תמונות בעמוד
PDF
ePub

LECTURE XXVIII.

ST. MATTHEW Xi. 25, 26.

At that time Jesus answered and said: I

thank thee, O Father, Lord of Heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.

AFTER our blessed Lord had said, that the wicked people of Sodom would fare better in the day of judgment, than they who had seen him, and heard him, and yet repented not, he gave vent to his feelings in these words. He saw how his preaching was despised by them, who thought themselves wise: he saw, how gladly he was heard by those, who had an humble

opinion of themselves, and who felt in their hearts a willingness and a pleasure in being taught and instructed. He therefore poured forth his thanks to God, that since he had permitted the wise and prudent in their own eyes to turn away from his instruction, be had thought fit to bring the humble, the meek, the sincere, and the willing, into his heavenly fold. This shews you, what things are necessary to make you good Christians and believers in Christ. You need not be rich, before you can be a Christian. You need not be great before you can be a Christian. You need not know much before you can be a Christian. You need not be free before you can be a Christian. You need not have a high opinion of yourselves, before you can be a Christian. You may be poor and mean, and ignorant, and slaves, and humble in thinking of yourselves, and yet be Christians, and inherit everlasting life through the merits and for the sake of Christ. All that is required of you is to

have the good and honest heart, and to be like young children in the best parts of their characters. You are to be without guile, without malice, without deceit, without ill-will; you are, like them, to be lieve as your Saviour orders, and to do as he bids you do. You must say to Jesus Christ, I am thine: I am ready to follow thee in this life through the paths of holiness, and goodness, and I trust in thee to raise me from death and to take me to thyself in that kingdom, which thou hast prepared for all that love and serve thee. Even so, Father says our Lord, for so it seemeth good in thy sight. All that God pleases to do must be right: and there is no better reason for our being satisfied with whatever happens to us in this life, than our being certain that whatever God does with us in this state and in every other, must and will be right. The child depends on its parent for every thing. It cannot, you know, help itself. It can only show you its little wants by its cries. It casts

1

its whole cares upon you. So must you cast your care upon God, and hope and pray that he will give you all things that be needful both for your souls and bodies through Jesus Christ.

Our Saviour goes on to say: All things are delivered unto me by my Father: he hath given me all power both in Heaven and in earth: and no man knoweth me, Jesus Christ, the Son, except the Father, neither knoweth any man the Father, God Almighty, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. This shews you, that our Saviour is some most grand and important person. No one knew him well, but God Almighty. And when we are told in the Bible, that he is no other but the Son of God, equal to God, living before the world begun with God, having glorywith God before theworld or any thing was made, you must think very highly indeed of your blessed Saviour. You cannot but think that he has power

to do all things, to raise you from your graves, to pardon your sins, to give you strength to do all that is good, and finally to save your souls alive. And yet this Saviour died to save you, came upon earth, taking on him human flesh, living as a man among men, and all this, that he may obtain the forgiveness of your sins, which, but for him, would have plunged you into hell. Nor can any one know what God is, but Jesus Christ, and they, whom Jesus Christ tells what he is. He has told us what God is, that he is a spirit without body, parts, or passions, that he is every where, that he has been and will be for ever, that he has all power, knows all things, even our hearts, and that he has made us to love and obey him, will forgive us all that we have done amiss, if we repent and do so no more, and believe in Jesus Christ; and will raise us to Heaven if we do good, and send us to hell if we do evil. Our Saviour then turned round to all the people and spake these beau

« הקודםהמשך »