SERMON XXVI.

EPHESIANS v. 17.

Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

It is plain, that when the Apostle bade the Ephesians not to be unwise, he spoke of a want of wisdom which they might remove if they would; when he told them to be understanding, he spoke of something which they might get if they would: and we also can get it, unless we can show that our case is different from that of the Ephesians, and that what was within their power is, for some reason or other, not in ours. I do not suppose that any grown-up person, at least among the richer classes, would venture to plead such an excuse they, at least, cannot pretend to have less means of understanding what the will of the Lord is, than were possessed by the Ephesians. But young persons of all classes, and grown-up persons amongst the very poor, may think, perhaps, that to them the excuse does apply. A poor man will often say that he is no scholar, meaning by that, that he cannot understand about the things of Christ; and a young

person, whether rich or poor, will say that he is not old enough, and that added years are necessary before he can understand what the Bible wishes him to learn.

Now certainly this excuse, both in the case of the poor and in that of the young, is, to a certain degree, true. To a certain degree it is true, that they cannot understand the things of Christ: that is, that if we take three persons equally well disposed, and of equal natural abilities,—the one a grown-up man who has been well educated, the second a poor man, and the third one who has not yet grown up to manhood,—it is very certain that there is a great deal in the Bible which the first will understand better than the other

two. And So, if we could compare the understanding of spiritual things enjoyed by the very best and wisest Christian in the world, with that which the same person will gain when he shall see God face to face, the difference would be not like that of the other case, but something infinitely greater; greater, perhaps, than we can ever conceive, unless we shall be so happy as to experience it. But as a good man's understanding of God's will, though far less than it will be hereafter in heaven, is yet quite enough to light him on his way thither; so, and in a much greater degree, is the knowledge to be attained by the poor, or by the young, however in some respects inferior to that of others, yet quite as effectual as theirs to bring them to the kingdom of God through Christ Jesus.

To the youngest then, and to the poorest, we may use the words of St. Paul : "Be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is." From

the youngest, and from the poorest, Christ looks to find some fruit; and if he finds none, the tree is ready to be cut down, and cast into the fire. They have, indeed, a great claim upon the assistance of all those who, from being richer or older, may be able to help them to understand more; but even if this assistance be withheld, or unskilfully given, however great the fault may be in those who do not afford it, yet this is no excuse for those who have not received it: because, if they could not bring forth much fruit, still they could have borne some; and where there is none at all, there will fall God's judgment. And this I suppose to be our Lord's meaning, when he said, that he who knew not his lord's will, and did commit things worthy of stripes, should be beaten with few stripes. We might expect rather, that if he knew not his lord's will, he would not be beaten at all; but Christ meant to show us that there is no such thing as a complete and helpless ignorance about our duty that a man may know little, it is true, but that there is no one who knows nothing; no one, in short, who knows so little as not to be deserving of punishment if he does not turn that little into more.

This is true to the utmost, as far as you are concerned there is not one who hears me, let him be as young as he will, who might not understand the will of Christ better than he does; there is none who does not understand it well enough to make him deserving of God's punishment, for not turning his knowledge to better account. When you come to this chapel, there is not one of you who is excusable for not attending to what he hears; there is not one of you who

could not derive good from it. It may not, indeed, be easy for us to make our addresses to you as plain or as forcible as we could wish; and, assuredly, it is our duty to labour as much as possible, that the few minutes, for it is hardly more, during which we speak to you from this place, shall be turned to good account on our part; but then you must do your duty by yourselves, or else all that we can do for you is nothing: you must try to learn, and to remember, and to put together what you hear. It is surprising how quick we learn things when we really go to work in earnest about them. Men thrown amongst foreigners, whose language they cannot understand, attend to every sound and look and gesture; by the look or the sign they try to make out what the sound means, and if they hear it again, they catch at it as at something which they know, because they have learnt it before: and so every little that they do learn, being remembered and applied in its proper place, helps them on to learn more. If you would do the same, even in a much lower degree,-if you would but think, that what is read to you, or told you, is read and told in order to be remembered that it ought to go into your minds, as so much secured for future use, and that when the time comes for using it, it is hard never to find it forthcoming,-you may depend upon it that what is read in this chapel, both the prayers, the lessons, and the sermons, would, in a short time, give you a very much fuller understanding than you now have of what the will of the Lord is.

But you have this understanding enough already to make you without excuse in the sight of God, if

your lives bring forth no fruit. You have consciences within you, which tell you, in language which you cannot mistake, whether you are at peace with God or no. If this be not quite clear,—for I would be understood by the very youngest among you,— I will put it in another way, You can tell well enough whether you like coming to chapel, or no; whether you like to hear about God, or to think of him, or to pray to him. If you do not, cannot you tell why you do not? If you could not think of the answer to this question yourselves, at least you will see that it is the true one when you hear me mention it. I will tell you why you do not like it: because you do not really believe how God loves you, and what he has done for you. It is nothing but this: for if you really did believe that God was a dearer friend to you than all your relations, that Jesus Christ has done more for you than they have, or ever could do,——and that God will give you better things than ever you have received, or can receive, from any one else, it is quite certain that you would like very much to hear of him, and to pray to him: for praying to him is nothing else than speaking to him; and every one loves to speak to his best friend. Believe that God loves you, that he is more to you than father and mother, and that when you go home to him, it will be infinitely more happy for you, than the happiest home to which ever boy returned from school,

and you would be as sure to love thinking and talking of him, as you do now love to think and talk of the pleasures of your earthly home, when you are for a while released from school.