“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.” Romans 8:16,17

Suggested Further Reading: Ephesians 1:11-23

The believer is to be the heir, I say, not merely of God’s works, not simply of God’s gifts, but of God himself. Do we not talk of his omnipotence?—his almightiness is ours. Do we not speak of his omniscience?—all his wisdom is engaged in our behalf. Do we not say that he is love?—that love belongs to us. Can we not glory in that he is full of immutability, and changes not?—that eternal unchangeablenesss is engaged for the defence of the people of God. All the attributes of divinity are the property of God’s children—their inheritance is built upon them. He himself is ours. Oh what riches! If we could say this morning, that all the stars belong to us; if we could turn the telescope to the most remote of the fixed stars, and then could say with the pride of possession, so natural to man, “That star, a thousand times bigger than the sun, is mine. I am the king of that inheritance.” If we could then sweep the telescope along the milky way, and see the millions upon millions of stars that lie clustered together, and cry, “All these are mine,” yet these possessions were but a speck compared with that which is in the text. Heir of God! He to whom all these things are but as nothing, gives himself up to be the inheritance of his people. Note yet a little further concerning the special privilege of heirship,—we are joint heirs with Christ. That is, whatever Christ possesses, as heir of all things, belongs to us. Splendid must be the inheritance of Jesus Christ. Is he not very God of very God, Jehovah’s only begotten Son, most high and glorious?

For meditation: The prayers of our glorious joint heir regarding our glorious joint inheritance (John 17:9,10,24).

Sermon no. 339

8 October (Preached 7 October 1860)

“Hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.” Micah 6:9

Suggested Further Reading: Nehemiah 1

This world is not the place of punishment for sin; not the place; it may sometimes be a place, but not usually. It is very customary among religious people, to talk of every accident which happens to men in the indulgence of sin, as if it were a judgment. The upsetting of a boat upon a river on a Sunday is assuredly understood to be a judgment for the sin of Sabbath-breaking. In the accidental fall of a house, in which persons were engaged in any unlawful occupation, the inference is at once drawn that the house fell because they were wicked. Now, however some religionists may hope to impress the people by such childish stories as those; I, for one, renounce them all. I believe what my Master says is true, when he declared, concerning the men upon whom the tower of Siloam fell, that they were not sinners above all the sinners that were upon the face of the earth. They were sinners; there is no doubt about it; but the falling of the wall was not occasioned by their sin, nor was their premature death the consequence of their excessive wickedness. Let me, however, guard this declaration, for there are many who carry this doctrine to an extreme. Because God does not usually visit each particular offence in this life upon the transgressor, men are apt to deny altogether the doctrine of judgments. But here they are mistaken. I feel persuaded that there are such things as national judgments, national chastisements for national sins—great blows from the rod of God, which every wise man must acknowledge to be, either a punishment of sin committed, or a premonition to warn us to a sense of the consequences of sins, leading us by God’s grace to humble ourselves, and repent of our sin.

For meditation: Reflect and pray over the state of the nation and its standing before God (Proverbs 14:34).

Part of nos. 154-155

6 October (Preached 7 October 1857)

‘Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.’ Philippians 2:14–16

Suggested Further Reading: 2 Timothy 1:8–2:5

Christians are soldiers. If our soldiers were to take it into their heads that they never ought to be seen, a pretty pass things would come to; what were the soldiers worth when they shunned parade and dreaded battle? We want not men who dare not show themselves to friend or foe. Christians are runners too, and what sort of runners are men who run in the dark? Not so says the apostle; we are ‘compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,’ and therefore he bids us ‘lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us.’ What! a running match and no spectators? Hail Emperor! The champion salutes thee! He prays thee to dismiss the spectators. You common herd, retire, or put your fingers to your eyes, here comes a runner who is so dainty that he cannot be looked at, a swift-footed runner who must be scrutinised by no vulgar eye or he will faint and lose the crown. ‘Ha! Ha!’ the mob laughs. ‘These are not the men to make a Roman holiday; these timid fools had better play with babes in the nursery; they are not fit to consort with men.’ What think you of Christians who must have the stadium cleared before they can enter the course. Rather, O sons of God, defy all onlookers. Crowd the seats and look on, angels, and men, and devils too, and see what you will. What matters it to the Christian, for he is looking unto Jesus, he runs not for you but for the reward, and whether you look or not, his zeal and earnestness are still the same, for Christ is in him and run he must, look on who will.

For meditation: How can others see our good works and glorify our Father who is in heaven, if we are ashamed to let our lights shine before them (Matthew 5:16)?

Sermon no. 472

28 September (1862)

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor.” Isaiah 9:6

Suggested Further Reading: Proverbs 8 (which was read earlier in the same service)

Tried child of God, your daughter is sick; your gold has melted in the fire; you are sick yourself, and your heart is sad. Christ counsels you, and he says, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, he will sustain thee; he will never suffer the righteous to be moved.” Young man, you that are seeking to be great in this world, Christ counsels you this morning. “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not.” I shall never forget my early years. I was ambitious; I was seeking to go to college, to leave my poor people in the wilderness that I might become something great; and as I was walking that text came with power to my heart; “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not.” I suppose about forty pounds a year was the sum total of my income, and I was thinking how I should make both ends meet, and whether it would not be a great deal better for me to resign my charge and seek something for the bettering of myself, and so forth. But this text ran in my ears, “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not.” “Lord,” said I, “I will follow thy counsel and not my own devices;” and I have never had cause to regret it. Always take the Lord for your guide, and you shall never go amiss. Backslider! You that have a name to live, and are dead, or nearly dead, Christ gives you counsel. “I counsel thee to buy of me, gold tried in the fire and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed.” And sinner! You that are far from God, Christ gives you counsel. “Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Depend on it, it is loving counsel. Take it.

For meditation: God has promised to guide his children and to keep an eye on them (Psalm 32:8). His guidance has a sure foundation and a great advantage over the thoughts and intentions of men (Psalm 33:10,11). We can seek his guidance right where we are; isn’t it strange that we can so often go to him last of all?

Sermon no. 215

26 September (1858)

“Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.” Galatians 2:10

Suggested Further Reading: James 2:1-17

If you do not help the one that you see has the greatest need, I am afraid the love of God dwelleth not in you. It is a duty we owe to the poor of the Lord’s flock, and we reap many advantages we should not have if we had not to remember the poor. Now, allow me to press home this obligation: why should we remember the poor? I shall not urge it upon the ground of common philanthropy and charity; that were a too mean and low way of addressing Christian men, although even they perhaps might be benefited by it. I shall urge it in another way. “Remember the poor,” because they are your Lord’s brethren. What! Do you not feel, like David, that you would do anything for Jonathan’s sake? And if he hath some poor sick son, some Mephibosheth, lame in his feet, wilt thou not seat him at thy table, or give him a maintenance, if thou canst, seeing that Jonathan’s blood is in his veins? Remember, beloved, the blood of Jesus runs in the veins of poor saints; they are his relatives, they are his friends; and if that move thee not, remember, they are thy friends too. They are thy brethren if thou art a child of God; they are allied to thee; if they are sons of God, so art thou, and they are brethren of thine. What! Let thy brother starve? If thou canst, wilt thou not relieve thy brother’s necessity, not shield him from the cold, not ward off hunger, not provide for his needs? Oh! I know thou lovest Jesus; I know thou lovest the friends of Jesus, and I know thou lovest thine own family; and, therefore, thou wilt love thy poor brethren, wilt thou not? I know thou wilt; thou wilt relieve them.

For meditation: Do you discriminate against some of your brothers and sisters in Christ? Your heavenly Father doesn’t (Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 6:9).

Sermon no. 99

24 September (Preached 25 September 1856)