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A DISCOURSE

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A LETTER OF SYMPATHY

TO THE LORD'S POOR.

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By E. H. BURNAM,
PASTOIt OF O. 3. BAl'TIST CHfUCII, RICHMOND, KX.

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CINCINNATI:
MOORE, WILSTACH& BALDWIN, Printers, y
1867. ^

A DISCOURSE

REST 'OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD,

A LETTER OF SYMPATHY

TO THE LORD'S POOR.

By E. H. BURNAM,
PASTOR OF O. S. BAPTIST CHURCH, RICHMOND, KT.

CINCINNATI:
MOORE, WILSTACH & BALDWIN, Pkinteks.
1867.

THE REST OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
(Hebrews iv : 9.)

"We are standing on the margin of a new era. In view of the
momentous eveuts ready to transpire in fulfillment of prophecy,
the children of God scattered abroad, need to be reminded of the
words of their Master, " Be ye also ready, for in such an hour as
ye think not the Son of man cometh ; Matt, xxiv : 44 ; " Behold,
I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his
garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame ;" Rev. xvi :
15. With the prayer that the saints may be found thus engaged,
and that he may be counted worthy with them to be "kept from
the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to
try them that dwell upon the earth," the writer of these lines pro
poses to address them upon the subject of the Rest of the People of
God, as connected with the kingdom of Christ.
Nearly all who receive the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa
ments as the word of God believe, that at some time previous to
the eternal state, the nations of the earth will enjoy peace, pros
perity, and blessedness, for a thousand years during and under
the joint reign of Christ and the saints. Those, who believe that
this happy period will be ushered in by the increased efiicaey of
the ministry of the Word, and that it will be succeeded by the
second advent of Christ summoning all mankind, righteous and
wicked, to the throne of judgment, are termed Postmillenialists.
Those who believe that the progress of the world will be down
ward in iniquity, until the close of the six thousandth year from
the creation, and that when transgressors shall have come to the
full, the Lord Jesus Christ will appear from heaven to gather to
gether His saints, living and dead, to " destroy them which destroy
the earth," to "turn away ungodliness from Jacob," and to give
peace to the Gentiles, the "nations of them which are saved;"
that is, to introduce the millenium, are termed Premillenialists. It is
this last which the writer holds to be the truth of God, an argument
for which, he believes, is found in the souls of all the saved. In
order to develop this, let us inquire, Who are the people of God?

What is their relation to Christ? and what is the rest remaining
for them?
I. Who are the people of God? Few expressions are of more
frequent occurrence in the Divine Records than these: "People,"
"my people," "thy people," and kindred ones. Throughout the
volume of inspiration, however, they are to be taken in but two
senses: 1. The typical sense as denoting the natural descendants of
Abraham in the line of Isaac and Jacob. We read that to them
"pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the service of God,
and the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom as concern
ing the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever;"
Rom. ix : 4, 5. The covenants here spoken of, in virtue of which
all the remaining blessings proceeded, were these: First, that one
recorded in Gen. xiii, in which God promised to Abraham to
make of him a great nation, and a blessing to all the families of
the earth; and, Second, that one recorded in Gen. xv, in which
God promised to Abraham to give unto his seed the land of
Canaan, in which he then was. These two are comprehended in
that one recorded in Gen. xvii, as will appear upon a careful
comparison of its provisions with those previously recited. For
the confirmation of the promise of the land of Canaan "unto his
seed," God — in Gen. xvii — instituted for Abraham the rite of
circumcision, to mark them as a distinct nationality, through
all the vicissitudes of prosperity and adversity, of settled govern
ment and revolution, which He foresaw would characterize their
wondrous career. Further, to confirm this promise, we read that
just before the passage of the Jordan, Joshua under instructions
from the Lord, caused the Israelites to be circumcised, because
those who were born in the wilderness had not received the sign,
and because all who came forth from Egypt (Joshua and Caleb
excepted) had perished. Now. these two propositions are clear:
(1.) The covenant in Gen. xvii, contemplates the natural descend
ants of Jacob as the destined inheritors of that land made theirs
by solemn promise for an "everlasting possession." (2.) In virtue
of the use which sacred writers have made of the rite of circum
cision — to typify the regeneration of the persons of the saved,
Deut. x: 16 ; Jer. iv: 4; Rom. ii: 28, 29 ; Phil, iii: 3, the covenant
contemplates the natural descendants of Jacob as destined to par
ticipate in the spiritual blessings thereof secured through Christ,
Abraham's " seed." The first of these propositions is confirmed
by nearly all the prophets in language clear and unmistakable;

Lev. xxvi: 44; Dent, xxx: 1-10 ; Isa. xi: 10-16 ; Jer. xxx-xxxi;
Ezek. xxxvi-xlviii ; Zeck. xiv, and many others. The Second is
confirmed by Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, as above, be
sides which the prophecies of Zechariah (spoken after the Baby
lonish captivity) nearly all relate to the conversion of the Jews.
Paul also makes this clear; Rom. xi. It should be observed that
the possession of fleshly circumcision did by no means imply that
of spiritual circumcision ; " For," says Paul, "they are not all Israel
who are of Israel : neither because they are of the seed of Abraham
are they all children ; but in Isaac shall thy seed be called. That
is, they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the chil
dren of God ; but the children of the promise are counted for the
seed,;' etc. ; Rom. ix : 6-8. The whole Jewish service was typical.
Its covenant of circumcision, mediator, statutes, priesthood, taber
nacle, offerings, etc., prefigured the better covenant of grace, its
mediator, etc. ; Heb. viii-x. For this reason it was not necessary
for their highest officers — kings and priests — to be spiritually cir
cumcised, to minister in " holy things." In proof of this, witness
Nadab, Abihu, Hophni and Phinehas ministering at the altar, and
Saul and others wielding the scepter. But there were many Jews
who possessed both type and substance, and this leads to the con
sideration of,
2, The substantial sense of the " People of God," denoting the
children of Abraham by faith. All Jews are certainly the chil
dren of Abraham ; yet it is equally certain that certain Jews whom
Jesus addressed, John viii : 39, were not the children of Abraham.
" If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abra
ham." "If ye be Christ's — then are ye Abraham's seed, and
heirs according to the promise ;" Gal. iii : 39. There have been
such children in all ages of the world, both before Abraham's day,
'and since then, for "Jesus Christ — the center and substance of all
faith — is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever;" Heb. xiii: 8.
From the days of that patriarch, it was the will of God that, for
the most part, the substance of circumcision should be found in
the persons of his own lineal descendants. It was in Israel as
such, that the truth of God was perpetuated down to the time of
the ascension of Christ. John the Baptist was, in fulfillment of
prophecy, Mai. iii: 1; Isa. xl: 3-8, sent to prepare the way before
the Lord, and confined his ministry to the Jews. Jesus did like
wise; and when commissioning the twelve apostles, said to them,
" Go not in the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Sa-

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maritans, enter ye not ; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house
of Israel. And as ye_go, preach, saying " the kingdom of Heaven
is at hand ;" Matt, x : 5-8. It was not till after the resurrection
that the field of their labors was made co-extensive with the world.
Then the commission was, " Go ye unto all the world and preach
the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth, and is baptized,
shall be saved ; he that believeth not shall be damned ;" Mark xvi :
15. Here, then, we see the people of God designated as believers,
and it is these who take part in the "Rest" obtained through the
labor and travail of the Lord Immanuel; in accordance with
which he says, " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-
laden, and I will give you rest/'- etc. ; Matt, xi : 28. " Is He the
God of the Jews only ? is He not also of the Gentiles ? Yes, of
the Gentiles also; seeing it is one God which shall justify the cir
cumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith." "For ye
are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus ;" Rom. iii :
29-30; Gal. iii: 26. In accordance herewith also,' the Apostle
says, " we which have believed, do enter unto rest ;" Heb. iv : 3.
¦ Of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum : The peo
ple of God are Jews only, literal and spiritual, or both united in
the same persons ; all who have ever sustained any covenant rela
tion to the God of Abraham. As a nation, the Israelites are pre
served to witness the consummation of the predicted judgments
of God on the unbelieving nations, and in a fearful degree to suffer
with them in these judgments. Those whom God foreknew as
the final inheritors of the land of promise, will, preparatory to
entering upon their inheritance, pass through a time of trouble
unprecedented for severity, Jer. xxx : 4-9 ; Dan. xii : 1 ; Matt, xxiv :
21, and then receive the " spirit of grace and supplications," and
become one on the " mountains of Israel" in unswerving allegiance
to David (Christ) their king; Ezek. xxxvi: 25-38; xxxvii; Zeck.
xi : 10 ; Rom. xi :'25-27. And those of all ages, whether Jews or
Gentiles, whether sleeping in Jesus, or alive and remaining unto
the coming of the Lord, shall be caught up together in the clouds,
to meet him in the air, to enter upon their inheritance of heavenly
rest. Thus, while the " People of God" appear in the two-fold sense
answering to the " covenant," the " Rest" which they receive is two
fold also. Having already spoken of the Gentiles as " the nations
of them which are saved," it hence appears how the Gentiles are
fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of the promise
of Christ in the Gospel ; Eph. iii : 6. This two-fold reference may

be traced throughout the Scriptures, and becomes the key — had
we wisdom rightly to use it — to reveal many a secret in the divine
Word. By virtue hereof, believing Gentiles equally with believing
Jews, have right to the comfort and instruction of the words of
the fathers and prophets. The faith of God's elect has been ever
the same since He, who decreed their salvation, is eternal ; since
He, who begins and ends their faith, is evermore the same, and
since He, who moved the prophets and sealed their instruction,
uow also bestows divine life and guides into all truth.
II. What is the relation which the " people of God" sustain to
the Lord Jesus Christ? They are to each other as Teacher and
disciples, as King and subjects, as Priest and supplicants, as Savior
and sinners, as Deliverer and delivered, as First-born and younger
sons, as Elder and younger brothers, as Head and members, as
Husband auM Bride. Jesus Christ, who was from everlasting be
trothed to children of Adam's posterity, became their Redeemer, in
the very act of becoming their Husband ; Isa. liv : 5. There can
be no reasonable doubt that the obligations of the Redeemer and
Husband are co-extensive ; that the point intended ultimately to
be reached in the union of Christ and the Church, (their joint
eternal glory), could be attained only in their eternal redemption;
since in this union, the whole person of the Bride, soul and body,
was interested. All that Christ is, and all that He does, is for His
Church. In the mystery of godliness, they are one ; neither the
Head, nor the members existing alone. They were chosen in
Him before the foundation of the world; Eph. i: 4. They are
said to have been quickened together with Christ, and raised up
together to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus ; Eph.
ii : 5-7. They are " members of His body, of His flesh, and of
His bones ;" Eph. v : 30 ; " the fullness of Him that filleth all in all ;"
Eph. i : 23. In virtue of this ineffable union, " in all their afflic
tion He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them ;
in His love and in His pity He redeemed them ; and bare them,
and carried them all the days of old ;" Isa. Ixiii : 9. And in virtue
of the same, He prays that " they may be one as we (Father and
Son)* are one ;" John xvii : 21-23.
Let us us now observe :
1. The grand purpose subserved in all God's works.is the show-
ino- forth of His own glory. Associated with this, and inseparable
from it, is the glorification of Immanuel — God in human nature,

involving human redemption, and the destruction of all evil. The
divine glory is the sum total of all that God does or permits to be
done. " The Lord hath made all things for himself; yea, even the
wicked, for the day of evil ;" Prov. xvi : 4 ; Rom. xi : 36 ; Rev/ iv :
11. " He is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His wo/ks ;"
Psa. cxlv : 17 ; therefore, "All His works shall praise Him, an/1 His
saints shall bless Him;" Ver. 10, Rev. xv : 3. So far as/ these
words concern the destiny of the earth and its inhabitants, that
glory has been transferred to Him of the Trinity, who, bp'ing in
the forni of God, took upon Himself the form of a servant, to die
for sinful men. Since His incarnation obtained the concurrence
of the Father in having " given Him to be sin for us who knew
no sin," it is His will, that " all should honor the Sol as they
honor the Father," John v : 23, especially, since the Son smd Father
are One in counsel and execution, in essential dignity and honor.
To this being added the concurrence of the Holy Ghost, as exhib
ited in what He did to prepare the Son for His sacyed office ; in
what He did to sustain Him through His sufferings tfnto death ; in
what He did to exalt humanity in His resurrection^ and' in what
He did and is now doing, to prepare the vessels fore-ordained to
glory ; therefore to dishonor the Son is to resist the Holy Ghost,
by whom He has been characterized as the embodiment of wisdom-
and knowledge. f
The glorification of Christ then, being the ,will of " Him that
can not lie," it follows, that the written revelation which He has
been pleased to give to fallen men, looks singly to this end. The
typical service of ancient patriarchs, when the path of the just
began to be faintly traced, the visions of believers when in holy
communication with the source of light, and the prophetic decla
rations of all the men of God, all center in Him. It was in refer
ence to this that Jesus spake to his disciples, while yet present
with them, that " all things must be fulfilled which were written
in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms con
cerning Him ;" Luke xxiv : 44. Nor can it be lighllly regarded
that these types, visions, and prophetic declarations, contemplated
not His humiliation only, but his exaltation also. 'j The spirit
which was in them, testified beforehand of the suffering? of Christ,
and the glory that should follow;" 1. Pet. 11. It wa\s from an
exclusive regard to the glory of Messiah, that when Jesiis came to
His own, they received Him, not. Erring in the Scriptures, and
not knowing the power of God, they did not perceive, that the

crown of thorns should come before the crown of glory. Yet
their tradition concerning their future glory was based on the
sure word of prophecy. "It is the glory of God to conceal a
thing;" Pro v. xxv: 2. The two stages of Christ's kingdom, in
dicated in His two advents, often appear to be so interwoven as
to refer to the same event ; and in the same strain of prophetic
truth, the minor and sad notes concerning the sufferings of Christ,
seem to interchange with the major and joyful concerning the
glory that should follow. How often does the Psalmist commence
with joyful anticipations, and close with sighs and lamentations ?
How often do the notes of fear and despair yield to soul-inspiring
visions of Messiah's future kingdom? Thus Isaiah in that sub
lime passsage, ch. ix: 1-7, blends the features of the first and
second advents in one, like the opposite but not discordant colors
of the rainbow. ( He places the record of woe, ch. liii, in the
midst of predictions most cheering to Jerusalem, and through her
to the nations. We see in ch. lxi distinct allusions to the humili
ation and glorification of Christ, the former of which, he assures
us, were fulfilled, when, in the synagogue at Nazareth, he opened
the book, read this Scripture, and sat down; Luke-iv: 16-20.
Again, in ch. lxiii, similar distinct references are made, but pur
suing each other so closely, as to leave upon the incautious reader
the impression of His martyrdom enveloped in obscurity. The
same might be shown from other prophetic writings. One can
not but think that He who dwells in the light of His own word,
has purposely withholden its full brightness under clouds of His
own selection. Even the apostle Peter, whose sermons and epis
tles clearly make known the coming of Christ in power and glory,
saw but in part the meaning of the words of the prophet Joel ;
comp. Acts iii : 21 and 2 Pet. iii : 4-14, with Acts ii : 16-21.
The necessary consequence of the intimate relationship existing
between the Husband and Bride elect, as above set forth, is, that
the Sacred Scriptures are required to be fulfilled in the later also,
literally, spiritually, eternally. Prophecy contemplating the mem
bers as distinct individuals, must be literally fulfilled in their native
character and holy calling. The word of God written upon tables
of stone, must be written iu the fleshly tablets of the heart also, by
the Spirit of the living God; 2 Cor. iii: 3 ; Jer. xxxi : 31-34 ; Ezek.
xxxvi : 15-27. " Search the Scriptures," said Jesus, " for in them
ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of
Me." And, said John, "He that believeth on the Son of GocL

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hath the witness in himself; John v: 39 ; 1 John v : 10. The vine
must put forth its branches; the corn of wheat must fall into the
ground and die, not only, but must spring forth and bear much
fruit also; Christ must see of the travail of His soul and be satis
fied; by the revealed knowledge of Himself must the righteous
servant justify many, since He has borne their iniquities. The
Scriptures concerning the sufferings of Christ required to be ful
filled, and they were fulfilled. They require to be fulfilled in His
glorification with His bride, and shall they not be fulfilled ? With
no more distinctness, does the spirit of prophecy point to the one,
than to the other ; and with no more distinctness does He point
to the sufferings and glory of Christ, than to these in connection
with the Church. This comprehensive truth is set forth in these
words of Jesus, " They follow Me ;" John x : 27. This leads to
the observation,
2. That the glorification of Christ in the saints, contemplates in
them the work of the Holy Ghost affecting these two things : (1.)
The erasement from their persons of the image of Satan, and, (2,)
the impressment thereon of the image of Christ. The kingdom
of God includes the two,states of grace and glory, answering to
the two advents of Christ, Ps. lxxxiv : 11 ; the former being a type
of the latter and preliminary to it. In the one, we are as children
receiving the unmixed milk of the Word ; in the other, as men
arrived at the measure of the fullness of the stature of Christ. In
the one, we know in part ; in the other, we know even as also we
are known. Here, we are under tutors and governors, receiving
the Spirit by measure; there, we enter upon an inheritance of
glory, boundless as the love of God. Here, the Church are strangers
and pilgrims in the earth ; there, its kings and priests. Yet, being
in all essential particulars analogous— differing not in the kind of
enjoyment, but the degree thereof— the people of God are here
also, " a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a peculiar people
an holy nation, to show forth the praises of Him, who has called
them out of darkness into His marvellous light ;" 1 Pet. ii • 9
The reign of grace, therefore, concerns the entire persons of the
saints, in conformity with the atonement of Christ It begins
with the soul in the present life, and is consummated upon the
resurrection of the body. Of course the two acts referred to—
erasement and impressment-commence and terminate together
The Scriptures represent the elect in common with all others as'
prey in the hands of the mighty, and as lawful captives • Isa xl'ix •

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24. This captivity extending through the whole period of their
earthly existence, has resulted in the compjete enslavement of
their persons — body and soul — the former, terminating its exist
ence in its original dust — except in the case of those translated,
the latter, corrupted and enfeebled in all its functions. The fea
tures of Satan are clearly perceived from the corruption of every
impulse of the spirit, every emotion of the heart, and every move
ment of the body. Sin reigns throughout the whole. The source
of life being poisoned, the streams bear nothing but death in their
course, the tree yields only corrupt fruit, and the vine grapes of
gall. It is in the heart itself that Satan has established the seat
of his empire, and before its corrupt judgment hall, every process
of reason, and every emotion of the soul, is brought for approval
or condemnation. It is due to overruling Providence alone that
the whole does not sink down to irretrievable ruin ; not that the
person of man is essentially, or by original constitution, sinful ; but,
that since the fall, a dreadful disease has been preying upon his
inner life. The whole head — the seat of reason — is sick; the
whole heart — the seat of the affections — is faint; and the whole
body is full of wounds, bruises, and putrifying sores ; Isa. i : 5-6.
Nor is this an extreme case, it is said of those who lived in the
enjoyment of distinguished privileges. Besides, New Testament
writers teach the same. "Alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that is in them," " dead in the uncipcumcision of
their flesh," "leprous," "blinded by the God of this world,"
" lost ;" — what more is wanting to attest the wretchedness of man
by reason of sin ? Yet, if anything could be added in proof of the
curse which blights the race, it is, that men disbelieve these Bible
declarations, and delude themselves with the whisper of " Peace !"
From this dreary abode and cruel bondage, in virtue of their
relationship to the conquering King of kings, they are called by
the voice of God to rest from their labors in the blissful city of the
living God.
In approaching our third inquiry concerning the Rest of the
Saints, the writer would premise the following : That the glorifi
cation of Christ in the souls of the saved, consists in their sensible
experience and acknowledgement of the truth of human corrup
tion hereinbefore adverted to ; and therefore of the absolute neces
sity of divine power to deliver them from the power of darkness,
and to translate them into the kingdom of God's dear Son ; Col.
i : 13. In order to effect this experience and acknowledgement,

12
the Holy Spirit subjects the heirs of glory to the trial of their-
present powers. Glorification with Christ implies conformity to
Him; and conformity to. Christ implies devotedness to Him in
love ; but to love Christ is impossible so long as the objects accom
plished by Him are unknown or unappreciated, or are supposed
to lie within the compass of unaided nature. Moreover, inappre-
ciation of Christ, unconsciousness of human infirmity, and insen
sibility to divine threatenings, will forever characterize the present
life of man, unless divine grace interpose ; for, " When a strong
man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace," etc. ; Luke
xi : 21. With these words premised, we proceed to our next in
quiry, believing that a satisfactorysolution thereof teaches unmis
takably the doctrine of Christ's Prbmillenial Second Comins.
Then, III. What is the Rest remaining for the people of God ? We
have on a previous page observed that, answering to the two-fold
sense of the "Covenant" made with Abraham, the "People of
God" and their predestined " Rest," must be taken in this two-fold
sense also. Now the people of God were shown to be these, the
lineal descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the children
of Abraham by faith in Christ. To each of these in their respect
ive spheres must the "Rest" conform. We begin with the latter:
1. The Rest of the Heirs of Glory. Rest implies cessation from
sorrowful labor. To attain it, the Holy Spirit subjects the elect
to trial. Take then the case of an elect sinner. The trial begins
with the bestowment of illuminating grace. " The eyes of your
understanding being enlightened;" Eph. i: 18. Born under a
covenant of works, a child of wrath even as others, and ignorant
of every means of support not derived from that covenant, the en
lightened sinner makes application to the law and reads : " If thou
wilt enter into life keep the commandments ;" Matt, xix : 17. The
end of all his efforts under the law, including the best, is either
empty reformation or heartless formalism. The olive tree, wild
by nature, can not yield good fruit* notwithstanding all the labor.
at outward culture that may be expended on it. External beauty
and even magnificence may result; but the sap (life) remaining
vitiated and unchanged, continues its corrupting course. Nothing
different from this can be expected. The branches, are therefore
broken off, and are inserted into the stock of the good Olive Tree,
which springs not from the covenant of works, but from the cove-

13
nant of grace. Pharisaism and Formalism, with all their self-
imposed, severities, are neither of them Christianity; and though
they be held in high repute by men, are abomination to the Lord.
Thus, with the sinner reformed, he is changed in appearance, but
not in reality. Receiving another touch from the divine Oculist,
he perceives that the law is spiritual, but that he is carnal, sold
under (the bond servant of) sin ; Rom. vii : 14. He perceives that,
although he may, from his youth, have observed the precepts of
the law, yet the essence of these commandments — love to God and
man — being wanting, all of His deeds have been born of human
pride, and are those of darkness and of death. The secret power
of sin is now perceived to lie, not in the outward, but in the in
ward man. It is the heart from which, as a corrupt fountain, poi
sonous streams are perpetually discharged; Matt, xv : 19. Hence
arise aversion to the will of God, ingratitude, disbelief of the truth,
on one hand, and on the other, sensuality, avarice, ambition, and
crime. From this point,' nature faints and falls in the conflict
with divine Justice. Fear of impending destruction oppresses the
the soul. Shame takes the place of boasted pride ; sighs, groans,
and tears of deceitful hope ; and the fields of fancied earthly pleasure
are seen to be a barren desert. Strength passes away in the grave
of hope from their dwelling, and comeliness turns to corruption.
Upon the upheaval of the bosom of nature, many sins deep-buried
therein are revealed, and her very foundations are shown to be out
of course. Her wisdom is seen to be folly, her righteousness an
unclean garment, her fancied purity foul deformity, and her boasted
sovereignty and freedom, unconscious servility to the prince of the
power of the air ; Eph. ii : 1-3. The sinner has been weighed in the
scales of justice, and has been found wanting. He has received the
testimony of the Lord, and has set to his seal that God is true, in all
His declarations concerning the wretchedness of the soul blinded
by the god of this world, and alienated from the life of the true
God; John iii: 33; Eph.iv: 18; Rom. i: 18-32. The soul had set
out for the promised rest, under the leadership of Moses ; and, after
all his carefulness and supposed preparations for the journey, finds
himself surrounded with difficulties, pursued by enemies, and con
fronted with destruction. "Israel, which followed after the law
of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness.
Wherefore? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were
by the works of the law, because they stumbled at that stumbling
stone;" Rom. ix: 31-32. Unbelief characterizes the life of the

14
natural man, and is developed upon every trial to which it is sub
jected by the Holy Spirit. And now, one short word sums up
the soul's dismay — that word is — lost. But'it is the lost whom
Jesus came to seek and save ; Luke xix : 10. What an occasion
this, for the display of saving power I Such persons when saved
will never again be heard to boast of natural strength and wis
dom, but will refer their all to Christ. By faith they hear the
words, " Go forward," spoken from heaven ; they receive strength
to obey, and they are delivered from their foes. These characters
— whether they wander in the wilderness in a solitary way, find
ing no city to dwell in, fainting from' hunger and thirst ; or, whether
they sit in darkness and the shadow of death, bound in affliction
and iron, brought down helpless with labor of heart in their
rebellion against the words and counsel of the Most High ; or,
whether being fools are afflicted because of their iniquity, abhor
ring all manner of meat and drawing nigh to the gates of death ;
or, whether they go down to the sea in ships, doing business in
great waters, and see the wonderful works of God in raising the
stormy wind which lifts them on the waves to heaven, or plunges
them down to the abyss, causing their souls to melt with trouble,.
and to come to their wit's end : all these cry unto the Lord, and
He saveth them out of their distresses. The wanderer is led forth
by the right way to a city of habitation ; such as sit in darkness
and the shadow of death are brought forth to the light of life and
peace ; the fool receives the word of truth, is healed and delivered
from destruction ; and the disconsolate voyager upon the sea of
human passion is made glad with serenity of soul,, and anchors
at leugth safely in the haven of peace ; Ps. cvii. It is to this end
that the spirit of humble supplication (God be merciful to me a
sinner !) is granted from the ever- watchful keeper of Israel. Nor
is humble supplication vain. Anxious, care-worn and weary, the
Lord speaks peace to his soul, and conducts him to the place of
Rest. " Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest ; Matt, xi : 28. " We which have believed do-
enter into rest ;" Heb. iv : 3.
Let us pause a moment. Here is a soul received into the first
of the stages of Christ's kingdom, viz. : the kingdom of grace.
Admitted therein he obtains rest. That rest is- introduced by the
appearing of Christ to the soul. But this rest is but the earnest of
that Sabbath-keeping of a thousand years, which the saints shall
spend in the coming kingdom of the Son of Man in glory. There-

15
fore to introduce that glorious rest, the King of glory must first
appear. God finished the works of the first creation in six days,
and rested on the seventh day ; Exod. xx : 11. " One day is with
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day ;"
2 Peter ii : 8 ; Ps. xc : 4. When therefore six thousand years from
the creation — answering to six days of the Lord's work— shall
have been accomplished, then shall arise the morning of the
seventh day (of a thousand years) wherein the Lord shall rest
from His work of grace, with His bride redeemed, regenerated, and
glorified; and wherein the nations of the earth shall live in the
enjoyment of peace. The great body of the so-called religious
world are reposing in the belief that this happy period will be
introduced by the preaching of the Gospel reducing all nations to
the truth. To expose the falsity of this assumption we have re
ferred to the teaching of the Holy Ghost in the soul, and have
found that, instead of obtaining rest by human exertion, despair
and death appear, dissipated only by the appearing of the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Further, to confirm this deduction/take the case of the believer.
He has in a certain sense been delivered from the power of dark
ness and translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son ; Col. i :
13. He has received the Spirit of adoption — Rom. viii : 15 — and
rejoices in his affiliation with the Father, and in his brotherhood
with Christ, ver. 17 ; having fellowship for the perfections of the
one, and for the sufferings of the other. Have his trials termi
nated, and shall he speak peace to his soul ? . No ! Of his prede
cessors in the kingdom and patience of Jesus, it is written : " These
all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen
them afar off, were persuaded of them and embraced them, and
confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims in the earth. For
they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
And truly, if they had been mindful of that from which they
came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned ; but
now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly ; wherefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God : for He hath prepared
for them a city ;" Heb. xi : 13-16. And, in consideration of the fact
thdt Jesus suffered without the gate, the apostle adds : " Let us go
forth therefore unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.
For here we have no continuing city ; but we seek one to come ;"
Heb. xiii : 13-14. The trial through which the believer has passed
was but the death-blow to legal hope, and the rest which he

16
received was but the Spirit's benediction when consecrating him
to the service of God, and sending him to the field of conflict
against himself, the world, and the devil. He is but just now
girded for the war. " Let not him, that girdeth on his harness
boast himself as he that putteth it off;" 1 Kings xx : 11. Im
mediately after Christ's public consecration to the work Assigned
Him in the counsel of heaven, He was " led up of the Spirit into
the wilderness to be tempted of the devil ;" Matt, iv : 1. Thence
forth "He was despised and rejected of men ; a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from
Him ;" Isaiah liii : 3. Said He, "lama stranger to my brethren,
and an alien unto my mother's children,  and the
reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me ;"
Ps. xxii : 8-10. The word of command is, " Follow me ;" Mark
ii : 14. The regenerate soul has fellowship with Christ in His
testimony against the delusive suggestions of the human heart ;
he must agree with Him also in testifying against the works of
that trinity of evil — the world, the flesh, and the devil. A like
result will attend their testimony: K If they have called the Mas
ter of the house Beelzebub, how much more them of his house
hold ?" Matt, x : 25. " If they have persecuted me thejT will also
persecute you," etc.; John xv : 19, 20. The whole of their pres
ent testimony may be stated in the words of an apostle, " I am
crucified with Christ ;" Gal. ii : 20. After verifying these words
in a life of extraordinary patience and suffering, this holy man, in
full view of martyrdom, presents the picture of self-denial and its
rewards in these words : " I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid
up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord the righteous
judge shall give me at that day : and not to me only, but unto all
them also that love His appearing ;" 2 Tim. iv : 7, 8.
But shall the believer during this life succeed in separating
himself from his foes, or in reducing them to subjection to the
mind of Christ? No! There is no discharge in this war during
this life. The Lord of believers suffered during life ; it is honor
enough to His followers to suffer likewise. When, then, shall
they lay their armor by, and dwell with Christ at home ? Never
until they are released from the fetters of carnality by Christ him
self appearing to translate their spirits to paradise, the home of
the justified. This the believer fully realizes, the meaning of

17
which is, that the rest of paradise is attained only upon the appearing
of the. Lord to take to Himself the souls of His saints.
And, considering that the bodies of the saints are joined to their
spirits in indissoluble union, and are equally with these spirits
participants in the work of Christ, when shall that perfect heaven
of immortal glory, reserved for the saints, be consummated?
Never till the last trumpet shall sound, and the righteous dead
shall be raised incorruptible, and the living righteous be changed
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye ; 1 Cor. xv : 52 ; 1st Thess.
iv : 15-17. Then every member of Christ's mystical body having
been united to the Head — " we all having come in 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 fullness of Christ ;" Eph.
iv : 13 — Christ will, jointly with His saints, enter upon the millen
nial reign of glory. But, if the perfect glory of the saints is thus
attained, we learn that this Sabbatic rest is introduced not otherwise
than by the actual -appearing of the Son of Man.
Here then is the rest of the saints begun, when they ceased
from their own works under the law, and by faith in Christ's
finished righteousness rest in the promises of the Gospel, and
receive glimpses of that unfading inheritance at God's right hand ;
that rest still further enjoyed when in the disembodied state, their
spirits strike their earthly tabernacles, and repose in the bosom
of Jesus, their works the meanwhile following them; and that
rest consummated, when, in the re-embodied state, they follow the
Lamb whithersoever He goeth in the government of all terrestrial
things, and in the boundless expanse of the heaven of heavens :
this is the rest of the Bride of Christ, introduced in every case by
the previous appearing of the Lord from heaven.
Upon the subject of the future of the lineal descendants of
Jacob considered as the "people of God," the writer would
simply remark that they are destined to be restored to the land of
their fathers, and to be converted to God, no more to depart from
Him through an evil heart of unbelief; Jer. xxx : 31-37. In
testimony hereof we refer to the terms of the covenant confirmed
unto their father Abraham : " I will establish my covenant
between me and thee, and thy seed after thee in their genera
tions, for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and to
thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee and to thy seed
after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of
Canaan for an everlasting possession ; and I will be their God ;"
2

18 /
Gen. xvii : 7, 8. All the promises of God proceed in accord
ance with this covenant, repeatedly confirmed but never dis-
annuled; Heb. vi : 1.7; Gal. iii: 16-18, whether the Jews alone
be regarded in virtue of its literal sense, in the person of Isaac,
or both Jews and Gentiles, in the spiritual sense, in the person of
Christ. These two thoughts — the literal and the spiritual — form
the basis of all, or nearly all, prophetic addresses to the Jews.
They are two lines which run parallel with each other, but are
never confounded. With this kept constantly in view, the appar
ent obscurity of many prophetic writings in a great measure dis
appears. Now this covenant remains in force, because its promises have
been realized only in part. Said Jesus, " Till heaven and earth
pass, one jpt or one tittle shall in nowise pass from the law till
all be fulfilled;" Matt, v: 8. If not from the law, certainly not
from the covenant, on which the law was founded. It is clear
from Scripture that the temporary occupation of Canaan, under
the leadership of Joshua, was not the rest to which they were
called in the persons of their fathers ; compare Heb. 3d and 4th
chapters with Lev. xxvi ; Deut. xxviii ; xxx : 10. The history
of the Israelites under their first leaders was merely preliminary
to that which is yet future, just as the heavenly rest of the spirit
ual Israel is foreshadowed by their present life of faith. It is
equally certain that at no time since the captivity of the ten
tribes by Shalmanezer, and of the two tribes by Nebuchadnezzar,
have prophecies concerning the restoration and conversion of the
" whole house of Israel" been fulfilled ; Ezek. xxxvii. Some,
indeed, have supposed that these predictions were fulfilled when
the Jews returned to Canaan from Babylon, under Nehemiah and
Ezra, but none pretend that Ephraim or the ten tribes returned
at that time. But this is a part of prophetic truth. The prophecies
of Haggai and Zechariah were written after the Babylonish cap
tivity, and both of them — the latter with singular distinctness —
point to these events; Hag. ii : 21-23; Zech. viii-xiv. It only
remains to ask, Have these events occurred since then ? Thev
have not.
Perhaps it will be said that the Israelites have been set aside to
make way for the Gentiles, according to the words of our blessed
Lord, " The kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given
to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof;" Matt, xxi : 43.
This is true if, by the kingdom of God, be meant the millennial

19
kingdom of Christ and the Church ; false, if the final salvation of
Israel and their earthly supremacy be intended. An apostle
places the subject Of the salvation of the elect remnant of the
Jews beyond controversy; Rom. xi. See also Isa. iv: 3; x: 20-23;
xxiv: 6; Jer. 1: 20; Dan. xii : 1; Ezek. vi : 1-10; xii: 14-16;
Zech. xiii : 9. The same apostle distinctly assures us that, " When
it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away ;" 2 Cor.
iii : 16 ; Isa. xxv : 6-8. The preservation of this people distinct
from all others, through the sign of fleshly circumcision, and this
in the midst of the rise and fall of Gentile nations, and in the
face of their persecution during the predicted "seven times" of
Gentile dominancy, leaves no room to doubt that God has reserved
them to a day of rest, just as the preservation of the spiritual
Israel, under similar vexations and persecutions, through the sign
of spiritual circumcision, assures them of their ultimate possession
of the everlasting mansions. Yes, this " people scattered and
peeled," are destined to the possession of their covenanted privi
leges, chief of which is their return to the Lord, their apostleship
to the remaining Gentiles, (of which the scene on Pentecost was
but a shadow), and supremacy among the nations ; Zech. xiv.
The Lord addresses them thus, " Look upon Zion, the city of our
solemnities ; thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a
tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes
thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords
thereof be broken ;" Isa. xxxiii : 20. For their fathers' sakes
they are still beloved, and He that keepeth Israel will neither
slumber nor sleep, till His words are perfected. " The earth shall
be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the
waters cover the sea;" Hab. ii: 14; Isa. xi: 9. Before that day,
however, (and the fulfillment of concurrent prophecies indicate
its speedy coming), must come the " time of Jacob's trouble," out
of which he will be saved, by the second visible appearing of
the Son of Man, with all His changed and risen saints, to exe
cute judgment upon the persecuting antichristian world arrayed
against the Lord and His Anointed, under " that wicked," the
"man of sin," or "son of perdition;" Jer. xxx: 4-10; Dan.
xii': 1; Zech. xii: 9-14; xiii; xiv: 1-4; 2 Thes. ii: 1-10. This
we believe to be the future of National Israel, regarded as the
people of God.
In conclusion, let it be repeated, that to be conformed to the
image of the Lord Jesus, the heirs of glory must first follow Him

20
iu His sufferings. Nor is this the degree of blind absolutism ; the
wisdom and love of God are herein most signally displayed. For
no one could appreciate the worth of Christ without undergoing
an ordeal of suffering similar to His ; nor could an earnest desire
for the predestined rest be excited in the bosom of believers with
out this disciplinary trial ; nor could the unrevealed glories of the
world to come, in which the saints are Immanuel's fellows, be
perfectly enjoyed without this knowledge of suffering to be under
gone no more. " For the joy that was set before Him, Jesus
endured the cross, despising the shame ;" Heb. xii : 2. We must
"go forth unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach;"1
Heb. xiii : 13. Those only who .have fulfilled this mission shall
enter into the joy of the Lord in that rest remaining for the
people of God.
In applying the testimony of the Holy Ghost, above shown, we
observe :
1. The kingdoms of the world will never become the kingdoms of our
Lord and of his Christ (Ifcev. xi : 15) until the second personal vis
ible advent of the Son of Man. Every unregenerate man is a type
and miniature of the world. The world is but the expanded
image of its miniature representation. The world of mankind is
composed of nations ; nations of communities, and communities
of individuals. The sea is but the sum of its single drops ; the
physical universe of its atomic parts, and eternity of its separate
moments. Unity of nature characterizes the whole. Diverse in
manifestation, but essentially one, discrepancy of parts is appa^
rent only. A wise man once said, " Whatever can be affirmed
of a class universally, can be affirmed of every individual
under that class." And a wiser than he has said of the
class, " The whole world lieth in the wicked one ;" John
v : 19, and of the individuals, " There is none that doeth good,
no, not one;" Rom. iii : 12. One in origin, in mind, in affec
tions, in conduct; differing not in being and attributes, but
in the measure and strength of their development, what can pre
vent their being one in end? The individual member when put.
on trial, bears testimony to the weakness of unaided nature, and
to the incorrigibility of the carnal mind ; Rom. viii : 8. Shall ike
multitude flatter themselves that by culture and art, any element
opposing their healthful progress may eradicated ? This is the
wisdom of those who consider not that the tree puts forth no ex
ertions, except in accordance with the laws of inner life, and that

21
all efforts from without do but expand the body, without in any
wise changing its nature; and that to effect this change the
remedy must be applied to the sap (life) of the growing plant.
We know that it was not to amend the works of the devil that
Christ appeared, but to destroy them; 1 John iii: 8; not to
harmonize flesh and spirit that the sinner is led in the way of
righteousuess, but to reveal to him the poverty of the soul and
the curse of sin requiring the presence of divine power to save.
What then may the world unblessed with the presence of the
Lord expect but disappointment, vexation, and vanity? The in
dividual sinner under the guidance of God, is permitted to apos
tatize from morality, by breaking over the barriers of law, and
daily to become more insensible to the warnings of conscience,
until the man of sin enthroned in the heart, malignant in its op
position to all that is called God, or worthy^of reverence, and
asserting supremacy above all law by strategems of deceit and
refuges of lies, is revealed in all its deformity. What then ought
to be expected from the world under the permission of God, but
apostasy from the walks of moral virtue, infidelity increasing with
degeneracy, atheism and anarchy, until from the dark center of
the world's great heart one should arise asserting claim to univer
sal homage by all power and signs and lying wonders ? 2 Thes.
ii; 1-10; Rev. xiii : 14. The elect sinner knows that the soul
obtained rest only when the works 'of the flesh aud sin disap
peared upon the rising to the eye of faith of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ. When then ought the elect remnant of
the world to expect to walk in the light of the glory of God., un
less it be at the appearing of the Son of Man from heaven, finally
to abolish death, and to bring life and immortality to light
through the Gospel ?. 2 Tim. i: 10. The hand- writing on the
wall of fhe Babylonish palace did not more clearly point out the
approaching disgrace and death of the king, than the overthrow
and ruin of the whole kingdom ; Dan. v : 25-28. We deduce
this result with all the certainty Of divine inspiration — that since
the works of the flesh in the individual member leads to growing
degeneracy and final condemnation, the efforts of states and
nations to repair their misfortunes by continued legislation, and
by1 all arts whatsoever, will not only fail to accomplish the end
proposed, but will be the means of inaugurating the reign of the
last antichrist, in whose destruction at the appearing of the Lord
from heaven nearly the whole world will be involved. Prepara-

22
tory to this, the wise of heart will see all things merely human
and unscriptural, in the so-called ecclesiastical and civil worlds,
sink back into the bosom of coruption whence they took their rise-.
2. The Church will never cease its conflict with that triad of evil —
the world, the flesh, and the devil— until* the resurrection and transla
tion of all her numbers, by the voice of the Archangel and the trump
of God, summoning them to appear with Christ in glory, to execute
judgment on the antichristian world.
Every child of God is a type and miniature of the whole
Church. Their life, sufferings, and final reward are one. " Chosen
in Christ before the foundation of the world, that they should be
wholly and without blame before Him in love ;" Eph. i : 4. "Pre
destinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ unto
Himself according to the good pleasure of His will," — ver. 5 ;
" Called out of darkness into His marvellous light ;" 1 Pet. ii : 9 ;
" Delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the
the kingdom of His dear Son;" Col. i : 13; one in the purpose
of God, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in the life of Christ,
every saint images to every other one that body of which the Son
of God is the Head, "the fullness of Him that filleth all in all."
The Church is the forest of which her members are the individual
trees of righteousness. Differing not in the essential^ hut the
subordinate, not in life, but outward manifestation, according as
God has dealt to each the measure of faith, they all take their
rise in the everlasting covenant of grace, are refreshed by dews
and rains from the same heaven, are invigorated with life aud
beat from the same sun, and lift their heads to the same celestial
home. What is tibe the destiny of this body ? Will they succeed
in casting the mantle of unfading green over the walks of na
ture? or by their health-improving fragrance dissolve the noxious
vapors which pervade its atmosphere? No. The axe of the pro
fane woodman, the slow corroding tooth of time, and the shock
of persecuting winds, are steadily diminishing their numbers.
Soon the earth will become a barren desert, with but here and
there a tree remaining, to witness that God still lives to save.
" When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth,?"
Luke xviii : 8. The individual believer immediately upon his con
secration to the Lord's service, enters upon the stage of Christian)
warfare, and in the course of trial, exclaims : " Troubled on every
side, yet not distressed ; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted,
but not forsaken; cast down but not destroyed," etc.; 2 Cor.

23
iv : 8, 9. Again, he says, " I delight in the law of God after
the inward man: ; but I see another law in my members, warring
against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the
law of sin, which is in my members ;" Rom. vii : 22, 23. Why
should a community of such persons, with an origin, mind, and af
fections, directly opposite to those of the world, hope to escape their
contradiction and opposition? It is only when forgetful of the
command, "Mortify your members which are upon the earth; be
not conformed to the world ; give not place to the devil ; be dili
gent to make your calling and election sure ; pray without ceasing ;
war a good warfare ; lay hold on eternal life." It is only then
that the believer falls into carnal security, and awakes to the sense
of having lost his comfort, and to the shame of having repaid the
goodness of God with ingratitude. Why then should the' Church
consent to jeopard its peace and prosperity, by yielding to the
whispers of carnality, or to the opinions of worldly men ? By
such means the evil one has succeeded in corrupting the truth of
the Gospel, in usurping the sanctuary of God, and in despoiling
the Church of instruction and comfort. Yet, the prevailing opin
ion in the so-called religious world is, that the religion of Jesus
Christ, should, by all means be rendered popular. That doctrine
and order, hoary and reverend with years of suffering, should be
set aside for opinions and formulas of a modern era, merely
because by so doing the taste and sensibilities of the masses will
be charmed into professing the truth of Christianity. These
apostles proclaim the final conquest of the world in the ordinary
method. Is it thus they hope to accomplish their -purpose?
"Know ye not," says an apostle, "that the friendship of the world
is enmity with God ? Whosoever, therefore, will be a friend of
the world is an enemy of God ;" Jas. iv : 2. It is such as these
that sow* the field with tares while professing to disseminate the
word of grace. The children of God are constantly addressed as
strangers and pilgrims in the earth, between whom and the
usurper there can be no fellowship ; 2 Cor. vi : 14-18. In this
conflict, as the day of release draws nigh, the Church will grad
ually disappear but to appear again. The trees of righteousness
will fade away to bloom again in the Paradise of God. When
transgressors shall have come to the full, when the woman in
scarlet is again made drunk with the blood of the saints, and
when, under the leadership of the personal antichrist, the scenes
of antediluvian violence are again enacted ; then the strangers and

24
pilgrims of earth shall be invested with their citizenship in the
upper world. Preparatory to taking position with the King of
kings in the judgment of the antichristian world, they will
awake in the likeness of Christ, at the voice of the Archangel and
the trump of God. This second lesson we deduce, with all the
certainty of the the former, in view of the fact that the Holy
Spirit, affords the believer no reason to hope for permanent rest
before his deliverance from earth by the appearing of the Lord
from heaven.
And the growing darkness in the social, moral, and religious
worlds proclaim the near approach of day. "Blessed is he that
waiteth and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his
shame;" Rev. xvi : 15. Soon may we — if we love His appearing —
be called to enter into our chambers, Isa. xxvi : 20, and soon may
the prophetic image be seen standing in all its gigantic propor
tions, to be dashed in pieces by the stone cut out of the moun
tain without hands ! — Dan. ii : 45. May we be ready, and in our
spirits haste unto our Lord's appearing! Amen.

25

A. LETTER
To the poor in spirit, who discern their poverty and inability in things
spiritual, their brother and companion in affliction proposes a few
words of consolation.
To be poor is the lot of all mankind. "Wretched," and "mis
erable," and " poor," are words which' in common with others are
used to describe the sad condition of fallen men ; a condition ren
dered more humiliating in the reflection that it is their own work,
the consequence of their own folly. Yet poverty and the knowl
edge of poverty are not the same. On the contrary it is peculiar
to many to think themselves rich and wanting nothing, while ex
tremely poor and at the verge of ruin, Rev. iii : 17, 18 ; vii : 8, like
victims of certain diseases who whisper to themselves ." Peace,"
"All's well," when just ready to make their plunge into an un
known and unfathomed sea. To any who to native poverty add
the knowledge of its existence the Gospel is a sweet consoler, as
good news from home . to travelers far away in distant lands, as
gushing streams of cold water to fainting souls. The conscious
ness of inward poverty is a blessed state, although it may not be,
and doubtless is not, one of pleasure. Said Jesus, "Blessed are
'the poor in spirit ; " " the poor have the Gospel preached unto
them." And Paul, who gloried in the grace given him of preach
ing the Gospel, sums up all in this expression, The unsearchable
riches of Christ; Eph. iii: 8. This then, beloved, is what he
preached. Now consider, ye poor and afflicted ones, " The riches
of God's goodness and forbearance, and long suffering ; " Rom.
ii : 4. What can you say why sentence of death should not have
been executed upon you long ago, according to the law which
says, " Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which
are^ written in the book of the law to do them?" GaL iii: 10;
Dent, xxvii : 26. Why was not your candle put out ? Why are
you yet alive ? Why were you not cut down as a barren fig-tree,
and given over to be burned ? Have you not reason to believe

26
that many of your fellows have died in their sins? Are you bet
ter than they by nature? Can you say you are better by practice
when your lips were once blaspheming God's name, and reviling
his image in the person of his saints? Or if you have been sober
and moral, are your secret sins of thought and deed less sinful in
the sight of God than those of your neighbors now in eternity?
Is there any reason why you might not rightfully have been driven
away in your wickedness from the peaceful presence of God?
None, you say, none. Then "behold the goodness and severity
of God! on them that fell severity; but toward you goodness."
Behold "the riches of that goodness and forbearance and long
suffering," through wrhich the Holy Spirit has led you to repent
ance ! But you still feel poor, you say. True, but the very fact
of your being yet alive and conscious of your poverty is the best
proof of God's grace toward you. Says David, " I am poor and
needy ; yet the Lord thinketh upon me ; " Psa. xl : 17. Remem
ber this, the Lord thinketh upon you. He has prevented you from
failing until now, and given- you sorrow of heart. for your sins,'
though as you say you can not feel them enough or as you desire.
Be assured He has not preserved you for nothiug. He has not
led you into the wilderness to slay you with hunger and thirst.
If He had designed to slay you He would have left you to your
own will. Having saved you from your enemies without He will
also save you from those within. Having saved you from the law
}f sin and death, He will also save you from yourself, from your
fears and temptations. God says of His Church, " I will allure
her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her ; " Hosea
ii: 14. If you have never rejoiced in spirit, be of good cheer;
your time of joy is at hand. The Jews begun their day at sun
set, at nightfall. You are now in the wilderness, in darkness,
but soon the night of weeping will issue in the morning of joy;
Psa. xxx : 5 ; cxxvi : 5, 6. Consider for your comfort the riches
of Bis love. " God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love
wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath
quickened us together with Christ ; " Eph, ii : 4, 5. " Ye know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rickyet
for your sakes He became poor, that ye through His povdrty
might be rich ; " 2 Cor. viii : 9. He who was rich in the lov] of
His Father, in the loving obedience of angels, and in the praise
of all His works, lays aside His robes of glory, and becomes so
poor as not to have where to lay His head ; assumes the form of

27
man, and being found in fashion therein, humbled Himself to die
the death of the Cross; Phil, ii: 7, 8. Here is His poverty.
Here, too, are His riches, vast, unfathomable riches of love.
"Scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet peradventure
for a good man some would even dare to die. But God com-
mendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us ; " Rom. v : 7-9. The last and strongest evi
dence of God's love to poor sinners was in the gift of His Son.
Having given Him, He gave them all things; Rom. viii: 32; 1
Cor. iii : 21, 22. The last and strongest love of Christ to the
poor is shown in His death in their stead ; for " greater love hath
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends ; "
John xv : 13. Yet Jesus died for His enemies. Observe, then, ye
poor in spirit and afflicted of sin, how Jesus loves you. He loved
you when reviling His name and cruelly insulting Him. He loved
you by devoting His life to your service. He loved you by dying
for you, suffering the most excruciating pains for three long mortal
hours. He loves you as His Father loved Him. " I have loved
them as Thou hast loved me," and " Thou lovedst me before the
foundation of the world ; " John xvii : 23, 24. His love which
can not be sounded is also unmeasurable. Speaking of the
Church He says, " Yea, I have loved theNe with an everlasting
love; therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee;" Jer.
xxxi : 3. " Having loved His own which were in the world He
loved them to the end;" John xiii: 1. From this love nothing
shall separate you ; Rom. viii : 35-39.
" Mine is an unchanging love,
Higher than the heights above,
Deeper than the depths beneath,,
True and faithful — strong as death."
¥he effect of this love is to pardon such as you confess yourself,
whether Jew or Gentile, for the same Lord over all is rich unto
all that call upon Him; Rom. x: 12. Listen to Him : "Come,
now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord, though your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow ; though they be red
likefcrimson, they shall be as wool ; " Isa. i : 18. " Let the wicked
forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let
himlreturn unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and
to our God, for He will abundantly pardon ; " Isa. Iv : 7. Listen
here, ye hungry thirsting souls : " Ho ! every one that thirsteth,

28
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy
and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and with
out price ; " Isa. Iv : 1. "In the last day of the feast, Jesus stood
and cried, " if any man thirst let him come unto me and drink ; "
"Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out;" John vii:
37 ; vi : 37. Do you ask me whether you may come ? " Whoso
ever will, let him take of the water of life freely ;" Rev. xxii: 17.
But you say, I hope I did once realize the sweets of forgiving
love but all my hope is gone. "My sore runs in the night and
ceases not ; my soul refuses to be comforted ; I call to remem
brance my song in the night ; I commune with my own heart,
and my spirit makes diligent search. Will the Lord cast off for
ever, and will He be favorable no more? Is His mercy clean
gone forever ? Doth His promise fail forever more ? Hath God
forgotten to be gracious ? Hath He in anger shut up His tender
mercies ? " Psa. lxxvii : 2-9. 0 ye afflicted, tossed with tempest,
and not comforted, this is your infirmity. Look out of yourselves
and remember the works and wonders of the Lord which He has
done for His people, yea for you. Look away from self and up
to Him, and be saved. Consider the riches of His consolation.
" In all their affliction (that of the Church) He was afflicted, and
the angel of His presence saved them ; in His love and in His
pity He redeemed them, and bare them, and carried them all the
days of old ; " Isa. lxiii : 9. " The angel of the Lord encampeth
round about them that fear Him and delivereth them." This
was the declaration of a poor man like you, who cried unto the
Lord in his distress and afterward said, " 0 taste and see that the
Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him;" Psa.
xxxiv : 6-8. Jesus, our tender-hearted High Priest is nigh unto
them of a broken heart, and bindeth up their wounds. He is
touched with the feeling of our infirmities, having been in all
points tempted as we are, and being without sin can render eflP
cient service. "He knows what sore temptations mean,
For He has felt the same."
Despair not ; but recall His word : "I will not leave you com
fortless : I will come to you ; John xiv : 18. He leaves none of
His afflicted ones like cast off orphans, but nourishes and cherishes
them ; Eph. v : 29. He gently carries the lambs in His arms, 'and
tenderly leadeth such as are heavy laden with cares and feats.

29
"For a small moment He has forsaken you, but with great mer
cies will He restore you. In a little wrath He hid His face from
you for a moment ; but with everlasting kindness will the Lord
your Redeemer have mercy on you;" Isa. liv: 7, 8. Search the
heart carefully and see wherein you have departed from the Lord.
Your sin has found you out. Nevertheless your sin is forgiven.
" Cast not away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great re
compense of reward. For ye have need of patience after that ye
have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise';" Heb.
x : 35, 36. " Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to
believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake;" Phil, i : 29. "If
we be dead with Him we shall also live with Him : if we suffer
we shall also reign with Him ; will be glorified together ;" 2 Tim.
ii : 11, 12 ; Rom. viii : 17. Out of an abundance of Scripture
passages these are selected for your consolation. All God's chil
dren are taught of Jesus. To be taught of Him is to follow Him
in His conflict with His enemies and yours ; that you may learn
to trust less to yourselves, to beware of the evil one who seeks
your ruin, and to cling more closely to the Friend who is nearer
than a brother, and who is a present help in time of trouble. Lift
up your heads then and rejoice that you are counted worthy to
suffer with such a being — that such a being is not ashamed to be
your companion and guide. And the riches of Christ are un
searchable. Who can measure the grace of God. While con
templating the vastness of that grace which included both Jews
and Gentiles in its ample provisions, in consonance with all the
perfections of God, the adoring wonder of Paul breaks forth in
these^ words, "0 the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are His judgments, and His
ways past finding out ;" Rom. xi : 33. " Surely there is a vein for
the silver, and a place for the gold where they fine it. Iron is
taken out of the earth, and brass is molten out of the stone. . . .
But where shall wisdom be found, and where is the place of un
derstanding ?" — Job xxviii : 1, 2-12. Mines of wealth have been
disco\pred and traced out. The art and labor of man have ex
plored their most secret recesses. Not so the riches of Christ.
" Hife greatness is unsearchable ;" Psa. cxlv : 3 ; Isa. xl : 28. hi the
first'place it is undiscoverable. In searching for it reason would
not know where to begin. The way of the spirit's flight is too
highland too secret to be seen by the eye of reason. It was when
all the wisdom of men had been exhausted in its search after the

30
character and perfections of God, that the wisdom of God was
was made known through the foolishness of preaching ; 1 Cor. U
21. And now that it has been made known it is too feeble and
too ignorant to discern it. Secondly, Even after God has led men
in the way of salvation, and enabled them to mine after its riches,
how little do they amass ! How rich indeed as compared with their
past estate; but still how poor compared with their Head in whom
are gathered all the riches of wisdom and knowledge! Hence,
beloved' while it is your privilege to be ever growing in grace and
ever acquiring the durable riches of wisdom and righteousness,
yet when ages shall have swollen the volume of eternity we shall be
no nearer infinite reflection than we are now. The riches of Christ
are like the great deep. Were we to trace a stream to its source,
we should have to pursue its downward course through the earth,
along the channel laid by God Himself, which after widening and
deepening, would finally issue in the wide and fathomless ocean.
Equally limitless are the goodness, love, and wisdom of God. Let
us reflect that with no sounding lead can the riches of Christ be
fathomed ; for no guilt is too great to be thereby removed. Guilt,
which would have banished us forever from God, has been erased
by the peace-speaking blood of Jesus. Guilt, which shocks the
eye of holiness and sinks us down to where, from its darkened
canopy, no rainbow of hope can ever appear, to where no angel
of mercy ever descends, quickly disappears before the presence of
Jesus' worth. Let us farther reflect that countless human beings
have been made happy by the service of Christ, aud that countless
millions more shall yet be numbered with that shining throng
called the " Church of God," "the New Jerusalem," "the body of
Christ," redeemed out of the earth from every kindred, and tongue,
and people and nation, and made kings and priests unto God!
Oh what fullness in Christ to satisfy the wants and desires of this
innumerable congregation :
" Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood
Shall never lose its power,
Till all the ransomed Church of God
Be saved to sin no more."
Being thus made rich in grace, it is your bounden duty to become
rich in good works, which God hath before ordained that ye
should walk in them ; Eph. ii : 10. The good works of saints are
not intended to enrich the God who created them. He can not

31
be served in this way. - They glorify Him in serving their fellow
men, and in growing rich in faith as heirs of the kingdom given
them as an inheritance. In exact proportion as you sow in this -
life will be the pleasures of religion now and the joy of the world
to come. This is written to stimulate you to the true service of
God and man ; 2 Cor. ix: 6. The field of usefulness is too wide
for any to inquire in vain, "How shall I employ my faculties and
opportunities in the service of God." Study this, ye poor in spirit.
It will do you good to take away your thoughts from your own
cares to fix them on objects around you. While poor yourselves
you will be making many rich. What know ye but God will
bless you to the souls of your fellow men, and lead them to re
pentance through His goodness which they observe in you ? We
should not be straitened in our desires, our love, or our prayers
for men's salvation. Let us reflect that if the love of Jesus was
boundless so should ours be in imitation of Him. If, in subjection
to Him and love to men, we deny ourselves the honors and
pleasures of this life, when its labors are past we will not be
denied the riches of unwasting glory. In this world men are
striving for an earthly crown ; for an inheritance which they
know must moulder away; for wealth which generates euse and
cloy, and satisfies not; for honor and renown which can not en
dure, and which too often, alas, tempt away from the honor which
cometh from God only; for length of days, and a peaceful and a
green old age. How blessed is your privilege to be striving after
i hfevenly crown ; for an inheritance which is incorruptible, un-
defi* d, and unfading ; for wealth whose harvest is always matur
ing ifor honor and fame which assimilate you to God, and which
are Immortal like Himself; for a life which is as the years of the
Almighty! Have patience, ye poor; in a little while the vision
of your inheritance will burst upon you in all its power and glory.
Then ye 'are poor no more. Grace be with you. Amen.

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