 
 scended to assure them that He would so influ- 
 ence the hearts of their adversaries that none 
 should covet their possessions, and none should 
 harm them. The object of i^e arrangement 
 was to extract a continued proof of their confi- 
 dence in God's protection, and to secure the 
 unity of their several tribes. As in the coming 
 dispensation there was to be "one Lord, one 
 
THE THREE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 51 
 
 faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of 
 all," so they were to have one chosen place 
 where the adorable Jehovah should be inquired 
 of by His worshippers, one altar on which the 
 sacrifices might bleed acceptably, and one cen- 
 ser from which the incense might rise uninter- 
 ruptedly to His throne, and secure His favor. 
 Nothing certainly could tend inore admirably 
 to cement them together in one common broth- 
 erhood than this constant communion in sacred 
 things. It impressed them afresh with a sense 
 of the common mercies which their nation had 
 experienced, and of the common privileges in 
 which they rejoiced. With the same victims 
 to offer, the same pardon to implore, the same 
 goodness to be grateful for, and the same hope 
 of a glorious Messiah to rejoice in, they had no 
 separate interest or private object to distract 
 them in their united worship. "Jerusalem 
 was " a city that was " at unity in itself" ; and 
 the several tribes repaired to it as one man to 
 bow before the Lord, and to tender Him the 
 offering and oblation which He had graciously 
 appointed. 
 
52 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 The Spring Festival of the chosen people 
 was the Passover, or Feast of unleavened bread. 
 This was the historic truth of their deUverance 
 from the destroying angel, when the firsl>bom 
 of Egypt were smitten. As a festive memorial 
 of that eventful night, which served to intro- 
 duce them into an independent and separate 
 existence, they were accustomed to greet its 
 annual occurrence with thantsgiving and 
 praise. The institution was the more remark- 
 able because it dated the coinmencement of 
 their ecclesiastical year. The month in which 
 they were thrust out of Egypt was ordained to 
 be the first month. On the fourteenth day 
 of the month, the day of the full moon, between 
 the sun's decline and his setting, they were to 
 kill the paschal lamb, which was to be a male 
 of a year old, free from disease and blemish. 
 And as each house had its own special deliver- 
 ance, so in each there was to be a domestic 
 celebration. If the household were too small 
 to consume the lamb at one meal, two or more 
 families were at liberty to unite on the occa- 
 sion. But no part of the lamb was to be left 
 
THE THREE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 53 
 
 until the morning. It was necessary perhaps 
 to give this precaution, to prevent its being 
 applied to superstitious uses. Besides, what 
 was left would be very soon subject to corrup- 
 tion, and it would not be seemly that what had 
 been offered to the Lord should be exposed to 
 decay. If any portion of it therefore remained, 
 it was to be consumed by fire. With the blood 
 of the slaughtered victim they sprinkled the 
 door-posts and Lintels of their houses, that the 
 angel of death, at the sight of the blood, might 
 pass over and spare, and leave in safety the 
 dwellings so marked. Accordingly, wherever 
 the angel saw the blood thus applied he rever- 
 ently retired. The arm of the Almighty fell 
 with crushing calamity through the length and 
 breadth of the land. The Egyptians sought to 
 brave the terrible threat, that had been uttered, 
 by hilarity and mirth. Mansions were brilliantly 
 lit. Sounds of gladness and revelry echoed 
 through their spacious halls. Sweet voices sang 
 to the soft strains of the Egyptian harp, the 
 minstrelsy of Thebes. But it was the night of 
 the Lord. The angel spread his wings o'er the 
 
64 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 blast ; and there was a cry of horror and dis- 
 may. The first-born of every family was 
 stricken. The eldest of his fa^ther's house was 
 touched by an invisible hand, and laid a corpse. 
 The gladness was instantly changed into mourn- 
 ing, and the shouts of merriment into anguish 
 and wailing. The marriage procession was 
 arrested in the midst of its glee. The cry 
 heard at midnight, "Behold the bridegroom 
 Cometh," was suddenly hushed. The looked- 
 for home was thrown into wild confusion. The 
 bridegroom was smitten by a power unseen in 
 the midst of his joy. The whole land was 
 aroused into commotion. The destroyer had 
 trodden alike the floor of the cottage and the 
 hall of the palace. The prince, found no safety 
 in his power, nor the peasant in his obscurity. 
 The first-born of Pharoah, who sat on his 
 throne, and the first-born of the captive that 
 was in the dungeon ; and all the first-born of 
 cattle were smitten. There was a great cry 
 throughout all the land of Egypt. The king's 
 heart smote him with trembling ; and he sent 
 for Moses and Aaron, whom he had forbidden 
 
THE THREE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 55 
 
 to see his face again, and urgecj them to depart 
 with the people with all possible speed. " Take 
 your flocks, and herds," said he, " and be gone." 
 The people were more anxious than their sov- 
 ereign to hasten their departure, and gave 
 them jewels of gold, and jewels of silver, and 
 such other things as they asked, to get rid of 
 such troublesome bondmen. 
 
 The arrangement of the Exodus discovered 
 an interposition on the part of God, which the 
 Passover as a commemorative institution was 
 designed to keep fresh in the mind. The rites 
 and usages of that solemn feast were so pe- 
 culiar, and made so marked an inroad upon 
 the ordinary customs of social lif§, that it was 
 adapted by its very nature to be an enduring 
 memorial of that eventful night. We believe 
 it is mainly owing to this ancient festival that 
 the Hebrew nation has in all ages retained 
 such a vivid conception of its remarkable de- 
 liverance. 
 
 The Passover was observed with prepara- 
 tions symbohcal of haste. They partook of it 
 in the posture and equipment of travellers. 
 
56 THE VOICE OF SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 Their outward robes, that were usually free 
 and flowing, were drawn up closely around the 
 body into a girdle, to leave its action unfet- 
 tered and easy. Their loins were girded ; their 
 shoes on their feet ; and they ate the sacred 
 meal standing, staff in hand. The flesh of the 
 lamb was roasted, not boiled,, for the reason 
 probably that it occupied less time. It was 
 eaten with imleavened bread, as being also ex- 
 pressive of haste. They were: on the eve of 
 leaving Egypt, and it may have been partly to 
 remind them of the speed with which they 
 took their departure, that unleavened bread 
 formed a part of the commemoration. 
 
 The Passover was typical in its import of our 
 redemption by Christ. The paschal lamb was 
 emblematic of the Lamb of God that taketh 
 away the sin of the world. The blood that 
 streamed on Jewish altars pointed specifically 
 to the "blood of Christ, that cleanseth us from 
 all sin. The long series of sacrifices had refer- 
 ence to Christ, our passover, sacrificed for us. 
 The Good-Friday of His crucifixion witnessed 
 a *full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation. 
 
THE THREE JEWISH FESTIVAiS. 57 
 
 and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world." 
 We may have our doubts and misgivings of any 
 personal interest in the benefits of the atone- 
 ment, and many a freezing cloud may cast its 
 cold shadow upon our hearts'; but the blood 
 of Christ has been shed. The offering, once 
 for all, has been made and accepted ; and our 
 hearts need not be troubled, if we believe in 
 God, and believe also in Jesus. 
 
 On the night of His betrayal, our blessed 
 Lord merged the feast of the Passover into the 
 solemn sacrament of His own supper. He 
 came not to destroy the law and the prophets, 
 but to fulfil ; not to abrogate ancient rites, but 
 to exalt them from a typical shadow to a real 
 substance. As the blossoms of spring fade and 
 pass into the fruits of autumn, so the types and 
 shadows of the old dispensation were ordained 
 to be realized, in all their sweetness, under the 
 economy of the Spirit. Mark- the attitude of 
 the Saviour in the large upper room in Jeru- 
 salem. The festive board was spread. The 
 Master and the servants sat down. And Jesus 
 said, "With desire I have desired to eat this 
 
58 THE VOICE OF SACKED TEIPLES. 
 
 passover with you before I Suffer." What a 
 glimpse it gives us into the sanctuary of His 
 inmost soul ! What soHcitude for the circle 
 of His friends ! What a closing up of the 
 series of fourteen hundred pp,ssovers by the 
 sacrifice of Himself! The Passover being 
 eaten, " Jesus took bread, and blessed it and 
 brake it, and gave it to His disciples," with 
 these emphatic words, " Take,, eat, this is my 
 body which is given for you. Do this in re- 
 membrance of me. Likewise, after supper, He 
 took the cup, and when He had given thanks 
 He gave it to them saying. Drink ye all of it : 
 this cup is the new testament in my blood, 
 which is shed for you and for many for the 
 remission of sins." The blessed Jesus thus 
 bequeaths to us the incomparable legacy of 
 His body and blood ; the fruit- of His atoning 
 life, sufferings, and death. " Wherefore," accord- 
 ing to His holy institution, we. cheerfully cele- 
 brate, before His divine Majesty, the festive 
 memorial, which He has commanded us to 
 observe, " having in remembrance His blessed 
 passion and precious death, His mighty resur- 
 
THE THREE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 59 
 
 rection and glorious ascension, rendering unto 
 Him most hearty thanks for the innumerable 
 benefits procured unto us by the same." The 
 supper of the Lord is the picture of our best 
 friend dying to save us ; lays open to our 
 view His broken body, and pierced side, and 
 flowing blood j reflects the shadow of the cross, 
 and the splendor of the crown, and tells of 
 wrath that has passed away, of sunshine that 
 gilds the valley where we ar^ sojourners, and 
 that sprinkles with bright beams the everlast- 
 ing hills, beyond which is our home, and our 
 heart, and our treasure. 
 
 The Summer Festival of the Jews was the 
 Pentecost, so called from a Greek word which 
 signifies fifty; because it commenced on the 
 fiftieth day after the Passover. It commem- 
 orated, moreover, the giving of the Law from 
 Mount Sinai, on the fiftieths day after they 
 left Egypt. The Hebrews call it the "Feast 
 of Weeks," on account of its being held just 
 seven weeks from the paschal feast. During 
 the interim of the two festivals they were sup- 
 posed to be actively engaged in the labors of 
 
60 THE VOICE OF SACRED TEIPLES. 
 
 the harvest, so as to be ready at the holy con- 
 vocation, to render thanksgiving to Almighty 
 God for the bounties of His hand. The obliga- 
 tion to observe it sabbatically was not peculiar 
 to this any more than to the others. Its dis- 
 tinction lay in its occasion and purport, and in 
 the solemn presentation of the first-fruits of 
 the wheat harvest to the Lord. 
 
 At every recurrence of the season the Jews 
 began to rally by common consent within the 
 limits of their several districts. They mustered 
 at the principal cities, to go up to Jerusalem, as 
 to a common centre. They set out on their 
 journey, preceded by a bullQck intended for 
 the sacrifice, his horns gilded, and his head 
 decorated with a garland of ohve branches. 
 The people encouraged each other with expres- 
 sions of enthusiasm, as, " I was glad when they 
 said unto me, Let us go into the house of the 
 Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, 
 Jerusalem." This was particularly their 
 language as they drew near the city. On en- 
 tering the metropolis they changed, " Jerusalem 
 is builded as a city that is cqmpact together, 
 
THE THREE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 61 
 
 whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord 
 unto the testimony of Israel,, to give thanks 
 unto the name of the Lord; for there are set 
 thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house 
 of David." The residents, thronging their door- 
 ways and housetops to greet them, bid them 
 pray for the peace of Jerusaledi ; and the tribes 
 replied, "They shall prosper that love thee. 
 Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within 
 thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' 
 sake, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Be- 
 cause of the house of the Lord our God, I will 
 seek thy good." The procession moved on to 
 the foot of the mountain, on which the Temple 
 stood, repeating as they ascended, in tones of 
 impressive and melodious accents, "Praise ye 
 the Lord." And they sang in the Temple the 
 thirtieth Psalm, worshipping according to their 
 ritual. 
 
 " When the day of Pentecost was fully come, 
 and they were all with one accord in one 
 place," there came " suddenly a sound from 
 heaven, as of a rushing, mighty wind," and filled 
 the house where they were sitting. And there 
 
62 THE VOICE OP SACRED TEIPLES. 
 
 appeared forked flames of fire, as when the 
 lightnings flash, and the sky is ablaze, and 
 rested upon the disciples. " And they were all 
 filled with the Holy Ghost ; and began to speak 
 with other tongues as the Spirit gave them 
 utterance." One would stand up in that vast 
 assembly and pour forth, in strains of inspired 
 eloquence, the most profound views of the 
 divine economy. Another would explain the 
 mystery of truths that had been concealed for 
 ages under the Jewish dispensation. A third 
 would discourse with fluency on the sublimities 
 of the Gospel. And a fourth, ofl&ciating in the 
 capacity of an interpreter, would render all that 
 had been spoken into the vernacular language 
 of the people. The intellectual phenomenon 
 was the Lord's doing. The promised Spirit had 
 descended. The Comforter had come. 
 
 The infant Church was so replenished with 
 divine strength, that it seemed all at once to 
 attain to the growth and vigor of manhood. 
 The vineyard of the Lord was refreshed and 
 beautified. The trees of righteousness put forth 
 fresh shoots, fresh verdure, and more abundant 
 
THE THREE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 63 
 
 fruit. The word was clothed with fresh power. 
 New territories were added to the domains of 
 the Church. New tracts of the moral wilder- 
 ness were taken into the Lord's garden. The 
 whole multitude that believed were of one 
 heart and of one mind. Oh ! it was such a 
 scene as earth saw never, — Such as heaven 
 stooped down to see. 
 
 The descent of the Spirit attested the reality 
 of the ascension, and of the truths and hopes 
 which it acknowledges and inspires. It was 
 the Lord's ascension gift, rich, and munificent, 
 with which He signalized and graced His acces- 
 sion to the mediatorial throne. If He had col- 
 lected all the treasures of earth, and multiplied 
 them a thousand-fold, and poured them out at 
 the feet of His people, they would have been 
 utterly inadequate to the greatness of the occa- 
 sion. The unconfined benevolence of the Sa- 
 viour's heart impelled Him t6) give something 
 worthy of Himself, and that He might give all 
 gifts in one. He gave the Holy, Sanctifying, 
 Saving Spirit, 
 
 The Spirit came to inaugurate a new era. 
 
64 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 and make our hearts His home ; came to bear 
 witness to Christ ; to take of the things of 
 Christ, and reveal them to us ; came to act 
 as Christ's vicegerent on earth ; to fix the eye 
 of our minds on Christ j to stir up our dead 
 consciences, to assist our endeavors to be holy, 
 to quicken our sensibility, to make our bod- 
 ies His temple, our souls His empire, and to 
 " renew us more and more, till we come to 
 His heavenly kingdom." To the Spirit we are 
 indebted for every conquest we achieve over 
 our spiritual adversaries, and for every step 
 we take, in our heavenward path. Whatever 
 is lovely in the Church is the product of His 
 quickening influence. " It is- the Spirit that 
 quickeneth." If there are fruits and flowers 
 that gladden us, we can lopk up to Him 
 vnth the acknowledgment, "These be Thy 
 works. Parent of good." Only let the quicken- 
 ing and germinating influences of the Spirit 
 be more ardently sought and obtained, and 
 like a genial thaw in spring, there will be a 
 melting away of unhallowed prejudices ; there 
 will be an expansion of generous sympathies ; 
 
THE THREE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 65 
 
 there will be a budding forth oi precious graces 
 and productions, unfolding a beauty and per- 
 fume, like the smell of a field which the Lord 
 hath blessed. Inward impulses will spring up 
 into outward manifestations. The heart will 
 touch the lip and transform the life ; and the 
 seeds of divine grace will appear green on the 
 surface, growing in all the luxuriance of a spir- 
 itual vegetation. Child of God, born anew of 
 water and of the Spirit, cherish toward the loving 
 Spirit the respect and adoration that you would 
 wish to show to the Saviour, if He dwelt corpo- 
 really among you. " Be filled with the Spirit." 
 "Walk in the Spirit." "Live in the Spirit." 
 " Mind the things of the Spirit." " Grieve not 
 the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you are 
 sealed unto the day of redemption." 
 
 The Autumnal Festival was the Feast of 
 Tabernacles. This was celebrated at the close 
 of the agricultural year, and was called the 
 Feast of Ingathering at the year's end. The 
 ceremonies continued eight days, the first and 
 last of which were the most solemn. " On the 
 last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood 
 
66 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 and cried, "If any man thirst, leit him come 
 unto JVTe and drink." The special object of the 
 feast was to celebrate the goodness of God, that 
 protected their fathers in the wilderness, when 
 they dwelt in tents and booths. The Jews cut 
 down branches of palm-trees, and willows, and 
 dwelt under tents eight day&, in memory of 
 their ancestors, who dwelt in tents forty years 
 in the desert. 
 
 The intention of the arrangement was to 
 remind them that they were " strangers and 
 pilgrims on the earth," travellers to a " better 
 country, that is a heavenly." The present 
 world was never intended to be our home ; 
 only as preparatory to a higher and nobler 
 state of being. " This is not our rest, because 
 it is polluted." " Here we have no continuing 
 city." The props of life are broken down one 
 after another. Changes and war are against 
 us. The enemy scatters thickly around his 
 fiery darts. Stars fall. Flowers fade. Friends 
 die. The rose loses its fragrance. The oak of 
 the mountain drops its leaves. The mountains 
 themselves decay. The ocean ebbs and flows, 
 
THE THREE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 67 
 
 and -will one day roll its last billow to the shore. 
 The sun shines only for a season, and will some 
 night set in darkness, heedless of the voice of 
 the morning. The life of man, compared with 
 inanimate objects, is even more ephemeral. His 
 duration is a swift decay. ''He fleeth as a. 
 shadow and continueth not." There is no stop- 
 ping-place between the cradle and the tomb. 
 We hurry through the world, and leave every- 
 thing behind us. We throw a passing glance 
 on enamelled meads, and purling brooks, and 
 whatever else may chance to charm and allure 
 us. . We feel a pleasure in the contemplation 
 of these scenes ; but before we can analyze the 
 objects of our enjoyment we have lost sight of 
 them forever. To beautiful prospects and a 
 smiling country, rocks, ravines, and precipices, 
 and rugged paths often succeed. These things 
 annoy and afllict us for the moment, and the 
 next we are beyond their reach. 
 
 Were it not that we are home-bound pil- 
 grims, nearing the mansions of our " Father's 
 house," the ihought of our fleeting existence 
 would be apt to produce pensiveness, and to 
 
68 THE VOICE OF SCARED TRIPLES. 
 
 throw over life's arena a tinge of melanclioly. 
 But we are journeying unto the place of which 
 the Lord hath said, "I will surely give it 
 you." Sometimes our progress is considerable ; 
 at other times slender, and at aU times less 
 than we could wish. There are occasions when 
 we are cheered with hope, and gladdened with 
 success, and anon discouraged by disquietudes 
 and disappointments, and the "difficulties of 
 the way." But the characteristics of a pilgrim- 
 age are endurance, and perseverance. The 
 fare may be hard, and the dangers great, but 
 we have a glorious convoy, and a heavenly 
 guide. The circumstances of the journey are 
 aU provided for with infinite wisdom. If the 
 sun shines smilingly, we have cause to rejoice. 
 If the sky be tempestuous, it isof little moment, 
 we are only pilgrims. The way is a right one 
 to the city of habitation. 
 
 At neither of the three festivals were the 
 Jews to appear before the Lord empty. There 
 was to be an open-hearted liberality at each of 
 them. Every man was to give as he was able, 
 according to the blessing of the Lord, his God, 
 
THE THREE JEWISH FESTIVALS. 69 
 
 which He had given him. To whom much was 
 given, of them much was required ; and such as 
 had received freely, were to give freely. It is 
 hardly possible to impoverish one's self by giv- 
 ing to the Lord. The danger lies in withhold- 
 ing more than is meet, and it tendeth to pov- 
 erty. There are those "who profess and call 
 themselves Christians," who will contribute to 
 the cause of Christ, when they can do so with- 
 out feeling it. The blessed Jesus felt all that 
 He did for us, and deemed the purchase not too 
 costly to buy us with His blood. The genius 
 of the Gospel is liberality. It is essentially 
 eucharistical. Its glad tidings awaken glad 
 feelings that express themselves in cheerful 
 sacrifices and thankful offerings. " The Lord 
 loveth a cheerful giver;" and none of His 
 people need ever lack that grateful motive, 
 which makes a cheerful gift. Think of the 
 Bible, the Church, the Saviour, the Comforter, 
 the means of grace, and the hope of glory ; 
 and casting your mite into the treasury, say, 
 "Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable 
 gift. 
 
THE THREE SACEED MOUNTAINS. 
 
 The mountains Sinai, Tabor, and Calvary were 
 made to sustain an intimate connection with 
 each other in the plan of human redemption. 
 They were identified with all that was great and 
 glorious in the interests of our race. The rays 
 of ineffable majesty, which shone so luminously 
 on the one, darted horizontally to the other in 
 softened splendor, and thence to the third, as 
 unfolding the unveiled glory and eloquence of 
 Heaven. The events of each were so many 
 links of the same chain, connecting a group, of 
 which it might be said, — " There the Lord com- 
 manded the blessing, even life for evermore." 
 
 To the rugged mountain of Sinai, which after- 
 wards became so signal in the history of the 
 chosen people, they had come in their wander- 
 ings from a land, where for several generations 
 they had been bond-servants to the Pharaohs. 
 The hum and buzz of that mighty nation, fa- 
 
THE THKEB SACKED MOUNTAINS. 71 
 
 vored of God, was heard at its base. Their 
 tents lay scattered like snow-flakes, and they 
 were in waiting expectation of fresh instruc- 
 tions before proceeding farther. While tarry- 
 ing in this position, a dark thnnder-cloud came 
 drifting along the sky, in the direction of Sinai. 
 The people looked up to it with fear and trem- 
 bling, when lo ! the thunder began to roll from 
 its depths, and the lightnings to flash. That 
 cloud was God's pavilion. The Lord hath His 
 way in the whirlwind, and in the storm, and 
 the clouds are the dust of His feet. The com- 
 motion, which it created, caused the mountain 
 to quiver to its centre. " God came from Te- 
 man, and the Holy One from Mount Paran ; 
 from His right hand went a fiery law." " The 
 mountains melted from before the Lord, even 
 that Sinai, from before the Lord God of Israel." 
 The thunderings, and lightnings, and thick dark- 
 ness were as if the pent up elements of some 
 terrible volcano were being quickly discharged. 
 -* And the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke 
 of a great furnace, and the whole mount quaked 
 greatly. 
 
72 THE VOICE OF SACKED TEIPLES. 
 
 Amid convulsions so tremendous, the shrill 
 blast of a trumpet was heard. " And when the 
 voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed 
 louder and louder, Moses spake, and God 
 answered him by a voice." It was a voice of 
 solemn majesty, addressed specifically to the 
 Jewish lawgiver, requiring him to ascend the 
 mountain, where the cloud received him into 
 its bosom, and concealed him from the curious 
 gaze of the multitude below. The High and 
 Lofty One deigned to converse with him there, 
 as a man converseth with his friend. The Cre- 
 ator and the creature met in hallowed commu- 
 nion. " And the Lord said unto Moses, Go 
 down, set bounds about the mount, and sanc- 
 tify it, and charge the people, lest they brake 
 through unto the Lord to gaze, and many of 
 them perish." And the Lord proclaimed, in the 
 audience of the assembled concourse, " I am the 
 Lord, thy God, which brought thee out of the 
 land of Egypt, out of the ho.use of bondage. 
 Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 
 The decalogue was delivered with august and 
 thrilling sanctions, causing the hearts of the 
 
THE THREE SACRED MOUNTAINS. 73 
 
 people to dissolve in fear, and Nature to stand 
 awe-stricken, and adoring before it. " And all 
 the people when they saw the thunderings, and 
 the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, 
 and the mountain smoking, removed and stood 
 afar offj and they said unto Moses, Speak thou 
 with us, and we will hear : but let not God 
 speak with us, lest we die." 
 
 When the fearful roar was hushed, and the 
 last echo of the trumpet had^ died away, the 
 silence was only broken by the accents of the 
 Eternal, inviting Moses once more into the 
 Mount, to receive the tables of the law, to bind 
 and govern them, and their descendants for- 
 ever. " The tables were of stone, written on 
 both their sides : on the one side, and on the 
 other side were they written. And the tables 
 were the work of God, and the writing was the 
 writing of God, graven on the tables." 
 
 The scene that followed was one of insuffer- 
 able splendor. The stars of night were extin- 
 guished by its dazzling brilliancy, and the moon 
 was eclipsed by its glory. Never had the won- 
 dering eyes of man rested on so striking a phe- 
 
74 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 nomenon. " The sight of the glory of the Lord 
 was like a devouring fire on the top of the 
 mountain, in the eyes of the children of Israel." 
 Where now was the leader of their tribes ? 
 He was somewhere in that brightness, holding 
 converse with the ineffable Jehovah. Forty 
 days and forty nights he was privileged to 
 breathe that serener atmosphere, and acquired, 
 by supernatural manifestations, what would emi- 
 nently qualify him for his task in the wilder- 
 ness. As during that period no tidings had 
 been received of him, the people lapsed into 
 idleness, and from idleness into pleasure, and 
 from pleasure into idolatry, and said unto Aaron, 
 " Up, make us gods which shall go before us ; 
 for as for this Moses, the man that brought us 
 up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what 
 is become of him." This was their proposal 
 while the most extraordinary revelations of 
 Heaven were yet fresh in their ijiemories. And 
 they made a golden calf, and danced around it 
 in boisterous revelry. When, Moses was de- 
 scending the Mount, bearing in his arms the 
 tables of the law, and had come within hearing 
 
THE THREE SACRED MOtTNTAINS. 75 
 
 of the camp, Joshua said, " There is a noise of 
 war in the camp ; " and as they drew near and 
 saw the idolatrous worship, the anger of Moses 
 was kindled, and he cast the ta'bles of the cove- 
 nant out of his hands, and brake them beneath 
 the Mount, in the presence of the people. He 
 then took the golden calf, which they had made, 
 and burned it in the fire, and ground it to 
 powder, and mixed it with water, and made 
 the children of Israel drink of it. And he com- 
 manded the Levites to take every man his 
 sword, and slay every man his brother, and 
 every man his companion, and every man his 
 neighbor, showing neither favor nor affection. 
 And there fell of the people that day about 
 three thousand men. The Lord also sent a 
 grievous plague among them, and refused to 
 accompany them any farther on their journey 
 to Canaan, and threatened to disinherit them. 
 The refusal and the threat fell upon their fears 
 like the shock of an earthquake, and they "took 
 off their ornaments and wept." 
 
 At this critical juncture, the heroic command- 
 er of Israel was requested to turn aside into 
 
76 THE VOICE OP SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 the tabernacle, for renewed intercourse with the 
 Almighty. While he tarried there, the people 
 of his charge were the subjects of torturing 
 suspense, lest he should return and inform them 
 that the Majesty of heaven and earth was in- 
 flexible in His decision to cast them off. But 
 having improved the opportunity by importu- 
 nate intercession on their behalf, he so far suc- 
 ceeded, that the Lord intimated His intention 
 of sending an angel to conduct them. But no 
 angel, — no, not all the angels in heaven, could 
 fill up the place of departed Deity. The He- 
 brew Legislator therefore continued his entreaty 
 that the Lord would be favorable yet once more, 
 and vouchsafe to reveal Himself as the guide of 
 their way. The fervent petition was granted. 
 The Lord said, " My presence shall go with thee, 
 and I will give thee peace." 
 
 The province of prayer is to enlarge our de- 
 sires the more they are gratified ; so the proph- 
 et now determined to ask for a personal favor, 
 and with holy reverence said, " I beseech thee, 
 show me thy glory." He had already seen some 
 splendid manifestations of it, but he felt as 
 
THE THREE SACRED MOUNTAINS. 77 
 
 though every fresh development only increased 
 his desire for another. Hence he was anxious 
 for an additional exhibition of it, especially for 
 himself. The request was responded to in a 
 manner, that was both novel and unexpected. 
 " Behold, there is a place by me," said God, " and 
 thou shalt stand upon a rock : and it shall 
 come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that 
 I will put thee in a cleft of the rock ; and will 
 cover thee with my hand while I pass by: and 
 I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt 
 see my back parts : but my face shall not be 
 seen." And what was the result'? Did the rock 
 rend asunder at the presence of the Lord ? Did 
 the God of the universe display the greatness 
 of His power ? Did Moses strain his expectant 
 eye to pierce the covering of the Almighty ? 
 The Lord passed by him in a cloud, dark and 
 impenetrable, and proclaimed the " name of the 
 Lord, merciful and gracious, long-suflfering and 
 abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy 
 for thousands, forgiving iniquity, transgression, 
 and sin." This was precisely the manifestation 
 that he needed at the time, and which God 
 
78 THE VOICE OF SACRED TBIPLES. 
 
 alone was capable of affording. Just as the 
 sun can only be seen bj bis own shining, so the 
 ever adorable Jehovah can only be known bj 
 His own revealing. Would we see the glory 
 of God, we must look for it in Christ. " He is 
 the brightness of the Father's glory, and the 
 express image of His person." There is in Him 
 the glory of wisdom, and knowledge, and grace, 
 and every attribute, in absolute pierfection. 
 
 The tables of the law, that were broken, 
 Moses was commanded to replace, by hewing 
 out two tables of stone like them ; and the Lord 
 condescended to write with His finger, once 
 more, the Ten Commandments. The code is 
 presented us in the small coinpass of a few 
 short lines, in the twentieth chapter of Exodus. 
 It is more just and compl-ehensive, more suited 
 to the condition of men, and better fitted to 
 promote their happiness, than any other that 
 has ever been promulgated. It is perfection 
 itself. We can detect no fault in it, — cannot 
 add to it, — cannot take from it without de- 
 tracting from its value ; "for the end of the com- 
 mandment is charity, out of a. pure heart, and 
 
THE THREE SACRED MOUNTAINS. 79 
 
 of a good conscinece, and of faith unfeigned." 
 Said the Apostle, " The law is our schoohnaster 
 to bring us to Christ." " I had not known sin, 
 but by the law." " By the law is the knowl- 
 edge of sin." The law is a ^ule by which to 
 distinguish right from wrong, good from evil, 
 truth from error. And as the straightness of the 
 rule detects the crookedness of the workman- 
 ship, so the law of God exposes our deficien- 
 cies, and shows how far we have fallen short 
 of His glory. The resemblance of it is to God 
 Himself It is a transcript of His perfections, 
 an exhibition of His character and glorious 
 attributes. As the voice of the Almighty, it 
 speaks directly to the soul, giving utterance 
 and energy to the enlightened dictates of the 
 man within. Like the elemental fire, it is not 
 only present where it is grossly visible, but all 
 pervading. Its gaze is fixed with lidless and 
 unslumbering eye on all the thoughts and ways 
 of this apostate world. It beholds nothing of 
 an indiflFerent nature in the whole scene ; but 
 notes, weighs, and discriminates whatever tran- 
 spires, discovering everywhere, and in every- 
 
80 THE VOICE OF SACRED TKIPIiES. 
 
 thing, the elements of approval, or, condemna- 
 tion. Opening up the dark and secret cham- 
 bers of the heart, it shows what sins are lurking 
 there, that have not ventured to come forth into 
 action, — evil in its rudiment, rage in the spark, 
 licentiousness in the glance, and murder am- 
 bushed in unbreathed and unsuspected thought. 
 To the thoughts of the heart the law reaches 
 with the nicest accuracy, throwing over them 
 the bridle of restraint, and aiming to bring them 
 in subjection to the authority of Christ. The 
 obedience which it requires is perfect, constant, 
 and universal, — obedience at all times, on the 
 part of all men, and in all things, — unifor-m, 
 unbroken obedience, from the- first dawn of 
 moral accountability till our life's end. No al- 
 lowance is made for human infirmity, — no 
 assistance offered to human frailty. The whole 
 current of existence must be uninterrupted by 
 a single insurgent feeUng, uncontaminated by a 
 single spot, and unrelaxing in a single purpose. 
 All the powers of the intellect, all the capabil- 
 ities of the moral feeling, and all the ardor and 
 intensity of the awakened afiection must be 
 
THE THREE SACKED MOUNTAINS. 81 
 
 fixed and concentrated on God. Such is the 
 beautiful standard which the law has set up. 
 Do this and live, is its language. Do it with- 
 out exception, — do it cheerfully ; " for he who 
 offends in one point is guilty of all." 
 
 Before the bar of God's righteous judgment 
 the whole world is found guilty. " There is 
 none righteous, no not one." The law con- 
 demns us. How then can a man be just with 
 God ? This is a question of fast and momen- 
 tous importance, — a question which all the 
 learning of the wise, and all the understanding 
 of the prudent, could not answer apart from 
 the Gospel. The scenes on Tabor and Calvary 
 answer it most effectually. They declare that 
 we are "justified freely by His grace, through 
 the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." " Christ 
 is the end of the law for righteousness to every 
 one that believeth." " By Him all that believe 
 are justified freely from all things, from which 
 they could not be justified by the law of Moses." 
 The Son of God has magnified the law and 
 made it honorable, — submitted to its penal 
 sanctions ; satisfied perfectly its demands ; and 
 
82 THE VOICE OP SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 though His sacrifice does not jelease us from 
 the restraints of the Divine government, yet 
 " the spirit of life in Christ Jesus frees us from 
 the law of sin and death." The moral law is 
 still obligatory upon us, in all its force. Its 
 principles are found in accordance with our 
 interest and happiness, and have their home in 
 the inmost depths of the pure in heart. 
 
 Sinai and Horeb are different parts of the 
 same mountain. The shadow of the former 
 falls on the latter, and the events ascribed to 
 one are sometimes assigned to the other. They 
 exist together in brotherhood, and should not 
 be severed in the contemplation of God's reve- 
 lations. From this mountain scenery the mur- 
 muring Israelites were miraculously supplied 
 with water. " Moses cried unto the Lord, say- 
 ing, What shall I do unto this people ? they be 
 almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said. 
 Take thy rod wherewith thou smotest the river, 
 and behold I will stand before thee upon the 
 rock in Horeb ; and thou shalt smite the rock, 
 and there shall come water out of it, that the 
 people may drink. And Moses did so, in the 
 
THE THREE SACRED MOUNTAINS. 83 
 
 siglit of the elders of Israel." Instantly there was 
 a change of thought and feeling, elasticity of 
 movement, mighty operation, — the turning of 
 the shadow of death into the joy of the morn- 
 ing. Bright scenes appeared through all the 
 tribes. Thousands and tens of thousands press 
 close to the fissures of the rock, to catch the 
 enlivening draught. Thousahds and tens of 
 thousands fall down upon their knees to drink 
 of the bubbling flow. Fathers and mothers 
 haste to impart it to their children. Young 
 men and maidens bear it to the lame, the sick, 
 and the dying. All exult iu; the copiousness 
 of the effusions, and drink abundantly. Next 
 come the cattle in hasty procession, — the oxen, 
 the asses, the sheep, and the goats. The feath- 
 ered tribes also scent the water, and drink to 
 satiety. It was a glorious sight, causing " the 
 lame to leap as a hart, and the tongue of the 
 dumb to sing." " I will open rivers," says God, 
 " in high places, and fountains in the midst of 
 the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool 
 of water, and the dry land water-springs. The 
 beasts of the field shall honor me, the dragon 
 
84 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 and the owl ; because I give water in the wil- 
 derness, and rivers in the desert, to give drink 
 to my people, my chosen." 
 
 The consecration of Sinai, by the presence 
 of Deity, caused it to merit the appellation, 
 '' Mount of God." The prophet Elijah, pursued 
 by Jezebel, fled hither for his life. He had 
 betaken himself into the wilderness of Judea, 
 and lay under a juniper-tree, requesting that 
 he might die. The angel of the Lord touched 
 him, and bade him arise, and go to Mount 
 Horeb. He arose, and did eat and drink, and 
 went in the strength of that meat forty days 
 and forty nights. The desert over which he 
 travelled was the same through which the 
 Israelites passed, in the forty years of their 
 wanderings. It was hallowed ground, rich in 
 thoughtful association, and holy memories. 
 The towering heights of Sinaiand Horeb were 
 retreats where God was wont to reveal Himself 
 to Moses ; and Elijah might suppose that God 
 was about to meet with him, in all the glory 
 of His benignity. The situation in which he 
 found himself in Horeb was one of indescriba- 
 
THE THREE SACRED MOUNTAINS. 85 
 
 ble solitude ; and having crept into a gloomy 
 eave, and wrapped his mantle a'round him, and 
 laid down to pass the night, the word of the 
 Lord came to him, saying, " What doest thou 
 here, Elijah ? And he said, I have been very 
 jealous for the Lord of Hosts, for the children 
 of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown 
 down thy altars, and slain thy prophets with 
 the sword : and I, even I only am left, and they 
 seek my life." And He said, " Go forth and 
 stand Tipon the Mount before the Lord." And 
 the Lord passed by him in a strong wind, that 
 rent the rocks asunder. The clouds appeared 
 like squadrons of combatants, rushing to con- 
 flict. The sands of the desert were agitated 
 like the waves of the sea ; and Sinai rocked, as 
 if the terrors of the law-giving were renewed. 
 The commotion produced on the soul of Elijah 
 an overpowering impression of God's awful 
 majesty, — a sentiment of distressing distance ; 
 " but the Lord was not in the wind." 
 
 The terrors of an earthquake next ensued. 
 The foundations of the hills shook, and were 
 removed. Hills sank and valleys rose. Chasms 
 
86 THE VOICE Oe SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 yawned, and horrible depths discovered them- 
 selves. The ruins of Nature surrounded him, 
 causing him to feel the glory of that divine 
 majesty which "looketh upon the earth, and it 
 trembleth." 
 
 When the ruffled frame of Nature was 
 calmed, an awfiil fire passed by, changing the 
 shades of night into the light of day. The 
 mountain was suddenly in a blaze ; " but the 
 Lord was not in the fire." 
 
 And after the fire, there followed a still small 
 voice, — a soothing undertone, — a gentle whis- 
 per. "And it was so, when Elijah heard it, 
 that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and 
 went forth and stood at the entrance of the 
 cave." The accents of love and mercy, which 
 now fell so sweetly upon his ear, had a melt- 
 ing, softening influence, which the kindness and 
 love of God so beautifully effeqt. 
 
 The leaves of time showed the continuation 
 of the same series of Divine manifestations on 
 the summit of Tabor. The terrible things in 
 righteousness, that transpired on Sinai, were 
 ratified on the Mount of Transfiguration, in 
 
THE THREE SACRED MOUNTAINS. 87 
 
 subdued and softened splendor. The august 
 and glorious Jehovah, who called Moses to the 
 mountain-top in Arabia Petrea, had become the 
 meek and lowly Jesus, who took Peter, James, 
 and John, to a high mountain in Galilee. The 
 drapery of His humiliation was unable to con- 
 ceal longer the indwelling brightness of the 
 Godhead. The rays of the Shekinah, which 
 had slumbered within, now darted forth, from 
 beneath the enshrouding cloud, with an efful- 
 gence that was perfectly overwhelming. The 
 splendor of the Deity pierced through His 
 humanity, beamed in His countenance, and 
 surrounded His whole person with the most 
 dazzling lustre. The glory that had dwelt in 
 Him from eternity, burst forth, in richest radi- 
 ance. It was not shed upon Him externally, 
 but existed in Him as a portion of that fulness, 
 which dwelt, as in a focus, behind the curtain 
 of the servant's form. " His face shone as the 
 sun, and His raiment was white as the. light." 
 It was one of those special occasions, when 
 meekness gave way to majesty, sadness to 
 overpowering gladness, and the look of pity to 
 
88 THE VOICE OP SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 the grandeur of a God. The gazing disciples 
 were struck with admiration. They could 
 scarcely give credit to their eyes. They could 
 hardly believe that shining One was their 
 Master, with whom they toiled up the weari- 
 some ascent. The discovery of His inner glory 
 was a transporting reflection of pure kindness 
 and love. Its intention was to improve the 
 Apostles in knowledge and grace ; to convince 
 them who He really was ; to assure them that 
 His government was spiritual; that triumph 
 would certainly succeed and re'ward His suflfer- 
 ings, and that all His servants will ultimately 
 be glorified with Him. 
 
 Wonder now followed wonder in rapid suc- 
 cession. An embassy from the heavenly world 
 visited the spot. Moses and Elijah, who fig- 
 ured so conspicuously in the solemn transac- 
 tions on Sinai, were seen talking together. 
 They had never before met on earth, but they 
 had a mission to perform, in connection with 
 the glorious enterprise of human redemption, 
 which Christ on the three mountains deter- 
 mined successively to unfold and accomplish. 
 
THE THREE SACRED MOUNTAINS. 89 
 
 The Jewish law-giver had been dead about 
 fifteen hundred years. The Lord had buried 
 him in a valley over against Bethpeor ; but no 
 human eye was permitted to witness his mys- 
 terious dissolution, and no ilian knoweth of 
 his sepulchre unto this day. He was the first 
 penman employed to write the volume of inspi- 
 ration, the deliverer of the Jews from bondage, 
 the king in Jeshurun, the prophet^ and the 
 type of Christ. Here he appeared with the 
 Saviour, in the Transfiguration, to testify to His 
 Messiahship, and to do Him homage as the 
 world's great prophet, and man's Eedeemer. 
 Elijah had been eminently honored in not 
 tasting death, but had been translated to 
 heaven, in a chariot of fire, about nine hun- 
 dred years previously. He had descended to 
 bear testimony to Christ, and of the world un- 
 seen. Both these servants of the Lord had 
 been distinguished for extraordinary piety, zeal, 
 and usefulness. They had alike fasted forty 
 days, and were signal instruments in the hand 
 of God. The one appeared as the representa- 
 tive of the Law, and the other as the represent- 
 
90 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 ative of the Prophets. The types and the 
 antitype were brought into juxtaposition, — the 
 servants doing homage to the Master, in whom 
 the Law and the Prophets were* fulfilled. These 
 two heavenly ambassadors were also represent- 
 atives of the equal splendor of the quick and 
 dead at the second advent. Moses represented 
 the myriads who shall rise from their graves ; 
 and Elias, those who shall be found alive upon 
 the earth, and changed in the twinkling of an 
 eye. 
 
 But how did the disciples recognize these 
 illustrious personages ? Did they hear Jesus 
 call them by their names ? Then how must 
 they have felt astonished at the information. 
 They must have felt almost as if the earth had 
 given way beneath them, and eternity had 
 overtaken them unawares. Never, since the 
 catastrophe of the Fall, had the glory of the 
 invisible world been so exhibited. The associa- 
 tion was the most dignified and sublime, that 
 had ever fallen to the lot of mortals to witness. 
 There was the Son of the eternal love, clothed 
 in majesty ; two celestial visitors from the city 
 
THE THEEB SACRED MOUNTAINS. 91 
 
 of God ; the Apostles Peter, JameS; and John ; 
 and doubtless attendant angels, all enchanted 
 with the scene of the Transfiguration. 
 
 The topic of discourse, in which the embassy 
 were so absorbingly interested, was the death 
 of Christ, which He should accomplish at Jeru- 
 salem. They called His death a decease, as if 
 they would comfort Him with the expression, 
 and present to His mind the glory that should 
 follow. They probably spoke of its necessity, 
 to realize types and fulfil prophecies ; its merit 
 and preciousness, in promoting our peace and 
 restoration to the Divine favo'r ; its influence, 
 in spoiling the powers of Satan, and opening 
 the kingdom of heaven to all believers ; and 
 the reward that Christ should receive in the 
 eternal approbation of the Fg,ther, and in the 
 honors and praises of the redeemed forever. 
 They spoke of His decease as the most inter- 
 esting subject to Christ, the most important to 
 man, and the most glorious to God. 
 
 The grandeur of the Trafisfiguration had 
 reached its height. The atmosphere was heav- 
 enly. The disciples were pleased, and profited 
 
92 THE VOICE OF SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 with the proofs of their Master's divinity. St. 
 Peter said to Jesus, in accents of love and ten- 
 derness, "Lord, it is good for us to be here. If 
 thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; 
 one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for 
 Elias." It does not appear that he wished to 
 build four, or six; only three. He probably 
 expected to be received into the one with 
 Jesus, or was willing, with his brethren, to 
 stand at a distance. But the Holy Ghost de- 
 clared that he knew not what he said. He 
 knew that heaven was near, and that God was 
 revealing Himself; and while he looked be- 
 wildered on the forms before him, his uncon- 
 scious lips murmured forth the feelings of his 
 heart. The request was the result of feeling, 
 simply, and not of judgment. He forgot that 
 they were only on a mountain-top. He lost 
 sight of the multitude above, whom no man 
 can number, and was unmindful of the solemn 
 topic of discourse,^ that Christ was to suflFer 
 death. Had his proposal been accepted, the 
 eternal interests of our race \fould have been 
 forever lost. 
 
THE THREE SACRED MOUNTAINS. 93 
 
 Up to this time, all had felt indescribably 
 happy. But suddenly the manifestation as- 
 sumed a nfew and singular phenomena. "A 
 bright cloud overshadowed th^m." This was 
 strikingly significant. Unlike the cloud that 
 rested on Sinai at the giving of the Law, dark 
 and portentous, the cloud on Tabor carried no 
 rolling thunder ; no lightnings flashed from it, 
 but it was bright and ghttering, as if the sun 
 shone behind it, intimating the graciousness 
 and clearness of the era, which had then com- 
 menced. It was the Shekinah, or divine habi- 
 tation,- affording evidence that Christ is present 
 with His people, militant and- triumphant, the 
 theme of both, the song of both, the life of both. 
 The family of Christ is one, and He is the soul 
 of its existence, and the bond of its union. 
 
 From the bright foldings of that cloud there 
 sounded a voice which said, " This is my be- 
 loved Son, in whom I am well pleased ; hear ye 
 Him." It was the voice of Him, who sitteth 
 upon the throne, between the cherubim, and 
 who clothes Himself with light as with a gar- 
 ment, — the voice of the everlasting Father 
 
94 THE VOICE OF SACRED TKIPLES. 
 
 clothed in human language, — the voice out of 
 heaven, prophetic of that declaration, " The 
 tabernacle of God is with men, and He will 
 dwell with them; and they shall be His people; 
 and God Himself shall be with them, and be 
 their God." It was an attesting voice, attesting 
 the dignity and divine mission of the Saviour 
 as coequal with the Father, " Lord of all, and 
 God over all, blessed forever." It was an aj)- 
 proving voice, expressive of deep affection, with 
 a richness and peculiarity of meaning, that can 
 apply equally to no other being in heaven, 
 or, on earth. It was an instructive voice : 
 " Hear Him." We must hear Christ as He 
 speaks in His word, as He speaks in His ex- 
 ample, as He speaks in His Chjirch. We must 
 listen with simplicity and meekness, with faith 
 and attention. " He that hath ears to hear, let 
 him hear." 
 
 The mountain scene of Christ's glory became 
 too grand for weakly human nature. The 
 rapture of the disciples was exchanged for fear. 
 " They fell on their faces, and were sore afraid. 
 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, 
 
THE THREE SACRED MOUNTAINS. 95 
 
 Arise, and be not afraid." What gushing of 
 fervent sympathy and melting tenderness ac- 
 companied this expression ! What an infusion 
 of vigor and buoyancy did they receive from 
 His sacred touch ! One touch of Christ is 
 enough for restoration. "If I may but touch 
 the hem of His garment," said one, " I shall be 
 made whole." He is the Sun of Eighteousness, 
 with healing in His wings. 
 
 The Transfiguration at length ceased. The 
 splendor that beamed forth was removed. 
 Moses and Elias returned to the other world. 
 The mountain became as it was before, — cold, 
 solitary, and silent. The wind played among 
 the rustling foliage. The stars rose one after 
 another, and twinkled in the distant firmament. 
 The silvery moon poured her light over the 
 darkened landscape. And as the disciples lifted 
 up their wondering eyes, " they saw no man 
 save Jesus only." 
 
 The interesting incidents of the vision, while 
 they served to unfold and establish the solemn 
 sanctions on Sinai, were specially designed to 
 be preparatory to the awful ti^agedy that was 
 
96 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 shortly to be enacted on Calvary. The Son of 
 God was on His way to the Metropolis. The 
 eross was already in His eye, and He was invig- 
 orated, by what had just transpired, to meet the 
 approaching trial. The night-piece of His pas- 
 sion combined the tragical and horrible in an 
 appalling degree. " He was despised and re- 
 jected of men." "The ploughers ploughed upon 
 His back, and made long their* furrows." " He 
 gave His back to the smiters, and His cheeks 
 to them that plucked off the hair : He hid not 
 His face from shame and spitting." All this 
 was minutely accomplished, when Pilate took 
 Jesus and scourged Him, and the soldiers 
 platted a crown of thorns, and put it on His 
 head. The scourging and the thorn-crowning 
 were a disgrace and infamy that might rend 
 even nerves of steel. The punishment was the 
 more severe, probably, because it was intended 
 to be equivalent to crucifixion, though it after- 
 wards proved to be only introductory to it. 
 The ridicule and mockery heaped on Him were 
 of the bitterest, and most poignant kind. 
 Heaven would certainly have* interfered, but 
 
THE THREE SACRED MOUNTAINS. 97 
 
 for the compassion which it bore for the mur- 
 derers. The sentence of condemnation, based 
 upon false charges, was hastily pronounced, and 
 every precaution adopted by His adversaries to 
 .carry it promptly into effect. But the suffer- 
 ing Saviour was not surpi-ised by the raging 
 storm. He knew that His hour was come, and 
 was prepared to welcome it. The tide of love 
 that floated Him into the world buoyed Him 
 up for the crisis, and made it His meat to " do 
 the will of Him that sent Him, and to finish His 
 work." 
 
 Consigned to the ignominy of a public exe- 
 cution, it was arranged that He should die on 
 Calvary, with two malefactors, who had violated 
 the laws of their country, and were to siiflfer 
 the retribution of civil justice. The three indi- 
 viduals are elevated on their several crosses, 
 alike exposed to the general execration. But 
 it is Jesus, who occupies the central position, 
 that attracts so much attention. It is princi- 
 pally to witness His end, that so many persons 
 have come together. All sorts and conditions 
 of men are assembled to behold the sight. All 
 
98 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 are more or less anxious concerning Him; 
 some in one way, some in another. Several 
 conflicting opinions are openly expressed ; but 
 the great mass of the people, destitute of the 
 ordinary feelings of humanity, -mock His dying 
 agonies. Shouts, taunts, and fierce blasphe- 
 mies, ruffle that sea of faces now turned to- 
 ward Him. But were our eyes unsealed, as 
 were those of the prophet's servant, we should 
 discern, beside and above that howling rabble, 
 a more august gathering. Legions of spirits, 
 whose feeblest warriors would have turned to 
 paleness the cheek of C^sar, are gazing with 
 intense solicitude, but withheld from interpos- 
 ing by some dread prohibition. Angels that 
 excel in strength are watching that desolate 
 suflFerer vnth. adoring interest. Those invisible 
 beings that smote Sennacherib's camp, and 
 slew the first-born of Egypt, have often bowed 
 before Him as their Creator and Lord. The 
 sovereign Euler of the universe yields this 
 passive . obedience to His moral subjects, for a 
 sublime result. The King of glory endures 
 the ignominy of the cross, that we might have 
 
THE THEEB SACKED MOUNTAINS. 99 
 
 everlasting life. " He was cut off, but not for 
 Himself;" "died for our sins," "made His soul 
 an offering for sin," "was made sin for us," 
 " bare our sins in His body on the tree." " He 
 was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised 
 for our iniquities " ; suffered the penalty in- 
 curred by our guilt, bore the punishment that 
 we deserved as sinners, paid all that we owed 
 as creatures, and made us the joyful inheritors 
 of the results of His cross and passion. It is 
 written, "Christ tasted death for every man." 
 " He died for all." " He gave Himself a ran- 
 som for all." " He is the proipitiation for our 
 sins ; and not for ours only, but for the sins of 
 the whole world." Just as certainly as one is 
 compelled to acknowledge that he is a sinner, 
 so assuredly may he exult in the confidence 
 that Christ came to save him. It is the will of 
 God our Saviour, that all men should be saved, 
 and come to the knowledge of the truth. He 
 is not willing that any should perish, but that 
 all should come to repentance. 
 
 The death of Christ is very beautifully de- 
 scribed as an atonement. "We joy in God 
 
100 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 througli our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we 
 have received the atonement." The origin of 
 the word is to make two at one — at-one-ment; 
 to bring two, that were separate from each oth- 
 er, into oneness of communion. Hence Christ is 
 said to have reconciled Jew and Gentile unto 
 God, in one body by the cross. " God hath 
 reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ." 
 " God was in Christ, reconciling the world to 
 Himself." The yawning chasm between earth 
 and heaven is bridged by His atoning merits. 
 The shores of the severed land are reunited. 
 The new and living way, which He has conse- 
 crated for us by His blood, lies over Calvary. 
 The length of the road adds to the traveller's 
 strength. The faster he walks, the stronger he 
 feels. If he run, he is not weary. When he 
 walks, he is not faint. " Wait on the Lord : be 
 of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine 
 heart." 
 
 There is afforded us on Cal^vary the noblest 
 expression of God's love, in its tenderest and 
 sweetest form. "Herein is love, not that we 
 loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His 
 
THE THREE SACRED MOUNTAINS. 101 
 
 Son to be the propitiation of our sins." The 
 death of Christ was not the cause, but the' 
 evidence, of God's love, and the only apparent 
 channel, by which it could reach and reclaim 
 us. The blessings of salvation come to us 
 through Him. There is no other name given 
 under heaven, whereby we can be saved. None 
 have entered into rest, but through the merits 
 of Christ. He is the last hope of all who have 
 died in the Lord; the last object, on which 
 departed saints fixed their gaze in this world, 
 and the first, on which it fastened in the realms 
 of glory. 
 
 The compassionate Jehovah has done every- 
 thing, which mercy prompted, to melt down 
 human obduracy, and win the affections. The 
 heart must be harder than adamant, that does 
 not soften and relent under such overwhelming 
 demonstrations of kindness and love. The boon 
 of salvation is placed within the reach of all 
 who will come to the altar of propitiation, and 
 plead the merits of Him, who bled and died. 
 The path to the skies is cleared of obstructions. 
 The doors of the kingdom of heaven are flung 
 
102 THE VOICE OF SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 wide open : and death is swallowed up of vic- 
 tory. Oh, if there is one spot on this wide earth 
 more sacred than another, it is Mount Calvary. 
 Its moral altitude no mortal eye can measure ; 
 and its moral grandeur is connected with mys- 
 teries and revelations, that will- cause a bright- 
 ness to be reflected from its s.ummit, when all 
 other mountains shall melt in the general ruin. 
 The continuous lesson, which it inculcates, is 
 "Christ crucified." This is the true theology, 
 the clew to the obscurest mysteries, the key- 
 note to a thousand songs. Christ crucified, 
 was the finisher of redemption, Of the people 
 there were none with Him. "His own arm 
 brought salvation." Christ crucified is the 
 spiritual Founder, the sovereign Head, and 
 preserver of His Church. She is the purchase 
 of His blood, the reflection of His glory, the 
 object of His love. " He shall build the temple 
 of the Lord ; He shall bear the glory." Christ 
 crucified is the theme of the holy ministry. 
 " We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus 
 the Lord." " Whom we preach, warning every 
 man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, 
 
THE THREE SACEED MOUNTAINS. 103 
 
 that we may present every man perfect in 
 Christ Jesus." Christ crucified is the light and 
 blessedness of heaven. Angels, and principali- 
 ties, and powers hang on the slain Lamb for 
 their existence and happiness. Christ crucified 
 is the burden of the song of the redeemed. 
 " Worthy is the Lamb that wffls slain to receive 
 power and riches, and wisdcsm, and strength, 
 and honor, and glory, and blessing." 
 
 In the light of heaven we shall see the glo- 
 rified Redeemer as He is. Not as He was, the 
 object of human scorn, the victim of cruel 
 malignity. Not as He was, when climbing the 
 heights of Tabor, or descending its slopes. Not 
 as He was in the garden of Gethsemane, over- 
 whelmed with an agony, that baptized Him in 
 His own blood. Not as He was, in the hands 
 of the Jewish authorities, bound with cords, 
 mocked, buflFeted, spat upon, crowned with 
 thorns. Not as He was, bearing His cross to 
 Calvary, crucified, taunted with scornful breath, 
 pierced with the soldier's spear, and laid in 
 Joseph's tomb. No. We shall see Him as He 
 is, having " on His head many crowns, and on 
 
104 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 His vesture, and on His thigh a name written, 
 King of kings, and Lord of lords." We shall see 
 Him as He is, in all the splendor and majesty 
 of the Godhead, in all the glory, and grandeur, 
 and enjojrment of heaven. We shall see Him 
 as He is, receiving the greetings and hosannas 
 of the glorified, all singing from the overflow- 
 ings of their gratitude, " Unto Him that loved 
 us, and washed us from our sjns in His own 
 blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto 
 God, and the Father, to Him. be glory and 
 dominion for ever and ever. Amen." 
 
THE THREE LOVED ONES OF BETHANY. 
 
 " Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and 
 Lazarus." They were eminently pious and de- 
 vout individuals. They had often ministered 
 to Him of their substance j and He had as fre- 
 quently repaid them by the higher consolations, 
 which He so generously distributed. The mani- 
 fold actions of His life were just so many in- 
 stances of goodness and benevolence, resem- 
 bling the full ripe fruits of Autumn, amid the 
 numerous leaves and petals that surround them. 
 Wherever He went He displayed the most win- 
 ning smiles and condescending love. When He 
 stretched out His hands, it was to scatter bless- 
 ings. When He opened His lips, it was to dis- 
 pense words of instruction and comfort. When 
 He made excursions through the country, they 
 were missions of mercy. Though sinless, He 
 was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, 
 
106 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 and found those among the circle of His fol- 
 lowers, with whom He enjoyed that near attach- 
 ment, and familiar interchange of thought and 
 feeling, pecuhar to the intimacies and fellow- 
 ship of kindred minds. After the toils and trav-, 
 els of the day, in the vicinity of Jerusalem, He 
 would often pause and refresh Himself at Beth- 
 any, and find a congenial atmosphere, and a 
 welcome retreat. With the members of this 
 pious family He would commune in the un- 
 checked gushings of His heart, and reciprocate 
 the cordialities of their friendship, pure and 
 changeless. While they washed His weary feet, 
 He would discom'se to them of His works of 
 mercy, and the kingdom of blessedness and 
 peace, which He was about to establish. They 
 listened to His sacred voice with breathless at- 
 tention, and counted it their highest happiness 
 to be deemed worthy the notice of a Beino- so 
 illustrious. It was well perhaps that they had 
 not a more overwhelming disclosure of His in- 
 eifable majesty : for had they been fully aware 
 of the flood of light and glory, that lay con- 
 cealed under the garb of humanity, they might 
 
THE THREE LOVED ONES OP BETHANY. 107 
 
 have feared to receive Him. They had seen 
 fully enough to assure them that His creden- 
 tials were heavenly, and were bold to entertain 
 Him as their guest, when the heads of the na- 
 tion were conspiring to kill Him. Never was 
 their cottage so dignified, as when thus hallowed 
 by His personal presence. Never had they a 
 friend so dear, as when the Wonderful, the 
 Counsellor, the Prince of Peetce, bestowed on 
 them the fulness of His love, and opened up to 
 them the depths of His heart. 
 
 The domestic scenes of the household illus- 
 trate very beautifully the variations and shades 
 of character, which that family exhibited. The 
 two sisters, and their brother appeared to con- 
 stitute the whole of the circle. They had their 
 peculiar dispositions and imperfections; yet they 
 were a Christian family, and "fellow-heirs of 
 the grace of life." 
 
 Martha was active and impulsive, naturally 
 ardent, and a little petulant ; s-usceptible of do- 
 mestic vanity and ostentation. She may not 
 have been worldly, or covetous ; only over-care- 
 ful about much serving, and anxious, as the mis- 
 
108 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 tress of the house, to make an unnecessary and 
 expensive entertainment. ThBre would seem 
 to be a want of prudence and politeness in some 
 of her actions. She broke in upon our Lord's 
 discourse, and requested Him -to send Mary to 
 her assistance. But the Saviour, knowing the 
 kindness of her heart, replied, with a mildness 
 and majesty of reproof, " Martha, Martha, thou 
 art careful and troubled about many things ; 
 but one thing is needful, and Mary hath chosen 
 that good part which shall not be taken away 
 from her." 
 
 Mary was of a contemplative turn of mind, 
 full of pleasing emotion, and disposed to embrace 
 every opportunity for religious improvement. 
 Thoughtful and inquiring, she was happy to 
 sit at the Saviour's feet, and listen to the gra- 
 cious words that dropped froiii His lips. She 
 was of a calmer temperament than Martha, and 
 was the subject of an elevated devotional piety. 
 Her virtues were transparent ; and while all 
 could see in them the pure blue sky of heaven's 
 sunshine, they failed not to diffuse a halo of 
 glory over the place, that was the scene of her 
 
THE THREE LOVED ONES OE BETHANY. 109 
 
 residence. There is something beautiful in the 
 allusion to Bethany, as the town of Mary and 
 her sister Martha. It may possibly have de- 
 rived celebrity from other ev-ents ; from the 
 exploits of heroes, poets, and philosophers ; and 
 that if you had asked some native Rabbi what 
 constituted its greatest fame, he would point to 
 yon tall, tapering spire, to some exquisite speci- 
 men of architectural grandeur, or deeds of pa- 
 triotism enshrined in the hearts of the people. 
 But these are adventitious distinctions, of little 
 account in the estimation of Heaven. The 
 sounds of human applause cease to be heard 
 before they reach the skies ; v^^hile the sigh of 
 a broken heart, and the petition of a contrite 
 spirit ascend to God swifter than an angel's 
 v^ng, and higher than an angel's pinion can 
 possibly soar. The great things of earth are 
 pressed by the light of heaven into a small 
 space ; and the little things of the world are 
 mighty, because they are moral, and associated 
 with the glory of God, and the good of souls. 
 The circumstance so remarkable in the history 
 of Bethany, which gave it consideration at the 
 
110 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 time, and that will cause its memorial to con- 
 tinue till the latest generation, was that Martha, 
 Mary, and Lazarus were natives of it. These 
 three fair and fragrant floweus were, in the 
 sight of God, the most beautiful things it con- 
 tained, These three devoted saints gave an 
 attraction to the place, causing the fame of 
 heroes, and the hymns of poets to be unnoticed, 
 and unsung. We should suppose if anywhere, 
 the aching head could rest, and the weary heart 
 could beat in stillness, — if anywhere, home- 
 born joys would nestle and fluttpr, and sickness 
 should not prey, and death itself should be an 
 exile,— it would be that home in Bethany, which 
 Jesus so signally honored, and whose inmates 
 and tenants were His faithful and devoted 
 friends. But " all things come alike to all ; 
 there is one event to the righteous, and to the 
 wicked, to the good, and to the clean, and the 
 unclean ; to him that sacrificeth, and to him 
 that sacrificeth not." Sickness enters alike the 
 house of the Christian and the worldUng. The 
 stroke of bereavement befalls the one, equally 
 with the other. Lazarus, an old disciple, much 
 
THE THREE LOVED ONES OF BETHANY. Ill 
 
 attached to Christ, and much beloved by Him, 
 was suddenly smitten by disease, while Christ 
 was far away preaching to the multitude of 
 Bethabara, beyond Jordan. " Therefore the 
 sisters sent unto Him saying, Lord, behold he 
 whom thou lovest is sick." They presumed, 
 probably, that if they made His affection for 
 him the basis of their appeal, it would insure 
 a prompt and speedy compliance with their 
 wishes. The wondrous theme of Christ's love 
 is at any time the most successful plea that can 
 be urged. His love is not like ours, frail and 
 evanescent, fickle and inconstant, but deep and 
 abiding, disinterested and permanent, — like the 
 hill-side springs, unaffected by winter's cold, or 
 summer's heat. 
 
 Though the Saviour knew of this sickness, 
 before the arrival of the messenger to announce 
 it, yet He did not immediately hasten thither, 
 but " tarried two days still in- the same place 
 where He was." This is one of His methods 
 of answering prayer. He takes his own time, 
 and sends the blessing when it will accomplish 
 the most benefit to the petitioner, and the 
 
112 THE VOICE OF SACRED TKIPLES. 
 
 greatest glory to Himself. " This sickness," 
 said He, is not unto death, but; for the glory of 
 God, that the Son of God might be glorified 
 thereby." He understood perfectly, at a dis- 
 tance, the disease, with its symptoms and results. 
 He knows the malady under which we are labor- 
 ing, and the sin which most easily besets us. 
 His omniscient eye penetrates all vails, searches 
 out every prejudice, disentangles every passion, 
 and detects at the very root the defalcation 
 and the blight, that wither and lay us low. 
 
 The Holy Jesus turned His face toward Beth- 
 any, accompanied by His inquiring disciples, 
 who marvelled at His strange language con- 
 cerning the departed Lazaru^. " Our friend 
 Lazarus sleepeth j but I go that I may awake 
 him out of sleep." The dust of the sleeping 
 saint belongs to Jesus ; and it is His preroga- 
 tive to remodel and raise it x\jp again, instinct 
 with life. The believer in Christ dies not like 
 other men, but sweetly falls asleep until the 
 resurrection morn. It is the sleep, not of un- 
 consciousness, but of refreshment and rest ; the 
 sleep of the laborer after the fatigues of the 
 
THE THREE LOVED ONES OF BETHANY. 113 
 
 day; the sleep of the soldier after the com- 
 bats of the battle; the sleep of the traveller 
 after the toils of his joui-ney; the sleep of re- 
 pose in Jesus, consecrated and. blessed. " And 
 if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, 
 even so them also which sleep in Jesus, will 
 God bring with Him." " I shall be satisfied," 
 said David, " when I awake, with thy likeness." 
 The afflicted Martha, when she heard that 
 Christ had come within the precincts of the 
 town, went forth to meet Him, and looking 
 into His placid face, exclaimed, with emotions 
 of sorrow and affection, " Lord, if thou hadst 
 been here, my brother had not died. Thy broth- 
 er shall rise again," He rephed. Though doubt- 
 ful of the exact import of this calm assurance, 
 yet confiding in His Almighty power, she has- 
 tened to call Mary, who sat disconsolate in the 
 house. The intelligence, " The Master is come, 
 and calleth for thee," fell like music on her ears, 
 and she ran quickly to embrace Him. The title 
 Master belongs supremely to Christ. And 
 what a master for kindness, love, and sympathy! 
 Jesus wept at the scene of lamentation ; yea, 
 
114 THE VOICE OE SACEED TRIPLES. 
 
 " groaned in spirit, and was troubled." What 
 agitation seemed for a moment to convulse that 
 sacred bosom ! What tossing of emotion ! What 
 mastery of love ! Bending over the grave of 
 the lost one, He cried with a voice so loud, 
 "Lazarus come forth," that the dead instantly 
 obeyed, the blood began to Hquefy, the pulse 
 began to beat, the motionless heart grew warm, 
 the color mantled the cheek, the living soul was 
 recalled, and the buried friend came forth, bound 
 hand and foot with grave-clothes, and his face 
 bound about with a napkin. They loosed him 
 from his grave habiliments to live again, and 
 die. How long this second leape of earthly ex- 
 istence was continued, we know not, nor how 
 frequent the interviews which he enjoyed with 
 the Resurrection and the Life. We are only 
 informed that he was restored to the society of 
 the living, and that he once more filled up the 
 gap in that little group, which death had so un- 
 feelingly torn open. 
 
 There happened, a few days before the last 
 Passover, another occasion, when Jesus went to 
 Bethany in company with some* of His disciples. 
 
THE THREE LOVED ONES OF BETHANY. 115 
 
 He arrived in the village jusi as the sabbath 
 was closing. The day had been one of rest, 
 and leisure, and devout rejoicing. The Saviour 
 was expected. A supper was prepared for Him. 
 He was to be the guest of Lazarus and his sis- 
 ters ; and friends and neighbors were invited 
 to meet Him. The meal was to be taken in the 
 house of Simon the leper, perhaps, because it 
 was more commodious, allowing them to share 
 equally the honor of receiving so dignified a 
 personage. Simon was not a leper at that time, 
 or he would have been under legal restraint, 
 and none would have been allowed to hold in- 
 tercourse with him. But he had been a leper, 
 and was cured, probably, by the interposition 
 of the Saviour, and therefore as a token of re- 
 gard and gratitude, he was desirous of en- 
 tertaining his benefactor. As the evening 
 proceeded, the company was startled by a re- 
 markable incident, that arrested their attention. 
 Mary, looking at the Master as He lay on the 
 couch, rose up and went behind Him, and tak- 
 ing an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard 
 very precious, about a pound weight, broke the 
 
116 THE VOICE or SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 seal that secured it, and poured it on His head. 
 The company was taken by surprise, and the 
 house was filled with the odor of the ointment. 
 It was an act of love, and gratitude, and re- 
 spect, that had doubtless long been premedi- 
 tated. She had kept it by her for some time, 
 and now that the fitting opportunity was af- 
 forded, the hoarded treasure, and the hoarded 
 love were poured out at the same time. The 
 sacrifice was considerable, and Would have been 
 difficult to accomplish, but for the overflowing 
 fulness of her heart. She may possibly have 
 purchased this costly perfume to expend upon 
 the charms of her person. But the fervor of 
 ter attachment to the Lord, reduced the value 
 of other attraction, and caused her to forget 
 all thoughts of herself in the thoughts of her 
 Saviour. 
 
 The use of unction in Judea was a delicious 
 indulgence, and when bestowed on another was 
 always considered a token of honor. " Oint- 
 ment and perfume rejoice the heart." "Let thy 
 head lack no ointment," said Solomon. And 
 David, when speaking of the munificence of 
 
THE THREE LOVED ONES OF BETHANY. 117 
 
 the Divine goodness, says, " Thou anointest my 
 head vpith oil, and my cup runneth over." The 
 excellency of brotherly love is compared to the 
 precious ointment poured upon the head of 
 Aaron, that ran down his beard, and flowed to 
 the lowest borders and fringes of his garments. 
 The force of these allusions is not so obviously 
 felt in this country as in the climates of the 
 East. Yet there are few who would like to be 
 thought insensible to the charms of fragrance, 
 and the adaptations of the productions of Nature 
 to regale and delight the senses. We are gen- 
 erously supphed with softness and smoothness 
 for the touch, with colors for the eye, with 
 melodies for the ear, with relishes for the taste, 
 and with odors for the smell. There is pro- 
 fusion without extravagance, and richness with- 
 out satiety. 
 
 There were some present, who witnessed the 
 service of Mary, that felt indignation. They 
 murmured at what they considered a waste, as 
 if it were possible that anything could be 
 wasted on the person of Christ. Some calcu- 
 lated the value of the ointment, and fixed its 
 
118 THE VOICE OF SACRED miPLES. 
 
 worth at three hundred pence, or forty-five 
 dollars. Judas asked why it* could not have 
 been sold for this sum, " and gfven to the poor : 
 not that he cared for the poor, but because he 
 was a thief, and had the bag." The Saviour, 
 commenting upon the circumstance, pronounced 
 it a good work. " Wheresofever this gospel 
 shall be preached," said He, "throughout the 
 world, this also that she hath done, shall be told 
 for a memorial of her." The prediction is ful- 
 filled. It is recorded in Holy Writ. It is 
 preached in church. It receives an absolute 
 and universal dissemination. There was more 
 embodied in that personal act, than the parties 
 present were disposed to acknowledge. It was 
 an intimation and prefiguration of the Saviour's 
 death. The anointing was for His burial. He 
 was then ready to be offered, and the time of 
 His suffering was at hand. This was His last 
 visit to Bethany before His crucifixion. Though 
 it is not certain, or probable that Mary intended 
 emblematically to solemnize the event, yet it 
 afforded an instance of the overruling Provi- 
 dence of God, who in the performance of an 
 
THE THREE LOVED ONES OF BETHANY. 119 
 
 enterprise, has frequently an end in view, far 
 beyond the knowledge and design of the agent. 
 The prominent feature of admiration in the 
 history of the family of Bethany, was their 
 cordial reciprocation of Divine love. Jesus 
 loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus;' and the 
 affection He bore for them flowed lovingly back 
 to its source and centred in its= origin. Christ's 
 love is the life-blood that circulates through all 
 the veins and arteries of His redeemed and 
 chosen people. It creates the glow of summer 
 in the soul, and is no less clear, and calm, and 
 strong, than it is genial and warm. The heart 
 can be subject to no influence richer in the 
 purest enjoyment. If the heart be contracted, 
 this will enlarge it ; if it be dormant, it will 
 excite it to action ; if it be glowing, it will 
 kindle its fervor. Its tendency is to mould 
 insensibly the character to the image of the 
 object loved, that, " beholding as in a glass the 
 glory of the Lord," we may be " changed into 
 the same image, from glory to glory, by the 
 Spirit of the Lord." The conformity, as far as 
 it prevails, makes us one with Christ, identify- 
 
120 THE VOICE OF SACEED TRIPLES. 
 
 ing our interest with His interest, and service, 
 and glory. Nor ought it to be forgotten that 
 the love of Christ's admirers grows more intense 
 the more they suffer and do for Him. Every 
 little service undertaken, and performed on His 
 account, every contribution to His treasury, 
 and every effort for His glory, has the effect of 
 strengthening our attachment to the Lord, and 
 His cause. It takes away from the world to 
 come the awful strangeness of a new sphere, 
 and a new state of existence, and sheds over it 
 a home feeling. When we come to its margin, 
 we are not lonely and sohtary, but cheered by 
 kindred and friends. The Saviour's love recip- 
 rocated, forms our introduction to glory, and 
 finds in heaven its element and its home. 
 
 The removal of Lazarus by death, impress- 
 ively assures us that the holiest and most de- 
 voted families are liable to chg-nges, losses, and 
 bereavements. The fair sky of the sunniest 
 circles may be shrouded in the blackness of 
 night. The air-castles, which were thought to 
 be secure, are suddenly dissipated ; and the 
 dearest and best of friends swept into the dust 
 
THE THREE LOVED ONES OF BETHANY. 121 
 
 of the grave. "Whom the Lord loves best, He 
 sometimes takes the soonest. The son of Jero- 
 boam, who alone of that family had something 
 good in him toward the Lord God of Israel, was 
 called to an early tomb. Even where the re- 
 moval of God's servants has not been so pre- 
 mature, the transition has been so instantaneous 
 as to surprise them into blessedness. The king 
 of terrors comes, not as an enemy, but as a 
 friend ; not as a penalty, but; as a blessing. 
 The Apostle places death in the same category 
 as the enjoyment of life. "All things are yours, 
 whether life or death." The reason for so mer- 
 ciful a change in its character, is that Christ 
 has " abolished death, and brought life and im- 
 mortality to light." He has patssed through the 
 terrible ordeal before us, grappling with all its 
 horrors, extracting all its bitterness, and now 
 gives it back to us clad in a robe of radiant 
 lustre, holding a broken sceptre in one hand, 
 and a wreath in the other, with which to crown 
 us with victory and triumph. 
 
 We are indebted to Bethany for the Saviour's 
 definition of true godliness. " One thing is 
 
122 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 needful." True religion is ofle, — one in its 
 author, one in its end, one in the aggregate, — 
 but made up of many ingredients. Whether it 
 be wisdom, the fear of the Lord, a new heart, a 
 new creature, or the incorruptible seed, these 
 are only so many names of one and the same 
 thing. The human body consists of many mem- 
 bers, but it is one body. The Mississippi is fed 
 by many tributaries, but it is one river. Yon 
 beautiful tree has many ropts below, and 
 branches above, but it is one vegetable form. 
 The religion of the cross is comprehensive in 
 its requirements, but is one beautiful and har- 
 monious whole. "One thing have I desired of 
 the Lord," said the Psalmist, " that will I seek 
 after, that I may dwell in the Ixouse of the Lord 
 all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of 
 the Lord, and to inquire in Hig temple." And 
 said St. Paul, " This one thing I do, forgetting 
 tlie things that are behind, and reaching forth 
 to those that are before, I press toward the 
 mark for the prize of the high calling of God, 
 in Christ Jesus." The cheerful pursuit of this 
 one thing, is the brightest feature in our sad 
 
THE THREE LOVED ONES OF BETHANY. 123 
 
 and sinful lot. There is nothing else that will 
 repay our assiduity. All other objects that we 
 toil for, are mere spangles and tinsels, dust and 
 dross, bubbles colored with rainbow hues, that 
 collapse at a touch, and when they burst, smart 
 the eyes of the child that blows them. We 
 have tried the experiments of the world ; and 
 if we try them again, we shall be but the vic- 
 tims of an aching disappointment and vanity. 
 'T will be the same as chasing a gaudy insect, 
 and when it is clasped, we shall find its bright- 
 est hues to be brushed away, and it wUl perish 
 in our hand. 'T wiU be to nurse a flower, upon 
 which the blight and the mildew will fall, and 
 it will wither in our presence. 'Twill be to 
 repose beneath a tree, on which the lightning 
 and the thunderbolt will descend, and it will be 
 blasted on the heath. It wUl be to cherish in 
 our bosoms a viper, which we can only warm 
 and vivify, that it may sting us to the heart. 
 
 The ideal of bliss which the wand of fancy 
 may prefigure, will never be realized till we 
 cease to expect it from the lying vanities of the 
 world. But when we give up the search, sit at 
 
124 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 the feet of Jesus, and love and serve Him, we 
 have joy and peace in believing. The objects 
 of earthly ambition, which we once thought so 
 desirable, now dwindle into nothingness, and 
 seem to us as far below the blessings of salva- 
 tion as the loftiest Alps appear beneath the sun. 
 The one thing needful is supreme. It enters 
 into the very essence of our happiness, takes 
 in the whole circuit of our interest, respects 
 the body and the soul, and has "the promise 
 of the life that now is, and of that which is 
 to come." Other things are only subordinately 
 needful; this is preeminently so. Other things 
 are only occasionally needful; this is invariably 
 so. Other things are only needful for certain 
 individuals ; this is needful for all. 
 
 " More needM this than glittering wealth. 
 Or aught the world bestows ; 
 Not reputation, food, or health, 
 Can give us such repose.'' 
 
THE THREE CHOSEN filSCIPLES. 
 
 " Strong in the great Redeemer's name, 
 They bore the Cross, despised the shame ; 
 
 And, like their Master here. 
 Wrestled with danger, pain, distress ; 
 Hunger, and cold, and nakedness, 
 
 And every form of fear ; 
 To feel His love their only joy ; 
 To tell that love their sole employ.'' 
 
 The purest affection is susceptible of degrees 
 of fervor toward the objects of its regard. 
 Christ had His intimate companions, and bosom 
 friends. The chosen witnesses of some of His 
 most sacred scenes were Peter, James, and John. 
 They were His only attendants when He raised 
 the daughter of Jairus to life ; the favored 
 three that were permitted to be with Him on 
 the Mount of Transfiguration ; and the special 
 observers of His agony in the Garden of Geth- 
 semane. There never was a group probably 
 
126 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 more united by the ties of aflfection, or more 
 dissimilar in their natural teniperament. 
 
 If the historical record be correct, Simon 
 Peter was a man of strong and muscular en- 
 ergy ; his eye dark, his complexion full and 
 sallow, his character harsh and abrupt, and his 
 general movements particularly impulsive. Of 
 his early history nothing very remarkable has 
 been handed down to us. He was the son of 
 Jonas, born at Bethsaida, a sCiall fishing- town 
 on the western shore of the Lake of Tiberius. 
 His original name was Simon, which his Divine 
 Master changed for Cephas, when He called him 
 to the Apostleship. Cephas is a Syriac name, 
 signifying a stone or rock. It reads in Latin 
 petra, from which is derived Peter, meaning the 
 same thing. As a derivative, it suggests only 
 a fragment, or part of a rock — simply a stone. 
 St. Peter was to be one of thp Apostles, upon 
 whose ministry the Church of the New Testa- 
 ment was to be founded. She is " built on the 
 foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus 
 Christ himself being the chief corner-stone." 
 
 After his marriage Peter lived with his wife, 
 
THE THREE CHOSEN DISGIPLES. 127 
 
 and mother-in-law, in a house at Capernaum, a 
 short distance from his birthplace, on the shore 
 of the same lake. His brother Andrew was a 
 disciple of John the Baptist, and called to a 
 knowledge of the Saviour prior to himself 
 Andrew was present when the venerable fore- 
 runner pointed his audience to Jesus, and said, 
 " Behold the Lamb of God, that taketh away 
 the sin of the world," No sooner was he per- 
 mitted to see and converse with the incarnate 
 Saviour, than he felt naturally anxious to dis- 
 pense to those he loved, something of the grati- 
 tude and joy, with which his own heart was 
 overflowing with the discovery. "And first 
 finding his own brother Simon, he saith unto 
 him, We have found the Messias : and he 
 brought him to Jesus." This was the com- 
 mencement of Peter's biography. It took its 
 date from the hour when, by the active exer- 
 tions of a brother's love, he was brought to the 
 Saviour's feet. 
 
 The two brothers passed one day in company 
 with the Lord Jesus, and then, taking their leave 
 of Him for a season, returned -to their ordinary 
 
128 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 Gccupation of fishing. It does not appear that 
 Simon Peter became one of the Saviour's con- 
 stant attendants at that time, or that he felt him- 
 self immediately called upon to devote himself, 
 heart and soul, to the labors of the Apostleship. 
 For a short period, at least, he continued to 
 employ himself in his accustomed avocation, 
 requiring a more distinct and explicit call, be- 
 fore entering upon the arduous duties and des- 
 tinies that awaited him. It wa*s probably about 
 the end of that same year, when Andrew and 
 himself had been fishing all night on the Sea 
 without success, and were in the act of washing 
 their nets, that Jesus entered into their ship, 
 and desired them to launch out into the deep, 
 and to let down their nets for a draught. The 
 request was no sooner complied with, than the 
 multitude of fishes taken was so immense that 
 the nets brake, and their little bark began to 
 sink, with the weight of them. The effect of 
 this miracle was an overpowering impression 
 of their unworthiness, which flUed them with 
 trepidation and alarm, when Jesus drew near 
 to coDisole them, and said unto Peter, "Fear 
 
THE THREE CHOSEN DISCIPLES. 129 
 
 not ; henceforth thou shalt catch men." The 
 trade to which he had devoted himself was to 
 be instructive of holier lessons, and sublimer 
 employments; and the unusually large draught 
 of fishes just taken, was doubtless intended as 
 an intimation of the yet greater success, which 
 should attend his enterprise in fishing for souls 
 when he should cast the Gospel net into the 
 wide ocean. From that moment the Apostle 
 could say, " Lo, we have left all and followed 
 Thee " ; " Lord to whom shall we go but unto 
 Thee ; Thou hast the words of eternal life." He 
 was ardently attached to Christ, and, being nat- 
 urally impulsive, was sometimes rash in the ex- 
 pression of his love. "Whatever feeling chanced 
 to predominate, drew his whole soul along with 
 it in one explosive act. The thoughts and feel- 
 ings of his heart he openly expressed. His 
 faith may not have been more wavering than 
 that of his brethren, but it W-as intermittent. 
 His intentions were good, but he was change- 
 able. 
 
 There are few persons but have known in 
 the course of their lives, one, or more individ- 
 
 9 
 
130 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 Hals, equally fervent in protestation, and frail in 
 action. The basis of their movements is gen- 
 erally a warm and overflowing earnestness, 
 which makes them as ready and ample in their 
 promises, as they are full and Vehement in their 
 emotions. But any one, whose only guide is a 
 strong impulse, may be led into evil as well 
 as good, with an ease and rapidity that astonish 
 men of more tempered and tranquU minds. 
 Energy of itself has no controlling power. We 
 can no more look to it for guidance, than we 
 can expect the tempest to bear a richly freight- 
 ed ship, in a steady, onward direction. Persons 
 of strong feelings are thus peculiarly exposed 
 to the force of outward circumstances. They 
 are borne hither, and thither, by the breeze, 
 which for the moment prevails.i If there be no 
 difl&culties in the way, they run well. If temp- 
 tations assail them, they speedily fall. And 
 when a wrong step has once been taken, re- 
 treat is next to impossible. Such individuals 
 generally sink as low, as they would have risen, 
 under other circumstances. 
 
 The fall of Peter was in exact accordance 
 
THE THEEE CHOSEN DlSOIPLES. 131 
 
 with his natural disposition. He had just pro- 
 tested, " I will lay down my life for Thy sake." 
 " I am ready to go with Thee- both to prison, 
 and to death ; " when Christ calmly replied, 
 " Verily, I say unto thee, the cock shall not 
 crow before thou shalt thrice, deny that thou 
 knowest me." The dreaded cloud had loomed 
 up, and was ready to burst. Jesus was about 
 to be apprehended, and led away to trial, and 
 everything betokened a speedy destruction. 
 The mind of this ardent disciple was buoyed 
 up, amid all these dark signs, with the idea 
 that his Lord would yet shine forth, in the 
 splendor of His omnipotence, and smite his en- 
 emies with confusion. But when Jesus stood 
 before the Sanhedrim, and all the power of the 
 nation was arrayed against Him, the last hope 
 of Peter took its flight, and he began to be in 
 doubt. He- followed his Master, with tottering 
 steps, over the threshold of the open gate, that 
 led to the courtyard, and set his feet on the 
 scene of judgment. The damsel who kept the 
 door, holding up the lantern to his face, regard- 
 ed him with a look of suspicion, as though she 
 
132 THE VOICE OF SACEED TRIPLES. 
 
 knew him. To escape recognition, he turned 
 partially aside, and hurried on as quickly as 
 possible. The soldiers had kindled a fire, and 
 were crowding around it ; and Peter, with a 
 careless mien, as if only anxious to warm him- 
 self, took his place among them. This was the 
 act by which he committed himself j and it was 
 perfectly inexcusable. The Lo^d had solemnly 
 warned him that he would be guilty of deny- 
 ing Him that night. And it was not wise, — it 
 was not justifiable, that he should thus cast 
 himself into the furnace of temptation. Our 
 safety consists in neither compromising, nor 
 temporizing. We should resolve not to be found 
 in such society. We should be. able to say with 
 David, " I will not know a wicked person ; " and 
 with Jacob, " my soul, come not thou into 
 their secret ; unto their assembly, mine honor 
 be not thou united." It was while seated among 
 the servants in the hall that a damsel accused 
 him of associating with the prisoner ; and he 
 denied before them all saying, "I know not 
 what thou sayest." Scarcely had he time to con- 
 gratulate himself on the success of his evasion, 
 
THE THREE CHOSEN DISCIPLES. 133 
 
 before another maid saw him, and said unto 
 them that were there, " This- fellow was also 
 with Jesus of Nazareth. Then he denied with 
 an oath, I do not know the man. After a while 
 came unto him they that stood by, and said to 
 Peter, Surely thou art also one of this man's 
 disciples ; for thy speech bewrayeth thee." 
 Now all the energy of his soul was roused to 
 repeat the denial, cursing and swearing, " I 
 know not the man." One falsehood necessitated 
 another, and led to oaths and curses. But the 
 more violently he protested, the more certain 
 were the mercenaries that they were not mis- 
 taken. The Roman clarion, with its echoes, 
 greeted the morn. The cocks were crowing 
 aloft through the yet sleeping city. Their shrill 
 tones were heard in the palace. And no male- 
 factor condemned to suffer execution, for the 
 violated laws of his country,, ever heard the 
 prison bell strike the last hour of his existence, 
 with half the agony of feeling with which that 
 terrible cock-crowing rang through the ears of 
 the fallen disciple. It pierced like a dart the 
 soul of that guilty man, who staggered about, 
 
134 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 restless and fugitive, like a stricken and chased 
 deer. 
 
 There is an alarmist of sonie kind or other 
 q,ddressed to us all. The broad field of Keve- 
 lation presents appeals to eveiiy passion of our 
 nature, — hope and fear, joy and sorrow, honor 
 and disgrace. The Spirit and the Bride lift up 
 their voice, in tones of authority and admoni- 
 tion, to repent, and do our first works, and 
 cleave to the Lord. Providence echoes a warn- 
 ing note, in the sickness that wastes our frame, 
 the sorrow that gnaws our heart, the withered 
 joy, and the blighted hope ; all tell lis that we 
 are creatures of a day, quivering like aspen 
 leaves on the tree of mortality. Did we hear 
 these voices aright, and harden not our hearts, 
 we should recognize the voice of the Lord, and 
 weep bitterly. 
 
 " The Lord turned, and looked upon Peter." 
 This was enough. There were volumes in that 
 look, that needed no interpreter. The Saviour 
 uttered not a word, breathed not a syllable, 
 lifted not a finger, but turned and looked. It 
 was a piercing, penetrating look, that sent home 
 
THE THREE CHOSEN DISCIPLES. 135 
 
 the arrow of conviction and repentance, with 
 assured success. It was a look of painful re- 
 membrance, reviving faded recollections, and 
 calUng instantly to his mind the word of the 
 Lord, which said, " Before the cock crow thou 
 shalt deny me thrice." It was. a look of inex- 
 pressible power and gentle condemnation, act- 
 ing as a sword to wound, and a balm to heal. 
 It was a look of full and free forgiveness, and 
 brought back to the fold of the good Shepherd 
 the erring sheep. The moment that eye of ten- 
 derness and love met the fallen disciple's, it 
 melted his heart to contrition, and forthwith 
 gushed a flood of tears, which a quick and 
 hasty step could hardly conceal from the mock- 
 ing gaze of surrounding foes. The Lord's dy- 
 ing and loving look melts stony hearts, — 
 
 The Saviour hanging on the tree, 
 
 In agonies and blood, 
 Methought once turned His eyes on me, 
 
 As near His cross I stood. 
 
 Sure never till my latest breath 
 
 Can I forget that look ; 
 It seemed to charge me with His death, 
 
 Though not a word He spoke.. 
 
136 THE VOICE OF SACEED JKIPLES. 
 
 A second look He gave, which said, 
 
 I freely all forgive ; 
 This blood is for thy ransom paid ; 
 I die that thou may'st live. 
 
 Meet the pitying eye of Jesus with confidence 
 and love. The upward glance of your eye may 
 be imploring ; but the downward beaming of 
 His eye will be forgiving. Other eyes may be 
 closed, or withdrawn ; the eye of the Lord rests 
 on you ever, with ineflfable delight and unslum- 
 bering affection. 
 
 We hear no more of Peter tUl the morning 
 of the resurrection. The interval was a period 
 of bitter grief It is said that* a tear glistened 
 in his eye as long as he lived. The remem- 
 brance of his fall never left him, and his sin- 
 cere contrition reinstated him in the confidence 
 of his friends. He was tardy in visiting " the 
 place where the Lord lay," because his previous 
 treachery hung hke weights on* his feet. But 
 when he reached the tomb, his* indomitable en- 
 ergy naturally returned, and took him at once 
 into the sepulchre, while the timid and affection- 
 ate John had only sufficient courage to stoop 
 down, and look in from the outside. 
 
THE THREE CHOSEN DISCIPLES. 137 
 
 The period soon arrived for our Blessed Lord 
 to ascend to His Father, and He addressed to 
 St. Peter the charge, " Feed my sheep." Obe- 
 dient to the commission, he preached, in the 
 Jewish Metropolis, Jesus and the resurrection. 
 Everywhere, and to all, he spake with a firm- 
 ness that nothing could subdue, and with a 
 boldness that none could awe. The fruits of 
 his labors were abundant. Three thousand of 
 his audience, at the Pentecost, cried, " Men and 
 brethren, what shall we do ? " His fame spread 
 far and wide : and if his shadow fell on the 
 sick, as he passed along the streets of Jerusa- 
 lem, they were immediately healed. 
 
 To St. Peter was awarded the honor of open- 
 ing the door of the church for the admission of 
 the Gentiles ; and nobly did he carry into exe- 
 cution the work assigned him. But the crown 
 of martyrdom was his recompense. He was cru- 
 cified at Rome, with his head downwards, about 
 thirty-three years after the death of his Lord 
 and Master. One can hardly contemplate the 
 stormy evening that closed th-e earthly career 
 of this eminent Apostle, without offering the 
 
138 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 petition^ Prom the bitter pains of martyrdom, 
 good Lord deliver us. We would like, if it be 
 the will of our heavenly Father, that the angel 
 of death should visit us in hjs gentlest mood ; 
 and that when we hear the rustling of his wings 
 at our side, we may be equipped for the flight, 
 and chant as we ascend, and nielt as we chant, 
 into heaven's own light. 
 
 The two brothers, James and John, were 
 brought up in the same little town of Beth- 
 saida that gave birth to St. Peter. The place 
 of their nativity formed the scene of many of 
 our Saviour's miracles, where He so generously 
 diffused the blessings of His hands. It was on 
 behalf of these sons of Zebedee, that their 
 mother went to Christ, worshipping Him, and 
 desiring a certain thing of Him. " And He 
 said unto her, What wilt thou ? She saith unto 
 Him, Grant that these my twO sons may sit, 
 the one on thy right hand, and the other on 
 the left in thy kingdom." Of the subsequent 
 history of St. James, much indeed is not said. 
 He was present at the Ascension, and was the 
 first of the twelve Apostles who suffered mar- 
 
THE THEEE CHOSEN DISCIPLES. 139 
 
 tyrdom for the testimony of 'Jesus. This was 
 the James that was killed by the sword. The 
 ambitious popularity of Herod Agrippa caused 
 him to be seized and executed in the city of 
 Jerusalem. The all-atoning Saviour, whom he 
 confessed before the Jewish rabble, sustained 
 him in the conflict, and received his disembod- 
 ied spirit into the mansions of rest. 
 
 The beloved John was permitted to live to 
 a more extended age. In the year a. d. 97, 
 he was banished to the Isle of Patmos ; though 
 his exile from an earthly home, served only to 
 lift him nearer to a heavenly one. An inner 
 radiance was poured into his spirit that more 
 than compensated for his external night. God 
 made his afflictions beautiful, by weaving 
 through them the rainbow of His mercy and 
 love. The Church was sitting in sackcloth and 
 ashes ; and the courts of the sanctuary were 
 -wet with the tears, and red with the blood, of 
 the holiest of her sons : but the Lord who 
 reigned supreme, cleared the darkened sky, and 
 opened up to His servant John the visions 
 of her future triumph, which made the barren 
 
140 THE VOICE OP SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 Patmos a scene of richer manifestations than the 
 glories of Tabor. Thus the darkest cloud was 
 fringed with celestial lustre ; and the calamity 
 which threatened to be most crushing, unbos- 
 omed by degrees its latent mercies. After the 
 death of Domitian, the Apostle returned from 
 exile, and visited the churches. Jerome says, 
 that when he was weakened by age, and unable 
 to walk, his disciples carried Jiim ; and as his 
 voice faltered, his constantly repeated injunc- 
 tion was, " My dear children, love one another." 
 St. John was a personification of love. He 
 was a sample of that benignant piety which pro- 
 pitiates affection, and unites the brotherhood. 
 It is scarcely possible to peryse his writings, 
 without feeling ourselves in contact with amen- 
 ity and benevolence, beyond the usual attain- 
 ments of flesh and blood. Good-will to man, 
 and love to the Master, are seen welling out 
 in every page. The placidity and gentleness 
 of his communications look as if his heart 
 had never cooled since it lay on the Saviour's 
 bosom. Like as when we look into the unruffled 
 bay, and discern through its sleeping waters 
 
THE THREE CHOSEN DISCIPLES. 141 
 
 the tender seaweed that scarcely waves in the 
 breezeless tide, we say, It is long since a storm 
 was here : for if there had been a recent tem- 
 pest, though the surface might by this time be 
 smooth, yet the brine would be muddy, and the 
 sea-plants would be tangled and torn ; so when 
 we look into St. John's pellucid pages, we be- 
 hold such meekness and love shining through 
 them that we irresistibly feel, Blessed man ! 
 it is long since the last gust of passion ruflBed 
 thy tranquil breast. Whatever agitations once 
 convulsed it, they have been lulled to sleep. 
 The beloved disciple's privilege was to live near 
 the Saviour ; and the nearer he got to Him, the 
 more beautifully he reflected His likeness ; till 
 at length he became so identified with his as- 
 cended Lord, that we are reminded not so much 
 of John, as of Christ Himself 
 
 We can recall occasions in our history, when 
 we have sat at the open lattice, on a balmy 
 summer's day, and the wandering breeze wafted 
 in a freight of some pleasant odor ; and as it 
 spread richly around, and drowned us with de- 
 light, we wondered what it was, and whence it 
 
142 THE VOICE OF SACEED TRIPLES. 
 
 came, till we recognized the scent of some favor- 
 ite flower, that blossomed not far away. And 
 there have been moments of surprisals, when 
 we have been equally beguiled with the society 
 of persons, in whom the Spirit of the Redeemer 
 breathes. Our souls have been happy, and we 
 have scarcely known why, till we remembered 
 the open lattice, and the Rose of Sharon hard 
 by ; and as the south wind was fleeting past, 
 why should not the spices flow ? Such une- 
 quivocal outgoings of loveliness and aSection 
 from renewed souls, afford the noblest spectacle, 
 upon which to rest our admira.tion, in this false 
 and deceitful world. It is the religion of grace 
 that makes one gracious ; and the raiment of 
 needlework, in its graceful arrangements, and 
 colors, and perfume, which suggest to us the 
 ivory palaces, and the fields, which the Lord 
 hath blessed. But in order to be loved, we 
 must be lovable. We must have not only grace 
 in the heart, but grace in the lips, and the 
 beauty of holiness in the life. 
 
 There was a notion current among the Jews 
 that St. John was never to die. It arose from 
 
THE THKEE CHOSEN DISCIPLES. 143 
 
 a misunderstanding of our Lord's words, — " If 
 I will that lie tarry till I come, what is that to 
 thee ? Yet Jesus said not unto him, he shall 
 not die, but if I will that he tarry till I come, 
 what is that to thee ? " There is reason to be- 
 lieve that he died in the city of Ephesus, about 
 the beginning of the second cefltury. The last 
 thirty years of his life were th.e most eventful 
 i;n the Church's history. It was during this 
 period that all the Apostles, except himself, 
 were removed from the world, and their flocks 
 committed to their successors. His own little 
 circle of sympathy and attachment had been 
 broken up. St. Peter was crucified at Eome ; 
 James was slain with the sword, at Jerusalem ; 
 and John was ready to breathe his last in the 
 city of Ephesus. 
 
 The three disciples were so many bright 
 specimens of Christianity, of whom the world 
 was not worthy. They were natives of the 
 same town, brought up to the same calling, 
 and possessed excellencies in common, which 
 attached them to the Lord, and to each other. 
 Neither of them was wanting in any of the 
 
144 
 
 THE VOICE OF SACEED* TRIPLES. 
 
 fruits of the Spirit, though each exhibited some 
 feature of the Christian character more promi- 
 nently than the others. If Peter was impulsive 
 and energetic, James was calin and collected, 
 and John was affectionate. 
 
 This little band of brothers is presented to 
 our view for imitation. They were eminently 
 Christ-loving disciples, — with Christ, for Christ, 
 on the side of Christ, and fighting for His cause. 
 " Be ye followers of them who through faith and 
 patience inherit the promises." Try and catch 
 their mantle. Fear not to adhere to Jesus too 
 closely ; nor to rejoice in Him too much. Let 
 the love of God your Saviour flow in a full tide 
 upon your cold and wintry souls ; and it will 
 cause them to burst into blossom, and fruit, and 
 beauty. Christ's love is the balm of life. His 
 presence the antidote of death. His glory the 
 joy of heaven. 
 
THE THKEE TEMPTATIONS. 
 
 The infinite Jehovah appears, in the person 
 of Christ, in softened splendor. He is as the 
 sun shining behind a thin cloud, which, while it 
 neither conceals nor obscures, enables us to 
 contemplate Him with calmnfess and spiritual 
 profit. It is no less as man, than as God, that 
 Jesus is suited to our fallen race. If it were 
 necessary that He should be Almighty, in 
 order to redeem ; it was also important that He 
 should be all-merciful in order to sympathize. 
 "Made," therefore, "in aU things like unto His 
 brethren, that He might be a faithful and 
 merciful High -Priest, He was tempted in all 
 points like as we are, yet without sin." The 
 various species of assault that bore so heavily 
 upon Him, from beneath and around, left Him 
 untainted, and untouched in every particular. 
 The world, the flesh and the devil, could find 
 
 10 
 
146 THE VOICE OF SACRED' TRIPLES. 
 
 nothing in Him that was combustible; because 
 He was that Holy thing, begotten of the Spirit 
 of God. Neither the thought, nor the propen- 
 sity of evil could find an entrance into His 
 spotless mind. He felt no lusting of the flesh 
 against the spirit, nor the slightest injection of 
 unhallowed desire. All that the enemy could 
 do against a heart so pure, was to propose ex- 
 ternal temptation to the senses, to ensnare and 
 beguile. Accordingly, we read of one of the 
 most daring attacks upon unoffending inno- 
 cence, unsurpassed in the ai^nals of history; 
 one of the most wonderful and beneficial com- 
 bats ever known, and one of the most glorious 
 conquests ever achieved. 
 
 The Saviour had just received the Holy 
 Rite of Baptism on the banks of the Jordan. 
 He had just fulfilled all righteousness, and 
 secured for that sacred Institution the appro- 
 bation of the Trinity. He had now made a 
 preparation for the commencement of the pub- 
 he duties of His ministry ; and, being full of 
 fhe Holy Ghost, retired into the wilderness, to 
 mature, by prayer and fasting, the arrangements 
 
THE THREE TEMPTATIONS. 147 
 
 for the establishment of His kingdom, which 
 should prove the ruin of His adversary. In 
 that rugged and lonely desert; the Son of God 
 endured a wonderful and supernatural fast, in 
 which, for forty days, He ate nothing. Fasting 
 was a part of the plan of redemption, to which 
 He had devoted His Ufe. It was a mean to an 
 end, which He assiduously improved, in antici- 
 pation of the solemn scenes that were about to 
 follow. Released from the toils of Nazareth, 
 the Holy Jesus found a sacred occupation amid 
 dry ravines, and staring precipices ; the haunt 
 of the satyr, and the nest of the vulture. At 
 the time He thus entered upon the duties of 
 His mission. He entered upon its penalties and 
 pains. The cup of suffering which He filled to 
 the brim, He afterwards drank to its dregs ; 
 and the cross which was placed upon His 
 shoulders. He bore contentedly, till He planted 
 it, as a tree of life, on the summit of Calvary. 
 During the six long weeks of His sojourn in 
 the wilderness, the absorption of His mind 
 ruade Him independent of the body ; and 
 having fasted forty days, and forty nights, He 
 
148 THE VOICE OP SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 was afterward an hungred. At this particular 
 juncture, Satan assailed Him with a series of 
 temptations, artfully concerted for the purpose 
 of defeating His work. 
 
 The Temptation in the wilderness was de- 
 signed to create distrust of the Father's good- 
 ness. "If thou be the Son of God," said the 
 tempter, " command that these stones be made 
 bread." It is probable the arch-fiend had either 
 heard directly himself, or through some of his 
 emissaries, the miraculous attestation of the 
 Sonship of the Messiah, vouchsafed at His bap- 
 tism. And now he approached Him to ascer- 
 tain His identity, to sift His pretensions, and 
 to overthrow by stratagem the glorious enter- 
 prise, which Christ came to accomplish. The 
 question, with which he plied the Saviour, in 
 this emergency, was plausibly and adroitly pre- 
 sented, implying that if He sustained so exalted 
 a relationship to the Godhead, He had power 
 to work a miracle on His own behalf, and that 
 a fitting opportunity was now aflbrded to try 
 that power, and prove His divinity. It was as 
 if he had said, You are hungry and destitute, 
 
THE THREE TEMPTATIONS. 149 
 
 and yet the Son of God; demonstrate your 
 right to the title, by converting these stones 
 into bread, to satisfy your wants ; speak the 
 word, and spread for yourself a table in the 
 wilderness, and thus place the matter beyond 
 further dispute. There was no lack of art and 
 subtilty in the mode of reasoning of the prince 
 of darkness, who was endeavoring " to keep his 
 goods in peace." Had it been complied with, 
 it would have stopped the bread of heaven in 
 its descent; and the world of hungry, starving 
 souls would have been left to pine and perish. 
 Whether the keen adversary came as an angel 
 of light, "the aged man in rural weeds," or "the 
 old man, his devotions singing," whom an early 
 poet represents as "lowting low with prone 
 obeisance and curtsey kind," the whole of his 
 argument was such as might naturally be ex- 
 pected from a being of such intellect and wick- 
 edness, as the devil in disguise. But Jesus, 
 with a majesty and authority that became His 
 sacred character, rejected the counsel, and 
 allowing the stones to remain stones, said, " It 
 is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, 
 
150 THE VOICE OF SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 but by every word that proceedeth. out of the 
 mouth of God." The foe was baffled by the 
 artillery of Holy Writ, against which his machi- 
 nations have ever been directed to impair its 
 efficacy. The lowly Jesus could have foiled 
 His assailant, with triumphant success, by draw- 
 ilig from the treasury of His own mind. There 
 were resources Avithin Himself apart from the 
 testimony of Scripture, sufficient to repel the 
 dart, with a fearful rebound. But where, in 
 that case, would have been our encouragement, 
 when grappling with similar conflicts? How 
 could we imitate His example, in the absence 
 of such weapons to wield ? The Saviour con- 
 sulted the welfare of His people, in all that 
 befell Him. The servant can now draw from 
 the same armory as his Master, with the same 
 favorable results. There is no temptation, but 
 may be met and vanquished by the sword of 
 the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The 
 feeblest of the flock is invincible, when girded 
 with truth. Does your " adversary, the devil, 
 who goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking 
 whom he may devour," suggest the staff of 
 
THE THKEE TEMPTATIONS. 151 
 
 bread as the prime necessity? Does he pro- 
 pose the adoption of unchristian methods, in 
 order to procure it? Does he insinuate doubts 
 and suspicions of the Divine goodness and 
 mercy ? Suspect treachery in his whispers. 
 Be not ignorant of his devices,, Have recourse 
 to the fountain of wisdom in the written word, 
 till God shall bruise Satan under your feet, and 
 comfort you with the fulness of His grace. 
 
 There are yearnings of the soul that can 
 never be satisfied with bread alone, — capacities 
 of the mind, which the finite cannot fill, and 
 aspirations and claims which the world's pro- 
 vision fails to reach. There is an inner life, 
 not visible to the eye, nor audible to the ear, 
 nor apparent to the senses, the cravings of 
 which demand that it should be nurtured with 
 that higher and spiritual bread, which cometh 
 down from heaven. The remonstrance, with 
 which the Saviour bids us welcome to the bread, 
 which feeds the soul, and the water, which 
 allays its thirst, is, " Why spend ye money for 
 that which is not bread, and your labor for that 
 which satisfieth not ? Hearken diligently unto 
 
152 THE VOICE OP SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 me, and eat ye that which is good, and let 
 your soul delight itself in fatness." The bread 
 and water of life are the most precious things 
 of heaven, and, by virtue of the mediation of 
 Christ, are the freest and most accessible. They 
 are like the rain-freighted clouds, which drop 
 their fatness according to no geographical lim- 
 its, but dispense their treasures to the needy 
 of every land. And in whatever latitude and 
 clime the inner life is thus sustained, it will 
 develop its attributes, and flourish in prosperity, 
 and adversity. 
 
 The Temptation, that assailed Christ from the 
 pinnacle of the temple, was to daring presump- 
 tion. "The devil taketh Him up into the Holy 
 City, and setteth Him on a pinnacle of the 
 temple, and saith unto Him, If thou be the 
 Son of God, cast thyself down : for it is written, 
 He shall give His angels charge concerning 
 thee, and in their hands they shall bear thee 
 up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against 
 a stone." The deceiver misquoted this passage 
 from the Psalms, intentionally omitting the 
 clause, " to keep thee in all thy ways," as 
 
THE THREE TEMPTATK)NS. 153 
 
 unsuited to his purpose. The passage was 
 cited by him, as a general promise of safety in 
 all ways, whether of duty, or foUy. 
 
 The sacred historian does not inform us, 
 whether Christ was conveyed to the Holy City 
 by supernatural means, or walked there of His 
 own accord. Certainly there is no proof, that 
 Satan had power to place Him there. The 
 word translated, " taketh Him up," signifies no 
 such thing. It simply means to conduct, to 
 lead, to attend, to accompany, or, induce one to 
 go. It is so employed in several places in the 
 New Testament. "Jesus going up to Jerusa- 
 lem, took the twelve disciples apart;" "And 
 after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and 
 John." From these, and kindred texts, it would 
 appear that Satan conducted, or accompanied 
 Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple. The 
 allusion is, probably, to that part of the temple, 
 called Solomon's Porch. That sacred edifice 
 was surrounded with porches and turrets, sev- 
 enty-five feet in height. There was a pinnacle 
 on the south side, that towered above the main 
 body of the building a hundred and fifty feet. 
 
154 THE VOICE OF SACEED TRIPLES. 
 
 From the top of this to the bottom of the 
 valley below, exceeded the distance of seven 
 hundred feet. It was doubtless on this dizzy 
 eminence, that our Lord and Master stood. 
 Satan also stood beside Him, and proposed that 
 He should cast himself down. Was ever a 
 proposition so wickedly auda'cious? And as 
 if to render the descent the more certain, he 
 alleged, that nothing could hurt Him ; for the 
 angels had been charged to bear Him grace- 
 fully up in their arms, and cause Him to alight 
 softly. Need it be affirmed, how remote from 
 the disposition of the Saviour would have been 
 such a demonstration ? " The kingdom of 
 heaven cometh not with observation." Christ 
 made no ostentatious display before a wonder- 
 ing people; and any feat of that sort, which 
 pandered to the taste of the marvellous, would 
 have been out of unison with the lowly minis- 
 try, upon which He was entering. With one 
 volition. He could have commanded the attend- 
 ance of more than twelve legions of angels, 
 who hasten to do His will on earth, as they do 
 it in heaven. But He wrought no miracles for 
 
THE THREE TEMPTATIONS. 155 
 
 His own benefit, and was now contending with 
 the enemy, in a manner, that should afford us 
 an example, when plunged into perilous situa- 
 tions of exposure and trial. 
 
 The guardianship of angels is a solace to the 
 children of sorrow, in the path of duty and per- 
 plexity, though it was never meant to extend 
 to any persons, who trifle with the promised 
 helps, by recklessness and presumption. Upon 
 the proflFered care of our heavenly Father we 
 cannot rely too simply, or exclusively, when 
 serving Him, in the way of His, commandments ; 
 and we may confidently calculate on a glorious 
 and triumphant result. But if the course we 
 pursue lie not within the domain of truth, and 
 Christian consistency, we only advance to a 
 certain and ignoble defeat. 
 
 The most slippery steps of life are places of 
 safety, when trodden in the providence of God. 
 Those whom He calls into circumstances of trial 
 and danger. He will interpose.- to protect. To 
 the tempter He says, " Thus far shalt thou go, 
 and no farther." Satan's power is limited. Had 
 he possessed the ability to compel our Lord to 
 
156 THE VOICE OF SACEED TKIPLES. 
 
 cast Himself from the pinnacle of the temple, 
 he would assuredly have done so, and not have 
 suffered defeat. The want of power to accom- 
 plish his object, by coercion, still cleaves to him; 
 and all he can do is, to entice, beguile, and 
 delude ; but not compel. Before he can succeed 
 with his blandishments, he must have the con- 
 sent of the human will. He may place you on 
 the pinnacle of danger, he may carry you to the 
 extreme verge of the precipice, he may dis- 
 course with flattering breath, and conjure up to 
 your imagination scenes of ecstasy and bliss; 
 but this is the limit of his range. The heart, 
 uplifted to heaven, is girded \^sith the strength 
 of resistance. The look to the sympathizing 
 Saviour turns the tide of battle, and insures the 
 victory. 
 
 The third Temptation, brought to bear upon 
 our blessed Lord, was to gross and wicked 
 idolatry. He is transferred from the pinnacle 
 of the temple, to the top of an exceeding high 
 mountain. What mountain, we are not in- 
 formed. It was, probably, one of the most ele- 
 vated in the vicinity of Jerusalem, from the 
 
THE THREE TEMPTATIONS. 157 
 
 summit of -which could be seen no small part 
 of the land of Israel. The prophet Moses, 
 before his death, was commanded to go up to 
 the top of Mount Nebo, and God showed him 
 " all the land of Gilead unto Dan, and all Naph- 
 tali, and the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, 
 and all the land of Judah unto the utmost sea, 
 and the south, and the plain of the valley of 
 Jericho, and the city of palm-trees unto Zoar." 
 Whether the prince of the power of the air 
 selected Nebo, or Mount Tabor, from which to 
 open up the vision of unbounded scenery is 
 quite immaterial. The latitude allowed by the 
 literal interpretation of the words of the in- 
 spired historian, would lead us to the conclu- 
 sion, that it was a mountain of great eminence, 
 commanding an extensive prospect, where the 
 evil one made to pass before the eye of Christ 
 an exhibition of " all the kingdoms of the world, 
 and the glory of them." All were spread out 
 in their extent and proportion ; in their flower 
 and beauty ; in their pride and glory. Moun- 
 tain and plain, river and valley, city and villa, 
 schools of wisdom, and laurels of fame ; impe- 
 
158 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 rial saloons and sumptuous banquets ; all that 
 was beautiful in Natiu-e and magnificent in 
 Art ; all that the eye covets or the imagination 
 conceives ; all the perishable jpys of earth were 
 brought forth in their most* glowing colors, 
 dazzling with the bright and sparkling hues, 
 that sparkle over them. The picture was 
 drawn with a masterly hand, and presented to 
 Christ as a gorgeous scene. All these are 
 mine, said the tempter, and "aU these wiU I 
 give thee, if thou wUt fall down and worship 
 me." Oh, the horrible audacity of that fallen 
 spirit ! Who but the incarnate Son of the 
 Eternal, could escape from such a fiery trial, 
 untainted by the ebullition of indignant pas- 
 sion? The meekest saint upon earth would 
 have been tempted to speak unadvisedly with 
 his lips. That monstrous proposal was a bolder 
 attack than any that had been offered. It was 
 a deadly thrust at the Saviour's divinity. The 
 Son of God worship the devil? Was ever wick- 
 edness so unexampled ? " Gefe thee behind me, 
 Satan," fell like a thunderbolt on his guilty 
 head ; " for it is written, thou shalt worship the 
 
THE THREE TEMPTATIONS. 159 
 
 Lord thy God, and Him only ahalt thou serve." 
 If the old serpent had any doubts before of the 
 Godhead of Christ, he had none now. And 
 like a storm-cloud, driven away by the wind, 
 " the devil left Him, and behold angels came 
 and ministered unto Him." Once more the 
 Holy Jesus found himself in a calm, restored 
 to His native element, and Surrounded with 
 aflfectionate intelligences, who ever worship 
 before Him. 
 
 The proffered bribe, "all these will I give 
 thee," is still the bait by which the deceiver 
 acquires, one by one, through all time, and all 
 generations, his countless devotees. Around 
 and about us, he is industriously engaged, in 
 holding forth the same temptations and false 
 allurements. The wealth and vanity of the 
 world are the gilded toys, by which he seeks to 
 dazzle the vision, and to win the heart. But 
 these, his brightest gifts, are an empty pageant, 
 a deceitful show. Nor does the world really 
 belong to him. He holds only a fraudulent 
 occupancy, in a few dark corners of it. " The 
 earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof" 
 
160 THE VOICE OF SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 He created it, and furnislied it with life, and 
 the means of happiness. He upholds it by the 
 word of His power. His title to it, as Proprietor, 
 is perfect, and His right to its actual possession, 
 and to all its revenue, equally incontestable. 
 Never has He ceased to assert the validity of 
 His claim, and to signify His intention of prose- 
 cuting it upon a plan that is preeminently His 
 own, until it shall have been fully honored, in 
 the reclamation of His plundered premises. 
 
 The Spirit, and the Word of God are effective 
 agencies, in overcoming the wiles of the devil. 
 It was in the fulness of the Spirit, that Christ 
 entered the contest of grappling with the ad- 
 versary, and from the armory of the Spirit, 
 drew the weapon that put him to flight. We 
 are thus taught by His example, to live in the 
 Spirit, to walk in the Spirit, and to repose our 
 defence on the moral influence of the sword of 
 the Spirit, upon our choice and conduct. There 
 is enough in the written Word, when employed 
 in humble dependence on the Holy Spirit's aid, 
 to carry us through every conflict, and make us 
 "more than conquerors, througli Him that loved 
 
THE THREE TEMPTATIONS. 161 
 
 US." The naked promise of the Spirit, apart 
 from the Word, through which He usually 
 operates, is not enough ; nor must we expect 
 that He will make use of this instrument on 
 our behalf, unless we are found diligently em- 
 ploying its prescriptions, in the way of His 
 requirements. 
 
 Our daily life is one contiuued warfare, in 
 which there can be no truce, no compromise, 
 and no exemption. " We wrestle not against 
 flesh and blood, but against principalities, against 
 powers, against the rulers of the darkness of 
 this world, against spiritual wickedness in high 
 places." We contend with the several ranks 
 of Satanic influence, invisible and impalpable, 
 whom success has made bold, and experience 
 sagacious. Every inch we yield, the enemy 
 gains; and every inch he gains, is an encourage- 
 ment to gain still more. Boldly must we resist 
 the tramp of his malignant fury, and vigorously 
 continue the warfare, till death proclaims the 
 deliverance and the victory. 
 
 u 
 
THE THREE MARYS AT THE CROSS. 
 
 It was a bright and beautiful day, when the 
 Son of the Highest travelled to the scene of 
 death. The birds carolled in the trees. The 
 fields were clothed in the gayety of spring at- 
 tire. The flowers loaded the air with fragrance. 
 The breeze whispered nothing but love. All 
 evinced tokens of rejoicing, save Jesus and his 
 sorrowing friends. The multitude that formed 
 the procession was a mixed one, consisting of 
 all sorts and conditions of men. Spears, and 
 helmets, and drawn swords, glittered in the 
 sunshine. Soldiers on foot, and on horses. 
 Scribes and Pharisees, Jews aijd Gentiles, high 
 and low, blended together in the crowd. Some 
 were following in the train, whose sick ones 
 Christ had healed, whose wounded hearts He 
 had comforted, and on whose pathway of dark- 
 ness He had shed the light of heaven. They 
 lifted up their voices in sympathy with His suf- 
 
THE THREE MARYS AT THE CROSS. 163 
 
 ferings and wept. The Lord of Glory turned 
 to them and said, " Weep not for mC;, but weep 
 for yourselves and your children." His all- 
 prescient eye could discern in the distance the 
 dreadful malediction, which the infuriated popu- 
 lace were bringing down upon themselves, in 
 the form of a foreign invasion,- which would lay 
 in ruins both their city and temple. 
 
 The hill-top is reached. Now mark what 
 takes place on that eminence. Rude and bru- 
 tal men oiFer the Holy One of Israel a stupe- 
 fying potion. But He disdains the draught, 
 choosing to submit to the will of His Father 
 in the full consciousness of His faculties. They 
 proceed to tear the clothes from His sacred 
 body, and leave Him only His crown of thorns. 
 They lay Him down on the wood, on which He 
 is to bleed. They stretch His arms along the 
 timber, with the palms of the- hands upturned. 
 They take the hammer, and iron spikes, and 
 lo ! there is a silence pervading the crowd, — 
 a deep, solemn, profound silence, similar to that 
 which is felt in the house of mourning, when 
 the coffin is screwed down. The silence is bro- 
 
164 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 ken, and there is heard blow after blow through 
 the quivering tendons of that sacred frame. 
 How harshly they thunder upon the ear, testi- 
 fying in horrible language the demerit of sin. 
 But, blessed be God, there is mercy in the se- 
 verest dispensation. There is' light behind the 
 darkest cloud. Those nails pierced the hand- 
 writing that was against us, and fulfilled the 
 prediction of the Psalmist, " They pierced my 
 hands, and my feet." And those pierced hands, 
 and bleeding feet are the source of our great- 
 est blessings. They are the wounded members 
 of an Almighty Saviour, who loved us, and 
 gave Himself for us. 
 
 The cross is raised erect, and jerked into the 
 ground. The Saviour is lifted up from the 
 earth, to draw all men unto Him. The place 
 of torture is bedewed with a crimson stream 
 that works marvels. The Lion of the tribe of 
 Judah bleeds, that He may overthrow and con- 
 quer. He consents to be clothed with ignomy, 
 that He might beget our liberty. He empties 
 the cup "of wrath, that He might fill it with 
 blessings. 
 
THE THREE MARYS AT tAe CROSS. 165 
 
 In the outskirts of the assembled throng 
 there is an estimable little group, that meets 
 the eye like a benignant constellation in the 
 darkness of night. They are a band of pious 
 women, distressed mourners, viewing afar oflF. 
 But the cords of love are drawing them to the 
 cross. Love, strong as death, is impelling them 
 onward. They are pushing their way through 
 the sons of Belial, to be close on the spot. 
 Earth has but few , charms for them now. It 
 is a thorny and thirsty soil, where the flowers 
 of Paradise bloom only to wither. They had 
 embarked their all in the Crucified One, and 
 are anxious to show their heartfelt sympathy 
 and veneration for the sufferer; Of the world's 
 contumely and scorn they have no dread. The 
 weak maintain their ground, while the strong 
 have fled. The timid conquer, while the heroes 
 despair. And now these faithful souls stand by 
 the cross, the personification of love, which 
 many waters cannot quench, nor the floods 
 drown. 
 
 We recognize in the group, the most blessed 
 among women, the sorely tried mother of our 
 
166 THE VOICE OF SACRED TEIPLES. 
 
 Lord, in whom Simeon's prophecy is fulfilled, 
 " A sword shall pierce through thine own soul 
 also." She had probably no presentiment that 
 it would be accomplished in this manner. Yet 
 she stands, with tottering steps, to see the end. 
 She beholds the drooping head, the brow wrung 
 with anguish, and the quivering lip. She sees 
 the warm blood gushing, and hears the cry of 
 His distress, under the hidings of His heavenly 
 Father's countenance. Though she can offer 
 no relief, her maternal solicitude wiU not per- 
 mit her to withdraw from the spot. The gold 
 is in the crucible, and the Eefiner himself is at 
 hand, alleviating and adjusting the trial to the 
 burdened heart. Her Son dies, with all the 
 earthly connection, in which she had hitherto 
 stood in relation to Him. But she views Him 
 by faith as the Lord and Prince of a kingdom, 
 which shall never be moved. She looks upon 
 the infant of days as the Ancient of days, — the 
 Light of the world as sustaining .an eclipse, — the 
 Sun of Righteousness as setting in the shades 
 of death, to rise in glory, as the Resurrection 
 and the Life. The words that He had spoken 
 
THE THEEE MARYS AT THE CROSS. 167 
 
 unto her respecting the necessity of His suffer- 
 ings, and the glory that should follow, now 
 caused her to realize more fully the spirit and 
 meaning of her own splendid Magnificat, " My 
 soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath 
 rejoiced in God, my Saviour. For He hath re- 
 garded the low estate of His handmaiden : for 
 behold, from henceforth all generations shall 
 call me blessed. Tor He that is mighty hath 
 magnified me, and holy is His name. And His 
 mercy is on them that fear Him throughout all 
 generations." 
 
 Of the richness and fulness of His mercy. 
 He had just given a most convincing demon- 
 stration, in His regard to the repentant malefac- 
 tor, who was expiring at His side. And is it 
 presumption to hope, that, in the sublime situa- 
 tion which He occupies on the cross. He wiU 
 condescend to notice His mother, and open His 
 gracious lips to give her one parting word ? 
 The eye of His love has not yet ceased to rest 
 on her. She has still a place in His heart, amid 
 the cares of the world's redemption. With a 
 look of sublime tranquillity, peculiar only to 
 
168 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 Himself He points her to the disciple whom 
 He loved, and says, " Woman, behold thy 
 Son ; " and to John, He says, " Behold thy 
 mother." Those blessed accents carried bahn 
 to the wounded heart. The tones of that fami- 
 har voice, and the peaceful e;;spression of His 
 eye were as if He said, Mother, I leave you, 
 but I only go to my Father's happy abode " to 
 prepare a place for you ; and if I go and pre- 
 pare a place for you, I will come again and re- 
 ceive you unto myself, that where I am, there 
 ye may be also." In the mean while I commit 
 you to the care of John, who will cheer your 
 mournful hours, and become your support and 
 solace. Give him my place, as a son, in your 
 holy love ; and his whole soul will repay the 
 confidence reposed in him, as he calls you 
 mother. From that hour, that disciple took 
 her unto his own home. Joseph, her husband, 
 had fallen asleep, and John thenceforth took 
 her under his special care and protection, hap- 
 py to possess in her an object, toward whom he 
 could manifest the gratitude and affection he 
 felt for his Lord. It may seem strange that the 
 
THE THKEE MARYS AT THE CROSS. 169 
 
 Saviour, in speaking to Mary, should have made 
 use of the cold and distant word " Woman." But 
 the form of address was common, and perfectly 
 respectful. The word in ancient Greek is equiv- 
 alent to Lady, and in Hebrew to Mistress. And 
 as He was just preparing to ascend to the 
 throne of the Eternal Majesty, as King of kings, 
 and Lord of lords. He endeavored to elevate 
 her mind above the sphere of merely human 
 conception, to that infinitely higher region, 
 where all earthly relations are merged into the 
 spiritual. He was henceforth to be her priest, 
 and Lord, and she was to honor and adore Him 
 as one of His daughters. The mode of expres- 
 sion was therefore not likely to wound her al- 
 ready bleeding heart, by exciting unnecessa- 
 rily a storm of human emotion, which the word 
 mother, would be apt to produce. It also saved 
 her from exposure to the rudeness of the sur- 
 rounding rabble. Mother, brother, and sister, 
 are designations applicable to all who love our 
 Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and in truth. 
 " Who is my mother, and who are my breth- 
 ren ? " said Christ. And stretching forth His 
 
170 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold 
 my mother, and my brethren ! For whoso- 
 ever shall do the will of my Father who is in 
 heaven, the same is my mother, and sister, and 
 brother." 
 
 The next time we hear of the Virgin Mary 
 was on the occasion of the disciples' return 
 from Mount Olivet, after the Ascension. She 
 met with them, in the large upper-room at Je- 
 rusalem, and united with the company in pour- 
 ing out her soul in prayer to her ascended Lord. 
 This is the last account we have of her in the 
 New Testament. If she survived any length- 
 ened period, she, probably, accompanied the 
 Apostle John, when he went to reside at Ephe- 
 sus, though it is more reasonable to conclude 
 that the Great Head of the Church, foreseeing 
 the difficulties that were gathering upon the 
 Jews, took her from the evil to come. " Blessed 
 art thou among women," is the appropriate 
 epitaph, which every Christian, would have in- 
 scribed on her tomb. 
 
 There were two other Marys at the Crucifix- 
 ion, whom the Evangelist particularly mentions. 
 
THE THEEE MAEYS AT T^E CROSS. 171 
 
 * Now there stood by the crogs of Jesus His 
 mother, and His mother's sister, Mary the wife 
 of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene." St. John 
 mentions Mary the wife of Cleophas as the sis- 
 ter, or relative of the Virgin. Her husband was 
 also called Alpheus, and was the father, as this 
 Mary was the mother, of James ; and Joses, and 
 Simon, and Judas, who are therefore called the 
 brethren, or kinsmen of our Lord. She had 
 the pleasure of seeing her children received 
 into the fellowship of the great Shepherd, and 
 usefully employed in His church. James was 
 for many years Pastor in Jerusalem, and was 
 indefatigably engaged in the discharge of his 
 sacred duties, when Saul visited the Metropolis, 
 after his conversion. He also presided in a 
 general council, held in the year of "our Lord 
 61, and was successful in controlling its de- 
 cision. He was the writer of the Epistle that 
 bears his name, — a rich legacy to the Church, 
 by which he, being dead, yet speaketh. These 
 brethren of our Lord may have been scattered 
 with the rest of the flock, when the sword fell 
 upon the Shepherd ; but their excellent mother 
 
172 THE VOICE OF SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 felt it her paramount duty to appear at the 
 cross in their absence, and by=her own fidelity 
 and cheerful service to cover their flight. 
 
 And lo ! there is Mary Magdalene sobbing 
 aloud, overwhelmed with grief, ready to die for 
 her Lord. She had experienced His delivering 
 power from a complication of maladies that 
 afflicted her. She had followed Him from-place 
 to place, to minister to Him Of her substance. 
 She attended Him in His last journey from Gal- 
 ilee to Jerusalem. And she is now at the foot 
 of the cross, with His mother, and His mother's 
 sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas. These faith- 
 ful Souls were not present with any view to His 
 •rescue ; but to show their sympathy, to observe 
 His behavior, to hear His dying expressions, 
 and to declare their steadfast adherence to Him 
 as devoted followers. They cling to Him, with 
 their love and hope, like ivy to a fallen tree. 
 Christ had been made of God unto them wis- 
 dom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemp- 
 tion. He had blessed them with all spiritual 
 blessings, in heavenly places. He was their life 
 — their all. The signs extraordinary, which 
 
THE THREE MARTS AT THE CROSS. 173 
 
 they have just witnessed, — ■ the darkness, the 
 rending rocks, and the quivering earth, — are 
 attestations of His divinity, that swell Hke a 
 favorable gale the sails of their hope afresh, 
 and encourage them to hold fast their confi- 
 dence, which hath great recompence of reward. 
 The Saviour has yielded up the ghost. Death 
 has spread his sable wings over the sufferers. 
 The gazing spectators have dispersed to their 
 homes. The winds of angry passion have sub- 
 sided to a calm. Solemn stillness broods over 
 the scene, hke a placid evening after the tur- 
 moil of a tempestuous day. The season of prep- 
 aration has arrived, and the Sabbath is draw- 
 ing on. Two honorable men, Joseph of Arimar 
 thea, and Nicodemus, who came to Jesus by 
 night, are intrusted with the interment of the 
 corpse. They have obtained permission from 
 the Governor to commence their mournful la- 
 bors. They fetch and plant a ladder against 
 the cross of the Prince of Peace, whose head 
 has fallen over upon His breast. As they pro- 
 ceed to ascend it, with reverential awe, they 
 feel as if they were mounting the steps of some 
 
174 THE VOICE OF SACEED TEEPLES. 
 
 sacred temple. Their minds are deeply affected 
 as they gaze on the lofty majesty that sits en- 
 throned on that pallid brow. They can scarcely 
 help thinking of what may yet come to pass 
 before three suns shall rise and set. Tenderly 
 and softly they draw the nails- from His hands 
 and feet. The precious corpse reclines upon 
 their shoulders, and they let it gently to the 
 gromid. Quietly it is conveyed to the grave, 
 without pomp or ceremony, attended by the 
 weeping Marys, and other courageous females, 
 who are anxious to see the place where His re- 
 mains are deposited. They at once tender their 
 services, — wash the blood from His sacred tem- 
 ples, and then return to prepare spices and 
 ointments. K Mary, the sister of Lazarus, were 
 there, she would remember the anointing which 
 He received at her hands in Bethany, and 
 which He declared was for the day of his burial. 
 The inanimate treasure is deposited in a rocky 
 sepulchre in Joseph's garden. The sun is cast- 
 ing his last rays upon it, and the evening twi- 
 light its cool shades. In this peaceful seclusion 
 the Holy One is to find His earthly resting- 
 
THE THREE MARTS AT THE CROSS. 175 
 
 place, till the predicted morn shall witness Him 
 bursting the barriers of the tomb as death's 
 conqueror. His burial service was chanted by 
 the prophet Isaiah many centuries before. 
 " And He made His grave with the wicked, and 
 with the rich in his death; because He had 
 done no violence, neither was guile found in 
 His mouth." 
 
 Early on Sunday morning, while it was yet 
 dark, the Marys were at the sepulchre, which 
 they foiuid vacated. The Lord had risen, and 
 become the first-fruits of them that slept. The 
 Easter dawn broke in beauty and blessing, giv- 
 ing the oil of joy for mourning, and the gar- 
 ment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Like- 
 wise should we reckon ourselves also to be dead 
 into sin, but alive unto God, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord. " If we be planted in the likeness of 
 His death, we shall be also in the likeness of 
 His resurrection." 
 
 The lesson inculcated by the position which 
 the three Marys occupied at the Crucifixion is 
 that the road to enduring happiness lies by the 
 way of the cross. The wondrous cross is full 
 
176 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 of blessings, — vast as the mind that procured 
 them, vast as the heart that bestows them. 
 View it in its offer of peace and pardon, bought 
 with blood. Bring to it body and spirit, as a 
 wiUing sacrifice. Fling away all doubt. Ke- 
 nounce all claim. Draw near to it with a con- 
 fiding, loving, trusting heart, and say to Him 
 who bled on it, — 
 
 " In my hand no price I bring ; 
 Simply to Thy cross I cUng.'' 
 
 Gling to it with an unyielding grasp. Clasp it 
 with arms that the world shg,ll never unlock. 
 Live upon it the life of godliness. Cherish it 
 in the matter of your salvation, the power of 
 God. Jesus died, is our life. Jesus reigns, is 
 our strength. Our trust is on His sacrifice. 
 Our hope is on His crown. The creation of 
 hfe comes from the one. The continuance of 
 life flows from the other. The starting-place 
 for heaven is at the foot of the cross. Only as 
 we feel our need of the sacrifice of Jesus, and 
 wash in the fountain of His blood, can we ever 
 be prepared for the mansions of purity and rest. 
 Do we resort to another refuge ? It is a refuge 
 
THE THREE MARYS AT THE CROSS. 177 
 
 of lies. Do we build on another foundation ? 
 It is a foundation of sand. Do we cherish 
 another hope ? It is a hope that will perish. 
 Thousands of rams, and ten thousands of rivers 
 of oil ; the gift of the first-born for the trans- 
 gressions, the fruit of the body for the sin of 
 the soul, can perform nothing in advancing to- 
 ward the prize of eternity. The record still 
 stands. " There is none other name under 
 heaven, given among men, whereby we must 
 be saved." Over all other prospects there hangs 
 the gathering gloom of condemnation and de- 
 spair. When you think of the hour of your de- 
 parture, remember that your only rescue from 
 the grasp of the destroyer, and your only hap- 
 piness in finding death transformed into a mes- 
 senger of mercy, is that you have stood by the 
 cross, as one crucified with Christ. When you 
 think of the scenery of the judgment, forget 
 not that you can only attain to the station of 
 acceptance and blessedness, as you inhale the 
 atmosphere of Calvary, and are one with Him 
 who bled and died. And when you think of 
 the world of fight and blessedness beyond the 
 
 12 
 
178 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 shadows of the sepulchre, and gaze upon the 
 multitude of the redeemed in the high state of 
 their rejoicing, we remind you that the crown 
 was gained by the cross, and that there is no 
 heaven, but through the blood of the Lamb. 
 We may form imaginations of heaven, but apart 
 from this, they are all vain and theoretical. 
 They are as delusive as if we were to lie down 
 and dream of scenes of magnificence and beauty, 
 — vast and splendid palaces, — a serene and 
 cloudless sky, and the fair earth imaging forth 
 a paradise of verdure and grandeur ; and there 
 we revel in ectasy and delight. But the- morn- 
 ing comes. It was but a baseless fiction ; and 
 it is gone. And so he who thinks of heaven, 
 vdthout connecting his thoughts with the work 
 of the cross, is but dreaming ; and if he wake 
 not to a proper consciousness in time, he will 
 awake when it is too late, and discover that he 
 has lost the heaven on which he dreamt in vain. 
 
THE THEEE DYING WOEDS OF CHRIST. 
 
 " Hark f the voice of love and mercy 
 Sounds aloud from Calvary ; 
 See ! it rends the rooks asunder, 
 Shakes the earth, and veils the sky 
 ' It is finished 1 ' 
 Hear the dying Saviour cry." 
 
 The last words of persons are unusually im- 
 pressive. They chime upon the ear like intel- 
 ligence from another world, and produce a 
 more abiding effect on the hearts of survivors. 
 The last words of Jesus, as h^ hung upon the 
 cross, are preeminently important. "We are 
 wont to apprehend in them a meaning and an 
 emphasis, which no reach of mind can fully 
 grasp, and no power of language fitly express. 
 There was much in the creative word, that 
 rolled forth in immensity, and called a world in- 
 to existence, and said, " Let there be light, and 
 there was light." There was much of awe and 
 astonishment in the legislative voice that pealed 
 
180 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 from Sinai, when the mountain shook, and the 
 multitude of Israel did exceedingly fear and 
 quake. But we are more struck with the sig- 
 nificancy of the Redeemer's cry that sounded 
 from Calvary, " It is finished," when He bowed 
 His head, and gave up the ghost. It was not 
 the moan of the breaking heart ; it was not the 
 shriek of the writhing frame; it was not the 
 wail of sinking hope. It was the cry of sat- 
 isfaction, the shout of victory, the burst of tri- 
 umph. It was heard by the confounded disci- 
 ples, and weeping females, who had followed 
 Him from Galilee; heard by He^od the tetrarch, 
 and Pilate the governor, and* their courtiers 
 and men of war ; heard by the Scribes, and the 
 Pharisees, and the bigoted elders, and the great 
 council of the Jewish nation. It was heard by 
 the thousands then assembled at the Feast, who 
 had so recently shouted, "Away with him ; cru- 
 cify him." It was heard in heaven ; and there 
 was silence, in the region of perpetual song. 
 It was heard in hell, and there ensued a pause, 
 in the howl of malevolence, and in the groan of 
 despair. The earth upheaved in convulsive 
 
THE THREE DYING WORDS OF CHRIST. 181 
 
 pang ; the bright sky folded itself in blackest 
 gloom; the globe was stirred through all its 
 zones. It was the hour of conquest over the 
 powers of darkness ; the hour to which all the 
 past had looked forward, and on which all the 
 future hung ; the hour when Christ's right 
 hand and holy arm had gotten Him the vic- 
 tory. There were but few among the conspira- 
 tors of that vast concourse, who were willing to 
 acknowledge these glorious achievements. The 
 god of this world had so blinded their eyes, that 
 they were ignorant of the fallacy of their own 
 schemes. Even the poor disciples, though they 
 had often been instructed in these matters, 
 were destitute of any clear perceptions. They 
 continued, until after His resurrection, fools, and 
 slow of heart to believe all that the prophets 
 had spoken. In the discussion of a theme of 
 such vital importance, it will be proper to set 
 forth some of those things, touching the cross, 
 that are assuredly believed by us, and that will 
 be dear to our hearts forever; things for which 
 the Saviour became incarnate, and in reference 
 to which He could say, " 0, righteous Father, I 
 
182 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 have glorified Thee on the eiarth : I have fin- 
 ished the work, which Thou gavest me to do." 
 The work was finished on Calvary, for which 
 He came forth from the excellent glory, and to 
 which He had devoted His mortal life. 
 
 The purposes of God were, finished in the 
 manifestation of His character. He had pro- 
 posed to Himself a revenue of glory from an 
 assemblage of excellent and happy beings that 
 should brighten through eternity. Their ex- 
 cellency and happiness were made to depend ; 
 not upon any arbitrary constitution of the divine 
 government, but upon their harmony with His 
 spirit, and obedience to His law's. This harmony 
 and obedience, we should suppose, might be 
 produced by motives appealing to love, or mo- 
 tives appealing to fear ; displays of benevolence, 
 or displays of justice. The former would seem 
 all-sufficient, had it not been proved ineffectual 
 by the revolt of angels, and the apostasy of man. 
 And the latter, while it might engender slavish 
 fear, could never induce that generous exulta- 
 tion in the service of God, with which He would 
 be pleased, or honored. It was now requisite 
 
THE THREE DYING WORDS OF CHRIST. 183 
 
 that there should be a new exhibition of Deity. 
 Not an exhibition of mercy only-} for that would 
 be tantamount to the abrogation of the law. 
 But an exhibition in which, if it were possible, 
 the motives to love, and the motives to fear 
 might go hand in hand; an exhibition that 
 should take away none of God's attractiveness, 
 nor strip sin of any of its deformity; that should 
 render the Divine Goodness yet more aflFecting, 
 and the Divine Justice yet more august ; which 
 should throw a more frightful repellancy around 
 the forms of evil, and a greater adorableness 
 around the majesty of heaven. Such an admira- 
 ble exhibition is tendered us in the propitiatory 
 sacrifice of the Son of God. The Lord of Life 
 stoops to a death of ignomy, to cancel the guilt 
 of His murderers. ■ The Teacher of heaven, for 
 whom Socrates had taught himself and his 
 scholars to hope, and whom all Judea admired, 
 gives His lessons on the cross. The King of 
 Glory blends the lowest condescension with the 
 loftiest splendor, and endures the treatment due 
 to consummate wickedness. Behold Him, laden 
 with our iniquity, and burdened with our sins ! 
 
184 THE VOICE OF SACKED TEIPLES. 
 
 Behold Him in the convulsion of an agony that 
 presses the blood from every pore! Look at 
 Him in this voluntary act of humiliation and 
 suffering, and say, whether the character and 
 government of God are not associated with 
 grace and mercy to an extent never before 
 known. Ideas so enlarged and accurate could 
 not have been obtained from any other source. 
 The heavens had declared the glory of God, and 
 the firmament showed His handiwork. The 
 earth, the stars, and all their tenantry pro- 
 claimed, in tones of sublimity and sweetness, His 
 unfathomable mind, — His wonder-working arm. 
 But it was on the cross that He gave us the 
 best and fullest manifestation of himself Here 
 we gaze upon Him full-orbed, with all His round 
 of rays complete. Here we see the love of God, 
 in giving us His Son; the mercy of God, an- 
 nouncing to us the exceeding riches of His 
 grace ; the justice and holiness of God, in their 
 most stern requirements ; all the perfections of 
 God in beautiful harmony. Here mercy and 
 truth meet together: righteousness and peace 
 embrace each other. 
 
THE THREE DYING WOKDS OP CHRIST. 185 
 
 We recognize in Christ the Father's represent- 
 ative, whose mission was to make Him known ; 
 to unfold His attributes ; to explain His law ; 
 to pour forth the ocean of His love, and to 
 work out an everlasting righ'teousness, which 
 shall be unto all, and upon all them that be- 
 lieve. As we look into His Godlike counte- 
 nance, afresh, the declaration seems to fall upon 
 our ears, "He that hath seen me, hath seen the 
 Father." We see in the Saviour all that is to 
 be seen of the Godhead ; and we regard His 
 finished work as the stability^ the perfection, 
 and the blessing of our race. Take away the 
 divinity of Christ, and there has been no satis- 
 faction to justice, and no sacrifice for sin. Seal 
 up the fountain of Christ's precious blood, and 
 you seal up the soul to blackness, darkness, and 
 despair. Deny the efficacy of the Atonement, 
 and there is nothing more left to hope for ; the 
 present becomes all recklessness, and the future 
 all hopelessness, and the thousands and tens of 
 thousands of our fellow-beings, like mariners 
 tossed upon the wide ocean, without a compass 
 or a star. 
 
186 THE VOICE OF SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 When Christ said, "It is fioished," He had 
 reference to the issue of that conflict with Satan, 
 which had been carried on from the Fall. At 
 an early period the old serpent was permitted 
 to harass and vex our race, to declare war with 
 the seed of the woman, and to introduce sin and 
 miserj. into the beautiful world, which the Crea- 
 tor had pronounced very good. He came with 
 all the phantoms of delusion,, and all the sor- 
 ceries of vice, to ensnare and beguile. He came 
 to establish himself upon his despot throne, and 
 to erect a monarchy, within which to gather the 
 nations of the earth, who were hateful, and 
 hating one another. On the p'art of God, there 
 appeared to be no direct effecti'^e opposition for 
 many ages, and Satan seemed to reign and rule 
 without interruption. The strong man armed 
 kept his palace and goods in peace. Darkness 
 indeed covered the earth, and gross darkness 
 the people. The evil one could well boast him- 
 self the god of this world. He was the ruler 
 of its darkness, the wickedness of its high places, 
 the spirit of its legislation, and its public sway. 
 In him the children of disobedience appeared 
 
THE THREE DYING WORDS OP CHRIST. 187 
 
 to live, and move, and have their being. The 
 time had at length arrived, when his kingdom 
 began to depart from him, and Satan was seen 
 fallins; as lightninsj from heaven. The woman's 
 seed had come into notice, who should bruise 
 his head. The dread Avenger, beneath whose 
 arm he had sunk to the deep abyss, was now 
 incarnate as the champion of man. The fiend, 
 aware of the peril approaching his kingdom, 
 began to marshal up all his force, and to prepare 
 for the contest with deadly hostility. While 
 yet the mighty babe was folded to His mother's 
 breast, he assailed Him with the assassin knife. 
 Then he . proceeded to test His virtue by the 
 seduction of pleasure and power ; then to try 
 His patience ; then to deprive Him of His life. 
 At last he had the ghastly satisfaction of seeing 
 the Jew and the Gentile nail the Lord of life and 
 glory to the tree. Now he imagined all was 
 over with his adversary, and was ready to ex- 
 claim, "I have overcome thee, thou Galilean." 
 He began to mock the Ruler of the skies. He 
 had bruised the heel, the mortality, the outer 
 man of Christ. But he had not touched the 
 
188 THE VOICE OF SACRED TKIPIES. 
 
 head, the spirit, the immortal, the Divine nature. 
 The demon's triumph was premature. He was 
 taken in his own craftiness;, was the instrument 
 of his own defeat. Through his wily machina- 
 tions the determinate counsel and foreknowl- 
 edge of God were fulfilled. The tide of battle 
 turned against him, and he was made a show 
 of openly. The principle was fully developed 
 before which he must flee. The elements of 
 moral agency were brought out of darkness 
 into marvellous light. The rays of truth, that 
 had been scattered over past generations, were 
 gathered as in a focus, to advance " from con- 
 quering to conquer." Calvary became the 
 centre, from which the power of victory pro- 
 ceeded to the east and to the west, to the north 
 and to the south, to find no limits but the utter- 
 most ends of the earth, and no date, but the 
 close of time. Ever since the epoch in question, 
 there has been a gradual breaking up, and 
 breaking down of those systems, by which the 
 spirit of evil has held the governance of man. 
 One after another his Dagons have fallen, his 
 oracles have fled, his plans proved abortive. 
 
THE THREE DYING WORDS OP CHRIST. 189 
 
 Every revolution among the nations has left 
 him weakened in his defences, and impaired in 
 his resources. Every rolling year has witnessed, 
 more and more, the emancipation of his subjects 
 into the glorious liberty of the sons of God. 
 Yet a little while, and there shall be heard a 
 great voice of much people in heaven, saying, 
 Alleluia : and it shall be answered by the voice 
 of earth, delivered from its groaning bondage, 
 as it were " the voice of a great multitude, and 
 as the voice of many waters, and as the voice 
 of many thunderings, saying Alleluia : for the 
 Lord God omnipotent reigneth." In that voice 
 we shall recognize the full meaning of the 
 Saviour's cry, when He bowed His head and 
 gave up the ghost. 
 
 The death of Jesus finished the types and 
 shadows of the old economy. Its institutions 
 were all so constituted as to prefigure Christ 
 and His sufferings. If beasts were slain, and 
 victims bled, they pointed to Him and His in- 
 tercession. But when the cross was set up, and 
 the holy Jesus was suspended on it, the types 
 and shadows instantly retired, leaving all the 
 
190 THE VOICE OF SACRED TEIPLES. 
 
 glory to Him, who is the end of the law for 
 righteousness to every one that believeth. The 
 fires that burned on Jewish altars were now ex- 
 tinguished to be lit no more.. The clouds of 
 incense that sent up their perfumes were done 
 away. Legal sacrifices were Brought to a per- 
 petual end. The Lord required no more the 
 reeking of the blood of shuddering victims. 
 The paschal lamb, the daily oblation, the sin- 
 ofiering, the scape-goat, all received their con- 
 summation in the death of the Lamb slain, from 
 the foundation of the world. The rending of 
 the vail of the temple, from the top to the 
 bottom, proclaimed that " Christ entered, not 
 into the holy place made with hands, but into 
 heaven itself, there to appear- in the presence 
 of God for us." " Almost all things in the law 
 were purged with blood, and without shedding 
 of blood there was no remission." "If the blood 
 of bulls and goats, and the ashes of an heifer, 
 sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the puri- 
 fying of the flesh, how much more shall the 
 blood of Christ, who through the Eternal Spirit 
 offered Himself without spot unto God, purify 
 
THE THREE DYING WOBDS OF CHRIST. 191 
 
 your consciences from dead works to serve the 
 living God." " We are redeemed, not with cor- 
 ruptible things, such as silver aiid gold, but with 
 the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb with- 
 out blemish, and without spot." " We have 
 redemption through His blood, even the forgive- 
 ness of sin." The blood of the immaculate Jesus 
 flowed from the arteries of a spotless humanity, 
 upon which not a breath of pollution had fallen. 
 This satisfied the claims of injured Justice, 
 honored the Divine perfections, placed the 
 Church on an immovable basis, and "opened 
 the kingdom of heaven to all believers." 0, 
 could we have looked up to Him at that event- 
 ful moment, — could we have witnessed the 
 suffering Saviour pardon the thief, and breathe 
 out His soul in supplication for His murderers, 
 — could we have heard the Eedeemer's last cry, 
 " It is finished," and have noticed the sensation 
 which the wonders accompanying it everywhere 
 produced, — we should have felt that we were 
 listening to a Being possessed of the sovereign 
 and uncircumscribed energy of the universe, 
 comprising in Himself limitation and infinity, 
 absolute dominion, and entire resignation. 
 
192 THE VOICE OP SACRED TKIPLES. 
 
 The finished work of Christ made the cross 
 the medium of all our blessings. Pent up and 
 restrained by the wickedness of men, they found 
 vent on Calvary, and burst forth in a flood of 
 heahng mercy to irrigate our souls. The re- 
 sources of infinite love had all been deposited 
 'in the hands of Christ,, to be communicated 
 through the cross. The cross and the Saviour's 
 blessings are never separated. The manifold 
 temporal, spiritual, and eternal enjoyments that 
 were vouchsafed for four thousand years before 
 Christ was crucified ; all that have been re- 
 ceived since ; and all that wiU hereafter be 
 bestowed, till the consummation of all things ; 
 all the deliverances from coming wrath, and all 
 the oceans of joy in heaven, — all flow from the 
 cross. The cross is the channel of Divine afilu- 
 ence, the centre of the strongest attachment, 
 the bond of the closest union, the shrine at 
 which the world shall worship, the eminence 
 from which the Christian shall ascend to his 
 final rest. We owe everything to the cross, — 
 redemption from iniquity, exemption from con- 
 demnation, adoption into God's family, the wit- 
 
THE THREE DYINU WORD^ OP CHRIST. 193 
 
 ness of the Spirit, heirship with Christ, and a 
 title to glory. The cross softens into penitence, 
 mellows into gratitude, ravishes with delight, 
 and infuses into the bosom the germ of a new 
 life. Have we wandered from God? here we 
 are brought back. Were we shut out from the 
 kingdom of heaven ? here the door of admis- 
 sion is thrown open. Are we terrified at the 
 approach of death ? we are enabled to overcome 
 through the blood of the Lamb. Rally round 
 the cross 5 think much of the cross j speak of 
 the wonders of the cross ; pray "God forbid that 
 I should glory, save in the cross of Jesus Christ 
 my Lord." 
 
 It was finished when Christ died, with His 
 personal humiUation and suffering. The mis- 
 eries of this life, which fell upon Him in every 
 variety, and form, and degree, completed their 
 cycle with His expiring breath. The bitter cup, 
 which was given Him to drink, was drained of 
 its last dregs. Poverty and persecution ceased 
 to attend Him as companions. The sufferer 
 was king upon the cross, and held His life till 
 the Scriptures were accomplished. He had 
 
 13 
 
194 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 power over His own life, power to retain it, 
 power to lay it down, and power to take it 
 again. The loud voice, with which He gave up 
 the ghost, asserted His supremacy as Lord and 
 Master over nature, and His perfect indepen- 
 dence of the injustice of His foes. It showed 
 that He died not from mere exhaustion, as was 
 the case with the thieves who were crucified 
 with Him. Instead of losing His voice, as the 
 dying usually do, so that he who attends the 
 death-bed can only hear soft whispers, Jesus- 
 cried aloud, as if bidding death approach Him. 
 "The Lord shall go forth as a mighty man," 
 saith the prophet. " He shall stir up jealousy 
 like a man of war. He shall cry, yea roar, yea 
 prevail against His enemies." The loud dying 
 cry is a demonstrative evidence that the cruci- 
 fied Saviour did not die from necessity, but of 
 His own free will ; not from weakness, but from 
 choice. Freely admit this precious truth, and 
 it takes away all that shame and reproach from 
 His sufferings, which His enemies are wont to 
 cast on them, and converts them into a pure 
 and voluntary oblation. It changes the cross 
 
THE THREE DYING WORDS OF CHRIST. 195 
 
 of infamy into the sign of renown, and the 
 crown of thorns into the manj- crowns of earth, 
 and heaven, and all the stars. The adorable 
 Eedeemer was now Head over all things to His 
 Church; Lord of angels and men, exalted far 
 above all principality and power, and might and 
 dominion. His hands were on the reins of 
 universal empire, and all worlds were prepared 
 to lay their diadems at His feet. Have we loyal 
 and loving hearts ? Do we yield obedience to 
 ■ His righteous laws ? Then we shall acknowl- 
 edge the kingdom to be His, and His forever. 
 We shall pray. Reign blessed Saviour in our 
 hearts ; reign in our homes ; reign in our land ; 
 reign in our world. Thine is the kingdom, and 
 the power, and the glory. Thou art worthy 
 to receive blessing, and honor, and glory, and 
 power. Thou art worthy, — Thou alone. 
 
 The contemplation of a theme so interesting 
 and delightful should put an end to all our mis- 
 givings, apathy, and inditference. The propitia- 
 tory sacrifice of the Son of God was the most 
 wonderful event that ever occurred in the 
 annals of time ; and there will be none more 
 
196 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 wonderful in the annals of eternity. Then, 
 shall it not arrest your thought ? Shall it not 
 excite your study ? Shall it not fill you with 
 sweet and sublime inspiration ? Shall the 
 world, or friends, or enemies, — shall anything 
 interfere to prevent your giving it the warmest 
 place in your affections ? Oh, shame on that 
 sensualism, which precludes from a theme so 
 pure. Shame on that worldliness, which pre- 
 cludes from a theme so high. Shame on that 
 debasement, which precludes from communion 
 with the very heart of God. Awake, awake, 
 from the petty concerns that occupy your atten- 
 tion from day to day. Arouse, arouse, from the 
 paltry interests that engross scad agitate your 
 minds from week to week. Fix your contem- 
 plation on Calvary. Bring your thought and 
 feeling to the cross. Be fearful lest you lose 
 sight of its glory. Keep it in full view. Do 
 everything in the light that beams from it. 
 Hearken to the cry, "It is finished." Dwell 
 upon its meaning, as it bears on the char- 
 acter of God, and your future destiny. Pray 
 that you may know Christ. Pray that you 
 
THE THREE DYING WORDS OP CHRIST. 197 
 
 may be crucified with Christ ; pray that your 
 life may be hidden with Christ in God; and 
 when "Christ, who is your hfe, shall appear, then 
 shall you also appear with Hini in glory." But 
 alas ! many there are who refuse to look at the 
 cross. How will you escape if you neglect so 
 great a salvation ? How ? We beseech you, 
 tell us. How will you answer the Saviour, who 
 died that you might live ? How will you an- 
 swer Him, when He shall come in the glory 
 of His Father, and of His holy angels ? How 
 will you answer for the neglect of His gospel 
 in that great and terrible day ? " Kiss the Son 
 lest He be angry, and you perish from the way, 
 when His wrath is kindled but little." "Blessed 
 are all they that put their trust in Him." 
 
 It should be finished with all our unbelief. 
 It is unbelief that dishonors the Saviour, and 
 ties up His hands so that He cannot bless us 
 while we continue in that state. He could not 
 do many mighty works among His countrymen, 
 because of their unbelief " He that cometh to 
 God, must believe that He is, and that He is the 
 rewarder of them that diligently seek Him." 
 
198 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 The Jews could not enter Canaan on account 
 of their unbelief. "And the fearful and the 
 unbelieving shall have their part in the lake 
 that burneth with fire and brimstone, which is 
 the second death." Yet, in the very face of the 
 most solemn facts and denunciations, we dis- 
 cover around us the most palpable proofs of the 
 prevalence of unbelief: persons who profess 
 to believe in Christ, and are dead in trespasses 
 and in sins ; believers, and yet unbelievers ; 
 nominally receiving the Saviour, yet really 
 rejecting Him; consenting to Him, and yet 
 denying Him ; vindicating Him? and yet turn- 
 ing away from Him ; assenting to Him in the 
 judgment, yet refusing Him in the heart. 
 Throw off, we beseech you, such anomalies, and 
 be Christians in deed and in truth. " For he is 
 not a Jew who is one outwardly; neither is 
 that circumcision which is outward in the flesh; 
 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and cir- 
 cumcision is that of the heart ; in the spirit, and 
 not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, 
 but of God." 
 
 It will soon be finished with this mortal life. 
 
THE THREE DYING WOKDS OF CHRIST. 199 
 
 We shall soon look upon each other for the last 
 time. We shall soon pass, not merely from this 
 particular spot, but from this w-orld altogether. 
 We shall soon stand before the presence of the 
 Eternal. It will then be finished with aU. our 
 happiness, or with all our misery. We shall then 
 mingle with the joys of the blessed, or wail with 
 the shrieks of the lost. We shall have before 
 us a long and glorious eternity, or an accursed 
 immortality. Which shall it be ? Shall we dwell 
 in heaven, or in hell ? Shall we inherit with 
 Christ and the glorified, or with the devil and 
 his angels ? Gracious and loving God, merciful 
 and precious Saviour, holy and powerful Spirit, 
 grant us an inheritance among all them that 
 are sanctified. 
 
THE THREE ASCENSIONS. 
 
 Each of the three grand dispensations of re- 
 ligion has alike been favored with a remarkable 
 instance of translation into heaven : the patri- 
 archal, in the person of Enoch. ; the Jewish, in 
 the person of Elijah ; and the Christian, in the 
 person of Christ. These are beautiful excep- 
 tions to those who have died in the Lord, — 
 bright lights that illumine the darkness of the 
 sepulchre, and which assure us of a pathway to 
 a state of felicity and glory far beyond. 
 
 Upwards of three hundred years Enoch was 
 contemporary with Adam, and must have learned 
 from his intercourse with the father of our race 
 the history of Creation, — the circiimstances of 
 the Fall ; the terms of the Promise ; and much 
 that pertained to the wisdom, rectitude, and 
 goodness of the Divine administration. The 
 knowledge, thus acquired, had a happy influ- 
 ence in shaping his private and public life. At 
 
THE THREE ASCENSIONS. 201 
 
 a time when the rest of mankind were mostly 
 living in open rebellion against the Majesty of 
 Heaven, and provoking the vengeance of the 
 Almighty with their ungodly deeds, he walked 
 with God, and obtained the exalted testimony 
 that " he pleased God." This was the sublime 
 feature in his history, — the leading touch in 
 the picture that revealed all the rest. Like the 
 great law of gravitation in the physical world, 
 the closeness of his walk with God kept the 
 ©ther parts of his life in beautiful proportion 
 and harmony. 
 
 But what strikes us so forcibly in the account 
 of one so eminent, is the little that is said of 
 him. The whole of his memoir is comprised in 
 one solitary paragraph. We see his biography 
 and epitaph in a single line. Yet these few 
 words, like sweet and silent streams, are elo- 
 quently suggestive. They call up a thousand 
 circumstances, over which he must have rejoiced 
 and mourned, and smiled and wept, like the 
 sunshine and showers of an April day. 
 
 The name Enoch signifies teaching, and was 
 expressive of the office he held as a teacher of 
 
202 THE VOICE OF SACRED TBIPLES. 
 
 the truth. It was his privilege to teach the 
 truth by his life, as well as hy his lips. His 
 walk was an excellent homily, and his translar 
 tion an impressive peroration of it. The doc- 
 trines on which he chiefly dwelt, in that early 
 age, were the second advent, the judgment to 
 come, and the resurrection from the dead. " Be- 
 hold," said he, " the Lord cometh with ten thou- 
 sand of His saints, to execute; judgment upon 
 all, and to convince all that are ungodly among 
 them of all their ungodly deeds, which they 
 have ungodly committed, and of all their hard 
 speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken 
 against Him." Thege were the topics of proph- 
 ecy, so awful and so solemn, which he was 
 commissioned to announce. If they were fitted 
 to awe the thoughtless and impenitent, they 
 were equally calculated to afford consolation 
 to believing minds. The heart of the patriarch 
 beat calm and peaceful in the anticipation. 
 There was an unearthliness in his demeanor. 
 The lustre of the Divine countenance was re- 
 flected in his person. The radiance of heaven 
 shone around him ; and the joys of the upper 
 
THE THREE ASCENSIONS. 203 
 
 sanctuary had taken possession of his soul. To 
 one who had risen so rapidly in the scale of 
 future blessedness, the course of nature was for 
 the first time changed, and he was privileged to 
 enter the kingdom by a shorter road. He was 
 not ; for God took him. God took him at a pe- 
 riod when all the patriarchs were living, except 
 Adam, who had been dead about fifty- seven 
 years, — took him in the heyday of life, ere his 
 sun had reached the meridian ; took him in a 
 manner that made his dismissal as glorious to 
 himself, as it was instructive to mankind. 
 
 Whether any private intimation had pre- 
 viously been communicated to him of the event, 
 we are not able to determine. We think it 
 highly probable, from the fact, that the Lord 
 generally made known to His servants the pur- 
 pose of His wiU. " Shall I hide from Abraham," 
 said He, " the thing which I do ? " On the part 
 of the community at large, there appears to 
 have been no expectation of it; and the dis- 
 covery must have told with thrilling effect the 
 goodness of God. 
 
 Some marvellous change must certainly have 
 
204 THE VOICE OP SACRED TEEPLES. 
 
 passed over him prior to his translation, as '"^ flesh 
 and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." 
 The change was equivalent to death, but with- 
 out its pain and degradation. The like glorious 
 transformation awaits the living saints at the 
 coming of Christ : " We shall be changed in a 
 moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last 
 trump." 
 
 There are no processes of nature that can 
 meet the case even by a faint analogy. All the 
 images we can summon to our aid fail to sketch 
 the mere outline of the scene. Were an indi- 
 vidual translated from the deepest dungeon into 
 the blaze of noon, — were it possible to bring 
 up some prisoner out of the dark, deep, unfath- 
 omable caves of ocean, into the open Hght and 
 hfe of creation, — there would be nothing in 
 the incident to compare with the change from 
 the sinfulness of a fallen nature, into the spot- 
 less purity and holiness of God ; from the gloom 
 and corruption of a body of sin and death, into 
 the spirituality, the light, the life, the glory, 
 the dazzling splendor, that enqircle the throne 
 of the Eternal. 
 
THE THBEB ASCENSIONS. 205 
 
 The next Ascension occurred many centuries 
 afterward, under a new order of things, in the 
 person of the prophet Elijah, from the banks of 
 the Jordan. Every part of his character waa 
 marked by a moral grandeur, heightened by the 
 obscurity thrown around his connections and 
 private history. Clouds and thick darkness cov- 
 ered the scene of his toil, as a reformer in Israel. 
 The images of Baal and Ashteroth, gleamed 
 before the eye. Idolatrous temples and hea- 
 then altars occupied the sacred soil ; and every 
 vaUey, and every high hill, smoked with their 
 sacrifices. The man of God, clothed with the 
 panoply of heaven, stood forth in this awful 
 night-piece, to awe the idolatrous by the menace 
 of fearful judgments. In the austerity of his 
 manners, the boldness of his reproofs, and supe- 
 riority to ease and suffering, he was a striking 
 type of John the Baptist. The forerunner of 
 the Messiah was predicted under his name : 
 " Behold, I will send you Elijah, the prophet, 
 before the coming of the great and dreadful 
 day of the Lord." 
 
 When the labors of Elijah were weUnigh 
 
206 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 ended^ and he had received an intimation of a 
 speedy ascension to the skies, the Spirit of the 
 Lord revealed to him that, before his departure, 
 he was "to anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, 
 and Jehu to.be king over Israel, and Elisha, the 
 son of Shaphat, of Abel-meholah, to be prophet 
 in his room." The instructions required him to 
 anoint, without delay, his successor in office ; to 
 fill up the post which he himself had so long 
 and toilfully occupied, and to be ready for the 
 Master's summons, " Come up hither." What 
 may we imagine would be the emotions of our 
 own hearts, if such a commission were specifical- 
 ly addressed to us ? Could we place in stranger 
 hands, without a struggle, the occupations, and 
 duties, and beings nearest an.d dearest to us? 
 Could we feel content, and more than content, 
 to resign all at God's bidding, and forsake all 
 for God's presence, and kingdom, and glory? 
 But the prophet, who had dwelt, in anticipation, 
 among holier and happier scenes, showed no 
 hesitation. He was in perfect, readiness to lay 
 down his travelling - stafl^ and bequeath his 
 mantle to another. " So he departed from 
 
THE THREE ASCENSIONS. 207 
 
 Mount Horeb to Abel-meholat/' about a hun- 
 dred and fifty miles distant, arid found the ob- 
 ject of his pursuit, not wearing " soft raiment," 
 and dwelling in kings' houses, but employed in 
 the arduous and heavy labor of following the 
 plough. " There were twelve yoke of oxen in 
 the field, and Elisha with the twelfth." The 
 venerable father, in God, made his approach to 
 him, and threw the mantle, that was upon his 
 person, over the shoulders of Elisha. Not a 
 word appears to have been spoken at the inter- 
 view. But Elisha understood its significance, as 
 a consecration to the prophetic office. Instantly 
 he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, 
 " Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my 
 mother, and then I will follow thee." Elijah 
 had no objection to the request, and said, " Go, 
 for what have I done to thee ?" I have done 
 nothing which should break ties of affection ; I 
 have done nothing to fetter the freedom of thy 
 action. Follow as the Spirit of God shall lead 
 thee. So he turned back from him; and hav- 
 ing paid that tribute of respect and aflFection to 
 his parents, to which he conceived they were 
 
208 THE TOICE OF SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 entitled, he arose and went after Elijah and 
 ministered unto him. They proceeded together 
 from Gilgal to Bethel, and from Bethel to Jeri- 
 cho, and from Jericho to Jordan. As they stood 
 upon the banks of that mysterious river, "Elijah 
 took bis mantle, and with it smote the waters ; 
 and they were divided hither and thither, and 
 they two went over on dry ground." 
 
 It is with difficulty we can think of the posi- 
 tion of the prophet at that splemn moment, 
 without indulging feelings of desire, that the 
 waters of the Jordan of death might be thus 
 happily divided for us. Would that we might 
 escape that fearful passage, in* which so many 
 have been engulfed, and pass over dry-shod. 
 There is One, who has declared, " When thou 
 passest through the waters, I will be with thee, 
 and through the floods, they shall not overflow 
 thee." There is One, who has said, " I am the 
 resurrection and the life." " Whosoever liveth 
 and believeth in me, shall never die." " Spare 
 us, Lord, most holy; God, most mighty; 
 holy and merciful Saviour. Thou most worthy 
 Judge Eternal, suffer us not, at our last hour, 
 
THE THREE ASCENSIONS. 209 
 
 for any pains of death, to fall from thee." Exer- 
 cise true faith in His atoning merits ; cling to 
 Him as loving chOdren ; and though you may 
 be called to cross the flood in touch tribulation, 
 bodily and mental anguish, your feet shall not 
 sink in those deep waters. You shall stand on 
 the other side, rejoicing, in the* language of tri- 
 umph, we " overcame through the blood of the 
 Lamb." 
 
 The master and the servant had travelled 
 together over many a dreary road, and lingered 
 on many a sunny spot ; and now, as the period 
 of his translation approached, Elijah requested 
 to be alone, but Elisha as strongly refused to 
 accede to his wish, saying, " As the Lord liveth, 
 and as thy serva.nt liveth, I will not leave thee." 
 Thrice had the desire for solitude been ex- 
 pressed with increased urgency, but Elisha per- 
 sisted in affirming, " I will not leave thee." It 
 was an interesting moment to both parties ; to 
 the man of storm and tempest, just finishing his 
 course; and to his successor in office, just buck- 
 ling on the armor. The wearisome labors of 
 the day were followed by a placid evening, — an 
 u 
 
210 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 evening tinged with the golden twilight of a 
 blissful world. The horses of Are, and the flam- 
 ing chariot, were waiting in readiness behind 
 yonder cloud, to fetch him away. The setting 
 sun cast his slanting rays uport him for the last 
 time. And he could say of the stars, as they 
 shone out, one after another, I shall presently 
 pass through those regions, — far beyond the 
 Orion, and the Pleiades, — far beyond the sun, 
 and moon, and realms of space. Dropping all 
 that is mortal, I shall ascend into the very sanc- 
 tuary of heaven, where cherubim and seraphim 
 worship, and angels strike their harps, and patri- 
 archs dwell in their peaceful tabernacles. I 
 shall mingle with the ancient fathers, I shall see 
 the King in His beauty, and be forever with 
 the Lord. 
 
 And "Elijah said imto Elisha, Ask what I shall 
 do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. 
 And Elisha said, I pray thee let a double por- 
 tion of thy spirit be upon me. And he said, 
 Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if 
 thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall 
 be so unto thee ; but if not, it shall not be so. 
 
THE THREE ASCENSIONS. 211 
 
 And it came to pass, as they still went on and 
 talked, that behold there appeared a chariot of 
 fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both 
 asunder, and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into 
 heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My 
 Father, My Father, the chariot of Israel and 
 the horsemen thereof; and he saw him no 
 more." Thus closed the earthly career of that 
 remarkable man. As we gaze at his fiery char- 
 iot, and the bright traces of its ascending wheels, 
 we are impressively taught to set our aflfections 
 oh things above ; to covet earnestly the best 
 gifts, and to ask and receive that our joy may 
 be fuU. 
 
 The third and most memorable Ascension 
 was from Mount Olivet. The blessed Jesus had 
 said to His disciples, " It is expedient for you 
 that I go away." " I ascend unto my Father, 
 and your Father,, and to my God and your God." 
 Forty days after His resurrection He assembled 
 His Apostles to receive His valedictory. Sad 
 and solemn was the parting interview. "While 
 He was yet speaking to them, and their ears 
 drank in His instructions, and their eyes were 
 
212 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 fixed on His beautj, He was uplifted from 
 among them. They would haye clung to Him, 
 but were unable to reach Him. They would 
 have called .to Him, but their tongues were 
 fettered with wonder. They sought to follow, 
 with the doting gaze of love. His upward track, 
 but a cloud received Him out of their sight. 
 
 " On a bright cloud to he£^veIl He rode." 
 
 "And while they looked steadfastly toward 
 heaven as He went up, behold two men stood 
 by them in white apparel. Which also said. 
 Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into 
 heaven? this same Jesus which is taken up from 
 you into heaven, shall so come in like manner 
 as ye have seen Him go into heaven." Unlike 
 the translation of Enoch, which no mortal eye 
 was permitted to. witness ; unlike the ascension 
 of Elijah, whose pathway was the red lightning, 
 and who was borne upward in a whirlwind and 
 chariot of fire, the holy Jesus, when He left the 
 earth, ascended with that quiet majesty, with 
 which He came down to it. The heavenly 
 hosts hailed him as the finisher of a great 
 
THE THREE ASCENSIONS. 213 
 
 enterprise. Loud and high were the gratula- 
 tions He received from all ranks of the glorified. 
 The everlasting doors were thrown open for the 
 King of Glory to enter ; and He took His seat 
 " at the right hand of God, in the glory of the 
 Father." The path to the kingdom the Saviour 
 has consecrated by His own presence ; made it 
 the beaten track for His redeemed to follow, 
 and left His footprints to say, "-This is the way; 
 walk ye in it." It is a path along which none 
 are turned adrift, but cared for in every extrem- 
 ity, ministered to by affectionate intelligences, 
 and conducted by angelic escorts to their final 
 rest. 
 
 The three Ascensions teach most distinctly 
 the existence of a better world beyond the 
 grave. They point to better society, better 
 objects, better sounds, intenser splendors, and 
 brighter visions. The land of pure delight has 
 no curse in it, no sickness, no death. Not a leaf 
 fades, not a flower wilts, not a fruit corrupts. 
 On the shores of changelessness there rest no 
 shadows, fall no storms. 
 
 The Ascensions of Enoch, Elijah, and Christ, 
 
214 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 aflford indubitable testimony to the resurrection 
 from the dead. These living personages, as 
 representatives of three different dispensations, 
 having gone up into heaven in a corporeal form, 
 it is but a just and reasonable conclusion that a 
 day is coming when Christ, assuming an aspect 
 of infinite benignity, will caU to His sleeping 
 saints to awake in His likeness. This will be a 
 triumph of the highest order, releasing and re- 
 animating what death has dragged away from 
 the territories of the hving. 
 
 The ascensions assure us that our home is 
 above. The domestic circle is being continu- 
 ally broken on earth ; and every break makes 
 it narrower and smaller. The balance soon 
 settles down in the regions of eternity. The 
 centre is removed to the upper sphere. An 
 aged pilgrim at length stands alone on the 
 margin of the river, looking wistfully toward 
 the country of his dearest friends, his most 
 costly treasures, and to which he has been daily 
 taught to give his best affections. The magnet 
 which draws the strongest is the presence of 
 his ascended Lord. The elder brother has gone 
 
THE THREE ASCENSIONS. 215 
 
 before to arrange for the arrival and reception 
 of His faithful followers to the same blessed 
 abode. " If ye then be risen with Christ, seek 
 those things which are above." " Set your 
 aflfections on things above : not on things which 
 are on the earth." Cultivate the moralities of 
 heart and life, which give to heaven its glad- 
 ness. Be eminent in grace that you may be 
 eminent in glory. Aspire to glorify the Re- 
 deemer in some exalted station near the throne. 
 Seek to glow and shine like the seraphim. Pre- 
 pare for superior distinctions. Lay up rich 
 treasures. Endeavor after an abundant entrance 
 into the everlasting kingdom. Follow hard 
 after God, and thus add a jewdl to your crown, 
 and a higher elevation in the scale of majesty 
 and triumph. 
 
THE THEEE MYSTERIOUS UNIONS. 
 
 There are mysteries in every department of 
 the Divine procedure; rich Veins which have 
 never been explored; paths which the vulture's 
 eye hath not seen, and which are hidden from 
 the view of all Uving. The origin of moral evil, 
 the lot of individuals, the dissolution of the 
 human frame, the protracted chastisements of 
 the righteous, and the unexaftipled prosperity 
 of the wicked, are providentia,l enigmas, which 
 the best and wisest of men are unable satisfac- 
 torily to explain. There are few truths of Rev- 
 elation, but are more or less inexplicable. They 
 are partly in the shade, and partly luminous, — 
 seen only at certain angles, and from certain 
 points, and intended principally to exercise our 
 faith. They are parts of a chain, the two ends 
 of which are distinctly seen, while the interme- 
 diate links are lost in the stream of mystery 
 that flows between. Certain objects seem pre- 
 
THE THREE MYSTERIOUS UNIONS. 217 
 
 sented to the mind, like the s.un seen densely 
 through a mist, — at one time appearing, then 
 disappearing, — lost in the thickness of the fog. 
 Sometimes we imagine we see; again our vision 
 is obscured. "We only perceive glimmering ap- 
 pearances, — dim outlines. We walk as through 
 a valley, enclosed by lofty mountains, their shad- • 
 ows adding to our obscurities, and their mighty 
 masses standing between us and the prospect 
 which lies beyond. The doctrine of the Holy 
 Trinity is a mystery, which the highest angel 
 is incompetent to unravel. The agency of the 
 Holy Spirit is mysterious. " The wind bloweth 
 where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound 
 thereof; but canst not tell whence it cometh, 
 nor whither it goeth : so is every one that is 
 born of the Spirit." 
 
 The three mysterious unions in our holy 
 religion, are the union of the two natures in the 
 Person of our blessed Lord, the mystical union 
 between Christ and His Church, and the union 
 of the Church militant with the Church tri- 
 umphant. The Bible does not explain the 
 modus of these unions, but simply declares their 
 
218 THE VOICE OF SACEED TRIPLES. 
 
 existence, and leaves to the development of a 
 better and nobler sphere the clearing up of the 
 marvels. 
 
 The profoundest of all mysteries, is the mys- 
 tery of godliness, — "God manifest in the flesh," 
 the complex union of the human and divine 
 natures in Christ, the child borij, and the mighty 
 God; the son and the Lord of David; "the root 
 and the offspring of David ; the bright and the 
 morning-star." The Holy Jesj^ possessed the 
 properties of Deity, and inherited the infirmi- 
 ties of humanity; comprised the infinite and 
 the finite, fulness and all-sufl&ciency, and weari- 
 ness and want; strength and weakness, life 
 and death. Each nature was distinct, though 
 united ; divisible but not divided. The human- 
 ity of Christ was as real as His Divinity, and as 
 free from the taint of corruption. A body was 
 prepared for Him : and " He bare our sins in 
 His own body on the tree."* He was holy, 
 harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners." 
 Neither nature was changed by the conj unction, 
 but both retained their peculiar and essential 
 properties intact. In one and the same person. 
 
THE THREE MYSTERIOUS TOflONS. 219 
 
 Christ was the Son of God, and the son of man ; 
 supreme, yet a servant ; equal with the Father, 
 yet subordinate ; rich, yet poor ; dignified and 
 exalted, yet humble and abased. The glory of 
 the Godhead was shaded, but iu)t extinguished; 
 obscured, but not lost. As mfin, Christ prayed 
 to His Father, " with strong crying and tears, 
 and was heard in that He feared." As God, He 
 graciously responded to His beseeching suppli- 
 ants. As man, He felt hunger, and thirst, and • 
 fatigue ; as God, He fed many thousands with a 
 few loaves ; had the disposal of rivers of living 
 water, and gave rest to the heavy laden and 
 weary. As man, He was tossed on the billowy 
 sea, and slept in a storm; as God, He stilled the 
 raging of the tempest, and brought the drenched 
 mariners to their desired haven. As man, He 
 was crucified, in weakness, and brought into the 
 lowest parts of the earth ; as God, He hung all 
 nature in mourning, abolished death, and rose 
 the Resurrection and the Life. 
 
 The humiliation of the Lord of glory con- 
 sisted not so much in laying aside the regalia 
 of heaven for a season, as in cheerfully sub- 
 
220 THE VOICE OF SAOEED TRIPLES. 
 
 mitting to a degradation that was perfectly in 
 His power to avoid. Possessed of the preroga- 
 tives of Deity, He could have effectually resisted 
 the advances of death, and refused it dominion 
 over His person. But He humbled Himself that 
 the Scriptures might be fulfilled, and because 
 without shedding of blood there could be no 
 remission. To the accursed tree He conde- 
 scended to be nailed, the wondrous combina- 
 tion of two natures : the one mortal and tend- 
 ing to decay; the other self-existent, and the 
 source of life. The pen of inspiration had pre- 
 dicted that not a bone of Him should be bro- 
 ken ; and this was so strictly adhered to in 
 the bitter scene of His death, that, instead of 
 breaking His legs, one of the* soldiers with a 
 spear pierced His side, and forthwith came 
 thereout blood and water: blood to redeem, 
 and water to cleanse ; the one denoting the 
 efficacy of the atonement, and the other the 
 purification and transformation of our souls, by 
 the washing of regeneration, and the renewing 
 of the Holy Ghost. " This is He that came by 
 water and blood, even Jesus Christ ; not by 
 
THE THREE MYSTERIOUS UNIONS. 221 
 
 water only, but by water and blood; and it is the 
 Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is 
 truth." The Holy and loving Spirit would 
 have us fix our eye on those sacred streams, 
 which flowed from Immanuel's veins ; and as 
 we discover in them the essential blessings of 
 our redemption, to offer to the wounded Sav- 
 iour, the heartfelt invocation of those sublime 
 stanzas : — 
 
 " Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
 Let me hide myself in thee ; 
 Let the water and the blQod, 
 From thy side, a healing flood, 
 Be of sin the double cure, — 
 Save from -wrath and make me pure." 
 
 The twofold blessings of salvation and sanctifi- 
 cation have their origin in that "fountain opened 
 for sin, and for uncleanness." The one exempts 
 from wrath, the other prepares for heaven. The 
 boon of forgiveness is associated with the process 
 of a daily renewal. And the atoning Saviour, 
 who expiated, on the cross, the guilt of sin, pro- 
 vides for the extirpation of its: reigning power, 
 in the washing of water by the word. 
 
222 THE VOICE OF SACRED TKIPLES. 
 
 The God-man, our Mediator, assures us of 
 the solace of His sympathy.! " Because the 
 children were partakers of flesh and blood. He 
 also took part of the same. Himself took our 
 infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." He con- 
 sented to be Uke the people He came to re- 
 deem, in all points except sinfulness. He was 
 homeless and houseless ; mali*gned, traduced, 
 and slandered ; persecuted by enemies, deserted 
 by friends ; denied by one apostle, betrayed by 
 another, forsaken by all. His- flesh was lacer- 
 ated by stripes, and torn by nails ; His soul was 
 assaulted by temptation, and disquieted under 
 the hidings of His Father's countenance. He 
 could weep with every tear that we weep, ex- 
 cept that of repentance; and hope with every 
 hope, and rejoice with every joy that we feel, 
 as men, and as Christians. The roughest path 
 ever trodden was pressed by His sacred feet. 
 The keenest sorrow ever felt was assigned to 
 Him. The bitterest- cup ever drank lingered 
 on His lips. The darkest clQud was reserved 
 for Him to penetrate ; and the ills of life, the 
 most severe and humiliating, He bore without 
 
THE THREE MYSTERIOUS UNIONS. 223 
 
 a murmur. " Verily, He is our companion in 
 tribulation, and our brother in adversity." 
 There is no juniper-tree of the desert, under 
 which we can sit, in pensive solitude, but the 
 meek and lowly Jesus has Bat down there 
 many times before us. There, are no thorns of 
 the wilderness that can pierce us, which have 
 not pierced His sensitive frame times without 
 number. There are no darts of the adversary 
 that can assail us, but have afflicted Him in the 
 fiercest form. The most oppressed, betrayed, 
 and forsaken, must feel that he has one friend 
 who can sympathize, whose soul was exceeding 
 sorrowful, even imto death. Never was our 
 nature honored with a being so affectionate and 
 sympathetic ; so full of dignity, and majesty, 
 and loveliness, and tenderness, and softness. 
 His word so powerful, His touch so healing, 
 His smile so heavenly. Jesus is " the chief 
 among ten thousand, the altogether lovely." 
 
 Only a personage thus constituted, very God 
 and very man, was adequate to the mighty work 
 of redemption. The breach of sin no arm of 
 flesh could heal. It was a chasm which the 
 
224 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 wings of human love could not cross, and -which 
 the feet of human devotedness could not wade. 
 The omnipotent Saviour alone could span the 
 tremendous gulf, and so of twain make one by 
 the blood of the cross. 
 
 The mystical union of Christ and His Church 
 is so indissoluble and glorious, that it will be 
 best understood in the light of eternity. " At 
 that day," said Christ, " ye shall know that I 
 am in the Father, and ye in Me, and I in you." 
 The perfect vision shall show how much there 
 is of God and Christ bound up in the Church. 
 Her beauty and order are but reflections of the 
 transcendent glory and precjousness of Him 
 whose Church she is, in whose righteousness 
 she is clothed, and in whose comeliness she is 
 comely. The universe has neither grandeur, 
 nor sublimity in His eye, in comparison with 
 the Church, which He has purchased with His 
 blood. The Redeemer has embarked His glory 
 in her salvation, and is wont to reveal Himself 
 in a thousand ways, that will fill all holy intel- 
 ligences with admiration forever. She is His 
 Spouse, His Body, His fulness, the almoner of 
 
THE THREE MYSTERIOUS UNIONS. 225 
 
 His bounty, to dispense the treasures of grace 
 to the children of men. Every baptized con- 
 vert to Christ is a member of the Church, born 
 through tlie labors of the Church, nourished by 
 the instructions of the Church, watched over, 
 and trained for heaven, by the discipline of the 
 Church. The Church is the birthplace of saints. 
 " The Lord shall count, when He writeth up the 
 people, that this man was born there." The 
 last and best gift of heaven to the Church was 
 the ministry of reconciliation, " for the perfect- 
 ing of the saints, for the edifying of the Body 
 of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the 
 faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, 
 unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the 
 stature of the fulness of Christ." This, the Holy 
 Spirit tells us, was the object which the Son of 
 God had in view, when He instituted the differ- 
 ent orders of the ministry. " The treasure was 
 put in earthen vessels, that the excellency of 
 the power might be of God, and not of us." 
 Deprive the Church of her ministry, and all 
 other agencies for good would wither away. 
 Zeal for the truth would languish. Efforts of 
 
 15 
 
226 THE VOICE OF SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 religious usefulness would cease. The light of 
 the holy Sabbath would go out. The ten thou- 
 sand benefits of Christianity would be lost, be- 
 cause her solemn feasts are not celebrated, her 
 altars are not honored, and her tidings are not 
 proclaimed. The day would be turned into 
 night, and the garden of the Lord into a wilder- 
 ness and solitary place. Whatever is glorious 
 and godlike, is the fruit of the ministry of the 
 Church, as founded on the Apostles and Proph- 
 ets, Jesus Christ himself being* the chief corner- 
 stone. The Lord who decreed that the earth 
 should have no day, but by the shining of the 
 sun, has alike ordained that the world shall have 
 no spiritual illumination, but by reflection from 
 His Church, and His Church nO source of bless- 
 ing but through the agency of her ministry, 
 which, like the mystic lamps of the tabernacle, 
 He hath set up in the midst of the sanctuary. 
 
 The world owes its existence to the Church. 
 She is instrumentally and subordinately its 
 moral preservation and glory. Take her away 
 from the earth, and what remains but a mass 
 of unmitigated evil, a world of unrelieved cor- 
 
THE THREE MYSTERIOUS UNIONS. 227 
 
 ruption, an empire wholly in rebellion against 
 God, and in subjection to Satan ? — The salt ex- 
 tracted, the light extinguished, the wheat sifted 
 from the chaff, the gold separated from the 
 dross, and nought is left but fuel for the fearful 
 and final conflagration. Such is the doom that 
 awaits the earth, when it shall cease to be the 
 dwelling-place of the faithful. 
 
 On common principles of reasoning, a very 
 long continuance of the Church might be 
 deemed almost impossible, since she finds in 
 every man a natural and inveterate foe. But 
 " the Lord her God in the midst of her is 
 mighty." "Her life is hidden with Christ in 
 God." It grows with the quickening of the 
 heart, and unfolds itself in "righteousness and 
 peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." Were she 
 an earthly element, striving to neutralize a 
 rival, she might be absorbed in her own ; but 
 she is of heavenly parentage, and inextinguish- 
 able vitality, assimilating earth to heaven, and 
 man to God. Her union with Christ is the 
 union of the bride with the bridegroom. "I 
 am married unto you, saith the Lord." "Thy 
 
228 THE VOICE OF 'SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 Maker is thy husband, the Lord of Hosts is His 
 name." " He that hath the bride is the bride- 
 groom : as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the 
 bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee." 
 "Husbands love your wives, as.Christ also loved 
 the Church, and gave Himself for it." 
 
 Is there union between the head and the 
 body ? Christ is " the Head of His body, the 
 Church " ; and we are " members of His body, 
 of His flesh, and of His bones." "The body is 
 pot one member, but many, apd God hath set 
 the members, every one as it hath pleased Him." 
 The eyes see for the body ; the hands handle 
 for the body ; the feet walk for the body ; the 
 palate tastes for the body ; the nerves feel for 
 body. They are all component parts of one 
 and the same system, acting in concert through 
 one common organization ; the members many, 
 the body one. " By one Spirit we are all bap- 
 tized into one body." The Holy Spirit is given 
 to the body, the Church, that in her capacious 
 bosom there may be but one heart to sway its 
 motions, and direct its actions ; a heart that 
 shall beat in unison with heaven, and whose 
 
THE THREE MYSTEKIOTJS UNIONS. 229 
 
 every impulse shall diffuse life, and health, and 
 joy to the remotest members. The Spirit of 
 spirits, yea the fountain spirit, as a living soul 
 animates, cements, and pervades the whole. As 
 God is said to have taken of the spirit that was 
 in Moses, and put it upon the seventy elders, 
 so He takes of the spirit that was in Christ, and 
 puts it upon His disciples. And as the holy 
 oil, with which Aaron was anointed, was first 
 poured in richest profusion on the head, and' 
 thence flowed to the lowest borders and fringes 
 of his garments, the rich unction poured upon 
 Christ descends to the least and lowest of the 
 members of His mystical body. 
 
 The incorporation of His people into Himself, 
 the gracious Saviour beautifully illustrates under 
 the additional similitude of the vine and the 
 branches. " I am the vine," says He ; " ye are 
 the branches. As the branch cannot bear fruit 
 of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more 
 can ye, except ye abide in Me." The condition 
 of life and fertility is being in Christ; one with 
 Him, partakers of the divine nature, and recip- 
 ients of His gracious influences. The juice of 
 
230 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 the parent stock is the same in the numerous 
 branches; and the members of Christ's body 
 have one common hfe with Him, and with the 
 several individual parts, of which His body con- 
 sists. This is mentioned by St.. Paul as a motive 
 not to speak, or act to the injury of a fello^v- 
 Christian, because being members one of anoth- 
 er, any wound that we inflict on a brother, is 
 violence done to our own spiritual life, and to 
 the body as a .whole. One can hardly expect 
 any branch of the true vine to grow and pros- 
 per, while in irritating collision with adjacent 
 ones. Certainly no part of the human frame is 
 strengthened by inflicting a blow on it. The 
 hand weakens itself when it inflicts pain on the 
 foot. And if we act bitterly or uncharitably 
 toward those who are fellow-heirs of the grace 
 of life, we not only violate that common sym- 
 pathy, by which the members* of Christ's body 
 participate in one common hope, but we turn 
 from us the heart, and approbation of Christ, 
 from whom our life is derived. As one in Christ 
 Jesus, it behooves us to " endeavor to keep the 
 unity of the Spirit, in the bond of peace." 
 
THE THEEE MYSTERIOUS' UNIONS. 231 
 
 The living body of the Lord comprehends 
 the unseen world. The visible- and the invisible 
 are connected by the same presiding Head, " of 
 whom the whole family in heaven and earth is 
 named." He is the bond of union to the Church, 
 militant and triumphant. The communion of 
 saints brings us into association with the blessed 
 in heaven. "Ye are come," said the Apostle, 
 "unto Mount Zion, and unto the city of the 
 living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an 
 innumerable company of angels, to the general 
 assembly and church of the first-born, which are 
 written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, 
 and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and 
 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant." 
 Whether in the body, or out of the body, the 
 fellowship of holy minds is attracted to one 
 common centre, dear alike to the one, and the 
 other. 
 
 " Angels, and living saints, and dead 
 But one communion make ; 
 All join in Christ, their lining Head, 
 And of His love partake." 
 
 The cold hand of death is powerless to separate. 
 
232 THE VOICE OP SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 spirits so closely cemented. If the dissolution 
 of the human frame causes any change in the 
 relation of the souls of the living to those of the 
 departed, it must consist in the enlarging and 
 strengthening of former intimacy. Did you 
 love the lost one for the lineaments of the 
 Saviour's image impressed on the heart ? Then 
 the tie was not merely one of flesh and blood, 
 but of spirit, which still exists. The foundation 
 that originally formed the basis of your fellow- 
 ship, remains unimpaired. The golden chain 
 which binds soul to soul, and both to heaven, 
 continues ever. Give then to the earth her 
 tribute, the dust to dust, and commune with the 
 soul, which God has taken, in the unity of the 
 spirit, the communion of saintship in the Lord. 
 The dead in Christ are the spirits of the just 
 made perfect. Their imperfections have ceased. 
 Their faculties are more vigorous than when 
 shut up in the body ; the memory is more 
 awake; the sensibilities are quicker. We can 
 neither see, nor hear them. This would be in- 
 consistent with the arrangemerits of Providence, 
 which require that we walk by faith. But the 
 
THE THREE MYSTERIOUS UNIONS. 233 
 
 fragrance of their virtues steals over us like 
 the soft pulsations of a south 'wind, laden with 
 the sweets of a new-mown field. " The memory 
 of the just is blessed." Sometimes we feel as 
 though we were sailing away from them ; but 
 we are sailing towards them ; they are gone to 
 preoccupy the home, to which we are aspiring, 
 and we are nearer to them now, than yesterday: 
 the night is far spent ; the day is at hand. 
 
 The blessed thought, that we are counted 
 worthy to be admitted to sucb a fellowship, 
 made partakers of such privileges, and inheri- 
 tors of such a kingdom, should fill- our hearts 
 with love and gratitude, and deeply humble us 
 with a sense of our utter ixnworthiness. It 
 should kindle higher aspirations after com- 
 munion with Christ, excite more fervent long- 
 ings for holiness, and heavenly mindedness, 
 and dispose us to a waiting attitude for the 
 peace, and purity, and harmony of heaven. 
 
 The voyage of life hastens to its close with 
 amazing rapidity. We shall soon hear the 
 rasping on the shallows, and the commotion 
 overhead, which bespeak the port in view. 
 
234 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 Gliding through breaking shadows, and softly 
 unfolding light, we shall merge into the open 
 vision of things unseen and eternal : not vio- 
 lently, like being whirled instantly into a dis- 
 tant city, and then waking up amid the con- 
 fusion and strangeness of the place. The 
 heavenly Jerusalem appears first in the dis- 
 tance. The approach to it is gradual. Sweet 
 voices are heard afar ofi! Celestial forms whis- 
 per peace to the soul : — • 
 
 "Hark! they whisper; angels say, 
 Sister spirit, come away." 
 
 Jesus vouchsafes His cheering presence, — pil- 
 lows the languid head upon His bosom, — speaks 
 words of cheer to the straggling;^ panting soul, — 
 bids the tempter make no menace, — causes over- 
 shadowing splendors to fall around, and minis- 
 ters an abundant entrance into the full sunshine, 
 and perfect realization and enjoyment of His 
 full-orbed glories in the everlasting kingdom. 
 The three mysterious unions will then cease 
 to be seen through a glass darkly. They are 
 interesting pictures, with infinite lines in them, 
 
THE THREE MYSTERIOUS: UNIONS. 235 
 
 eminently calculated to lead us to love and 
 adore. We wait with hope and patience for the 
 dawn of the era, when perfect light shall solve 
 every mystery, and " we shall know, even as 
 also we are known." Change and vicissitude 
 we expect in all sublunary things, but not in 
 the holy mysteries of Christ, and His Church. 
 These are not fictions, but truths; not gorgeous 
 descriptions, but consolations; not enchanting 
 narratives, but the irrefragable, settled and 
 eternal verities of faithfulness itself They are 
 realities which endure, when the romance' of 
 life shall cease, ~ sohd, unyielding rock, that has 
 been tried, and tested, and sifted with the strict- 
 est scrutiny, and has never been found wanting, 
 — the rock of God's faithfulne'fes and love, upon 
 which serenely reposing, we can look up to 
 Him, in our last moments, and say with confi- 
 dence, " Lord, in thee have- 1 trusted, let me 
 never be confounded." 
 
THE THEEE IN ONE. 
 
 The doctrine of a Trinity in Unity, is one of 
 pure revelation. Philosophy with its splendid 
 discoveries has shed no illumination on the 
 subject. It was reserved for Christianity to 
 restore and establish the truth in its original 
 purity. We have analogies in a thousand forms, 
 which cannot fail to impress us. There is a 
 Trinity in light, which affords an admirable 
 illustration of this article of our faith. It was 
 believed for many ages that light consisted of 
 seven component parts ; but g, more thorough 
 investigation into its laws and properties has 
 decided that it properly comprises only three. 
 The red, yellow, and blue, are* the primary, or 
 essential colors, from which dll the others are 
 derived. Thus, orange is found between the red 
 and yellow; and green, betwee.n the yellow and 
 blue ; so that in reahty we hav£ but three orig- 
 
THE THBEE IN ONE. 237 
 
 inal colors to deal with, each of which has its 
 own peculiar attributes. The calorific or heat- 
 ing principle is found in the red, the luminous 
 or light-giving principle in the yellow, and the 
 power of chemical action in the blue. Under 
 the influence of the two former, plants will live 
 and grow luxuriantly; but they will bear no 
 fruit without the enlivening power of the blue 
 ray. Life is unproductive until the three united 
 in one bring all things to perfection. It is the 
 trinity of ' red, yellow, and blue, which consti- 
 tutes, when combined, the unity of ordinary, or 
 white light. The three are one, and the one is 
 three, exhibiting a trinity in unity, and a unity 
 in trinity. 
 
 There is a trinity in water, — the fountain, 
 the stream, and the mist. The fountain, high 
 up among the hills, answers to the Father; the 
 stream which issues from the fountain, and flows 
 down into the valley below, corresponds with 
 the Son ; and the mist which rises from the 
 water, and descends upon the thirsty earth in 
 showers of rain or dew, being a fit emblem of 
 the Holy Spirit. This was a favorite similitude 
 
238 THE VOICE OF SACKED TRIPLES. 
 
 under which He was predicted by the prophets : 
 " He shall come down like rain* upon the mown 
 grass, and as showers that water the earth." 
 " I will be as the dew unto Israel, and he shall 
 grow as the lily." 
 
 There is a trinity in language. We discover 
 in the dialects of all nations but three persons^ 
 each one suggestive of the other. The first 
 involves the second, and the second the third. 
 Wtether singular, or pliu-al, th.ere is no fourth 
 person. The whole is simply a repetition of 
 the first three. There is therefore in human 
 speech something like a shadowy outline of the 
 doctrine of the Holy Trinity. An illustration 
 of similar import is occasionally drawn from the 
 constitution of our nature. The ancients used 
 to define the complex being of man as composed 
 of body, soul, and spirit; three component parts, 
 constituting one and the same person. But 
 little stress deserves to be placed in these allu- 
 sions, as they are not proofs, only intimations, 
 of the sublime reality, which defies all human 
 comprehension. 
 
 The existence of a plurality of persons in the 
 
THE THREE IN ONE. 239 
 
 Godhead is definitely presented us in the first 
 and second verses of the first chapter of the 
 Book of Genesis : " In the beginning God cre- 
 ated the heaven and the earth. And the earth 
 was without form, and void : alid darkness was 
 upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of 
 God moved upon the face of the waters." The 
 Hebrew word for God is used in the plural 
 number, and the word created in the singular ; 
 the one pointing to a plurality" of persons, and 
 the other to their unity. The Eternal Father is 
 presented to us as the Omnipo'tent Creator of 
 all things ; the everlasting Son is the hgos, or 
 word, that was in the beginning with God, and 
 without whom nothing was made that was 
 made. And the Holy Spirit is revealed as 
 moving on the surface of the deep, brooding 
 over, fluttering, like a dove, and infusing into 
 the vast abyss the principle of life. The whole 
 Trinity is collectively embodied in the expres- 
 sion, Bara Elohim, the Gods created. So deeply 
 was this truth impressed on the mind of the 
 great Hebrew legislator, that there is scarcely 
 any other method of speaking, from which a 
 
240 THE VOICE OF SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 plurality in Deity may be inferred, that is not 
 used either by himself in the Pentateuch, or 
 by other inspired writers in various parts of the 
 Old Testament. If the combining of this plural 
 noun with a verb in the singular occurred only 
 once, it might be supposed to be an accidental 
 violation of grammar ; but as it is employed 
 about thirty times in the concise history of the 
 creation, and in those portions of Holy Writ 
 where the creation is alluded to, the design was 
 evidently to establish at the outset a theological 
 system, of which the unity of. the Trinity was 
 the leading feature. We read of Jacob, that he 
 called the name of the place Bethel, because the 
 Gods there appeared to him. We read in 
 Joshua, " Ye cannot serve the Lord : for He is 
 the Holy Gods." And there is that remarkable 
 passage in the Book of Ecclesiastes, "Remem- 
 ber now thy Creators in the days of thy youth." 
 The Jews argue, that these numerous examples 
 imply the existence of more than one person in 
 the Godhead; and the Church universal has 
 decided, that they are an intimation of the glo- 
 rious truth of a triune Jehovah. 
 
THir THREE IN ONE. 241 
 
 The twenty-sixth verse of thp first chapter of 
 Genesis, afibrds another argument equally con- 
 clusive. "And God said, Let us make man in our 
 image, after our likeness." The proposition, we 
 think, is so pointed an attestation of plurality, 
 that, when duly and rightly considered, it must 
 stagger the most hardened sceptic. Quotations 
 of this complexion we could cite in abundance, 
 demonstrating most beautifully the manner in 
 which the Most High speaks of himself as more 
 than one : "And the Lord God Said, Behold the 
 man is become like one of us" " And the Lord 
 said. Let us go down, and there confound their 
 language." "I heard the voice of the Lord, 
 saying. Whom shall I send, and who will go for 
 us?" "And now the Lord God, and His Spirit 
 hath sent me." "By the word of the Lord were 
 the heavens made, and all the host of them by 
 the breath of His mouth." " Seek ye out of the 
 book of the Lord, and read : for my mouth it 
 hath commanded : and His Spirit, it hath gath- 
 ered them." Whether God the Father, or God 
 the Son, be the speaker, in the last mentioned 
 passage, it is not material to determine, as the 
 
 16 
 
242 THE VOICE OJP SACKED* TRIPLES. 
 
 whole Trinity is evidently included. So it would 
 also seem, in the triple benediction pronounced 
 hy the High-Priest, as recorded in the fourth 
 chapter of Numbers: "The JiOrd bless thee, 
 and keep thee. The Lord mgike His face to 
 shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee. 
 The Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, 
 and give thee peace." The three separate bless- 
 ings invoked belong, respectively, to the three 
 persons in the Godhead, in the order of the 
 Father, Son, and Spirit : the Father being the 
 source of blessing and preservation ; the Saviour, 
 the author of grace and illumination ; and the 
 Holy Spirit, the Comforter, and giver of peace. 
 Turn we now to the New Testament for some 
 of the proofs which it meets with there. The 
 doctrine of the Holy Trinity is most explicitly 
 revealed in the commission, which the Lord 
 gave to His Apostles, after His resurrection: 
 " Go ye therefore and teach all nations, baptiz- 
 ing them in the name of the Father, and of the 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost." The administra- 
 tion of the rite agreeably to the prescribed for- 
 mula, supposes no inferiority in the persons of 
 
THE THREE IN ONE. 243 
 
 the Trinity, but that the three are of one sub- 
 stance, power, and perfection ; all equally con- 
 curring in the great plan of human redemption. 
 The Saviour's own baptism tended beautifully 
 to place this truth beyond all doubt. When 
 He had fulfilled all righteousness on the banks 
 of the Jordan, His conduct met with the ap- 
 proval of the Holy Three. The Father testified 
 His pleasure in His approving voice; the Son, in 
 His illustrious example ; and the Holy Spirit, 
 in His visible descent. 
 
 In the name of the blessed Trinity we were 
 baptized into the Church, and thus taught that 
 the work of our salvation is so vast that it 
 brings into action every distinctive attribute of 
 the Divine nature, causing the triune Jehovah 
 to find ample scope for the employment of every 
 perfection, and the affluence of every grace. In 
 that solemn hour, when the outward and visible 
 sign of inward and spiritual grace fell upon our 
 countenances, we were set apart and claimed 
 for God. "We are the property of the Trinity. 
 Each person of the Deity has an interest in us, 
 and to each we must surrender ourselves by an 
 
244 THE VOICE OF SACBED TRIPLES. 
 
 entire and appropriate consecration. If our 
 obligations before were infinite, what must we 
 think of them now, on beholding three distinct 
 subsistences actually confederating and con- 
 ferring together, and embarking the treasuries 
 of heaven in the cause of our happiness? Surely 
 an ocean of felicity is placed before sinful be- 
 ings, whose hearts scarcely overflow with a 
 drop. 
 
 The doxology of St. Paul, at the conclusion 
 of his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, is an- 
 other proof equally pertinent : " The grace of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and 
 the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you 
 all. Amen." This Apostolic* benediction is 
 found at the close of Morning and Evening 
 Prayer, and fitly applies to every period of time. 
 The three great blessings of grace, love, and 
 fellowship, are sought, respectively, from Jesus 
 Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Ghost, as 
 equal in essence, will, power, and glory, and 
 every perfection. 
 
 The invocations in the Litany are made dis- 
 tinctly to each separate person of the Deity, 
 
THE THREE IN OIIE. 245 
 
 and then to the Three in One. We acknowl- 
 edge the glory of the Eternal Trinity, and wor- 
 ship the Unity. This occasions no distraction 
 of thought, or fearful apprehension, of not wor- 
 shipping each person in due proportion. We 
 need but to lift up our hearts in true faith, and 
 adoring love ; and whether we addres^ the Fath- 
 er, or the Son, we pray to one and the same 
 God, who is over all, blessed forever. The 
 primitive Christians prayed mostly to Christ. 
 They were distinguished by the practice of 
 Calling on the name of the Lord Jesus. It is 
 the will and purpose of God that at the name 
 of Jesus every knee shall bow. In paying Him 
 homage, we give glory to the Father ; and in 
 honoring the Holy Spirit, we honor the Father 
 and the Son, from whom the Spirit proceeds. 
 Whether we exercise our best affections on the 
 ever-loving Jehovah, as the foimtain of life and 
 happiness; or on the lovely Eedeemer, who 
 wrought out for us the blessings of everlasting 
 salvation; or on the Comforter and Revealer, 
 who fills us with joy and peace in believing, we 
 know that we love the Lord, as the one great 
 
246 THE VOICE OP SACRED TRIPLES. 
 
 object of worship, and have a just appreciation 
 of His mercies in the plan of human redemption. 
 
 " Now teach my lips to sing on earth, 
 And meekly set Thy praises forth. 
 The songs which choirists sing in heaven, 
 From holy themes which Thou hast given. 
 The Three in One, the One in Throe, 
 Who was, and is, and yet shall be, — 
 The wondrous, glorious mystery. 
 The song of aU eternity." 
 
 The doctrine of the Trinity is the doctrine of 
 the divinity of Jesus Christ. The blessed Jesus 
 Himself taught it, when He declared, "I and 
 my Father are one." St. Peter ^ays, "He is Lord 
 of All " The Church, with one consent,, lifts up 
 her voice in the Nicene- Creed, "I believe in one 
 Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of 
 God, begotten of His Father before all worlds : 
 God of God, Light of Light, very God of very 
 God." She chants His Deity in her lofty Te 
 Dcum, — "Thou art the King of glory, Christ." 
 Also in that inimitable song, The Gloria in ex- 
 ceMs, she sings, "Thou only art Holy. Thou 
 only art the Lord. Thou only, Christ, with 
 
THE THREE IN ONE. 247 
 
 the Holy Ghost, art most high^ in the glory of 
 God the Father." 
 
 The mystery of the Three in One is recorded 
 as a matter of faith; but it is not given to us to 
 know in what manner the three are united, and 
 how separately and jointly they are God. Our 
 finite comprehensions are too limited to grasp 
 the nature and properties of an infinite Being. 
 " Who by searching can find out God ? Who 
 can find out the Almighty to perfection?" God 
 is a Spirit, and man's gross perceptions are but 
 ill adapted to the understanding of a spiritual 
 essence. "If I have told you earthly things," 
 said Christ, "and ye receive them not, how shall 
 ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?" 
 "Such knowledge is too wonderful and excellent 
 for us: it is high, we cannot attain unto it: the 
 measure thereof is larger than the earth, and 
 broader than the sea.^" The most gifted intel- 
 ligence, if placed in the immediate presence of 
 Deity; if endowed with all the powers that 
 heaven and earth can supply ; and if employed 
 in the most diligent research for ages innumera- 
 ble, would know no more of the triune Jehovah 
 
248 THE VOICE OF SACHED TRIPLES. 
 
 than a mariner knows of the ocean, which he 
 can neither measure, nor fathom. Were he to 
 take the universe orb by orb, and travel from 
 star to star, from sun to sun, and from system 
 to system, — were he to see and comprehend 
 all that God has made, — he \\^ould feel so over- 
 powered with the discovery of wisdom, majesty, 
 and splendor blazing around, that there would 
 remain no life in him. Our duty is to receive 
 with docility the testimony which God has 
 given ; and to fix our footing upon that firmest 
 of all foundations, and most rational of all evi- 
 dences, " Thus saith the Lord." 
 
 The benefit of a revelation of the doctrine of 
 a Trinity in Unity is the knowledge of what 
 God has done for us. But for this, we should 
 have known nothing of God's Fatherly charac- 
 ter ; nothing of the Saviour's sympathy ; noth- 
 ing of the history of the Comforter. We should 
 have felt ourselves orphan children, friendless 
 and desolate. 
 
 To faithful and believing souls there is much 
 to console in this article of faith. The unity of 
 salvation requires the eye to be fixed principally 
 
THE THREE IN ON?. 249 
 
 on one object, — the central person of the God- 
 head, — "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and 
 thou shalt be saved." Look to Him amidst 
 your embarrassments and depressions; and like 
 the roving dove, sweeping with drooping wing 
 the troubled waters, and finding no repose until, 
 weary and panting, she behies herself to the ark, 
 so in that one blessed and precious object your 
 fluttering and believing heart shall find rest and 
 peace. The thoughts, distracted and perturbed, 
 cluster around the Trinity like so many chil- 
 dren anxious to reciprocate the love of an affec- 
 tionate parent. Here they find a resting-place 
 from their wanderings : the bands of worldli- 
 ness are unloosed, and we live in the enjoyment 
 of holy influences girding us* for duty. The 
 Lord only can heal the troubled waters of the 
 heart. He only can purify the sub-springs of 
 the soul, and turn the turbid fountain into 
 sweetness of purity and brightness. He only 
 can give that direction to the thoughts that 
 shall make them a well of water, springing up 
 into everlasting life. 
 
€|)oicc Qoiiinics^ of ^octrp. 
 
 LTM; OR, HYMNS OF HOLY RE- 
 FRESHMENT. Selectetl by tlie Rev. F. D. 
 Huntington, D. D. A beantilul volume, with 
 enn-raved title-pape, printed in colors. Second edition. 
 
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 ■will wish to encamp a while by the sweet waters, and in the 
 refreshing shade." — The Calendar. 
 
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 POEMS. By the Rev. Robert Lowell, D. D. 
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 ILY PKAYERS, for Every Morning and Evening 
 of the Week, and for particular occasions. 12mo. 54 
 pages, flexible, red edges, 50 cents. 
 "Brevity is both its merit and distinctidn." — Banner of {he 
 
 Cross. 
 " The Prayers are very short, designed ta meet occasions and 
 
 circumstances when the family devotions must of necessity be 
 
 brief." — Christian Witness. 
 
 BISHOP WAINWRIGHT'S FAMILY PRAY- 
 ERS for Every Day in the Week, and for the Com- 
 memoration of the Holy Days and Seasons of the 
 Church. Selected and arranged from the Bible, the 
 Liturgy, and various Books of Devotion. 12mo. 214 
 pages, $1.25. 
 " We can recommend this manual of devotions as simple, fer-_ 
 
 vent, spiritual, appropriate, and scriptural." — Calendar. 
 
 BISHOP GRISWOLD'S PRAYERS, adapted 
 to various occasions of Social Worship, for which pro- 
 vision is not made in the Book of Common Prayer. 
 12mo. 271 pages, $1.25.