TIIE VENTURES OF FAITH.
HESE words of the holy Apostles James and John were in reply to a very solemn question a,tdressed to them by their Divine Master. They coveted, with a noble ambition, though as yet unpractised in the highest wisdom, untaught in the holiest truth, they coveted to sit beside Him on His Throne of Glory. They wottld be content with mthing short of that special gift which He had corne to grant to His elect, which He shooEly after died to tmrche for them, and which He offers to us. They ask the gift of etenml life; and He in answer told them, hot that they should have it (though for them it was really reserved), but He reminded tbem what they must vcntu¢'e for it; "Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the bat»tism that I ara bat»tized with? They say unto Him, We are able." Here then a great lesson is imt»ressed ni»on us, that our duty as Christians lies in
296 T/e I/Ctm'«s of 'ait/. this, in making venLures for eLernal life withouç Lhe absolut, e eertainty of sueeess. Sueeess and reward eveflasting they wfll bave, who persevere unto tire end. Ioub we eannot, t, ha the 'enLures of all ChrisVs servants mus be reLurned to them ai Lhe Las Day wigh abundan increase. This is a t.rue saying,He reLurns far more Lhan we lend fo Him, and withou rail. Bu I ara speaking of individuals, of ourselves.ne by one. No one mnong us kn,ms flr eert, ain tha he himself will persevere; ye every one ara, mg us, t,o give himself even a ehance of suceess aL ail, mus lnake aventure. As regards individuals, flmn, i is quine true, tha all of us mus for eegain lnake ventures fi»r heaven, yeg wiLhoug the eergainty of sueeess through theln. This, indeed, is the vin T meani N of the word "venture;" tbr that is a strange vent.ure which has nothing in ig of fear, risk, danger, a.nxieLy, uneergainty. Yes; so i eerainly is; and in this eonsists fle excellence and nolleness offaitl; this is tire very reason why fcitl is singled ou from other 'aees, and honoured as the espeeial means of our jusgifieation, beeause igs presence implies thag we have the hearg o make a Yen[ure. Sk Paul sutciently sers this belote us in ghe eleventh ehapger of his Epiefle fo fle tIebrews, whieh opens with a definition of Nifl, raid afer flmg, gives us examples of if., as if go guard againsg any possibilit.y of mistake. Affer quoging the texL "the jusg shall lire by Nigh," and t,hereby showing cleafly ghag he is speaking of whag he greags in his Episfle go ghe Romans as justgii 9 Nih, he eontinues, "Now Nith is ghe substance," thag is, tire
The Ucztures of Faith. 297 'ea.lizing, "of t,hings hoped for, t,he evidenee," t,hat, is, t,he ground of pro&, "of t,hings hot, seen." IL, is iii ils very essence t,he making present, whtt, is unseen; t,he act,ing upon t,he mere prospeet, of iL,, as if iL, reall3r wel'e possessed; t,he vent,uring upon iL,, t,he staking present, ease, ha.ppiness, or" othet" good, upot t,he chance of the fut,ure. knd henee in anot,her epist.le he says pointedly, " If in this lire only we htve hope in Christ,, we are of all lnen lnOSt, miseralle."" If the dead are lit)t, raised, we have indeed marie a most signal misealeulation in t.he choiee of lire, a.nd are altogethel" aL, fi.ult,. _And what, is t.rue of the main doet,rine iL,self, is true also of out individual interest, in iL. This he shows us in his Epistle t,o t.he Hebl'ews, by t.he inst,anee of t.he Aneient, St.ints, who thus risked t,heir present, happiness on t,he chance of fitture. Abrahtun "went, out,, hot, knowing whit,her he went,." He and t,he test, died "hot, having reeeived the promises, but, having seen t,heln afar off; and were persuaded of t,hem, and embraeed theln, and eonfessed t,hat, t,hey were strangers and pilgrims on the eart.h." Such was t,he fait,h of t,he ïPatriat'chs: and iii the t,ext, the youthful Apostles, wit,h an unt,aught, but, generous simplieit,y, lay clailn fo the saine. Litt,le as t,hey knew what, t,hey said in it,s fulness, yet, t,heir words were any how expressive of t,heir hidden hearts, prophetie of their fitt,ure conduet,. They say unt,o Him," We are able." They pledge t,hemselves as if unawares, and are eaught, by One might.ier t,han t,hey, and, as iL, were, craftily ruade capt,ive. But,, in trut,h, t,heit" unsuspicious pledge was, art,er ai1, heaoEily naade, t,hough t,hey knev hot, what, t,hey promised; and 1 Cor. xv. 19.
298 ]Tze Vezlzres of Fail]. so was aeeept.ed. "Are ye al»le to drink of lIy cup, and le bapt.ized with Iy ba.ptism? They say unl:o Him, We are able." Ite in answer, wil:hout promising l:hem heaven, gra.ciously said, "Ye shal! drink indeed of eup, and be bal»tized v«ith the bapgism t.hat I ara bal»- gized v«ih." Out Lord appears wards St. l'eter: warned him how lil:tle he himself nndersl:ood il:. The zealous Apostle wislled t[e answered, "Whiher I go thon eans hot foilow l[e now, bu thon shalt folh}w me afterwards. '' At anofler time, t[e cla.imed the promise already ruade o Him; He said, « Follow flou lIe;" a.nd at he saine rime expla.ined i, "Verily, verily, I say nno thee, when thon wast young, thon girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wotfldest: bu when flou shalt be old, hou shalt streeh forh hy hands, and anofler shall gird hee, and carry thee whither hou wouldes no." Sueh were the venures ruade in faith, and in uneertainty, by Aposfles. Our Saviour, in a 1)assage of St.. Luke's Gospel, binds Ul»On us all the neeessiy of deliberately doing the like,—" Whieh of you, htending to build a ower, siteth hot down firs and eountefl the cost, whet.her he have suffieien o finish i? Les haply, after he hath laid the founda.ion, and is no able to finish it., ail hat behold i, begin fo mock him, saying, This man began to build, and is hot able o finish." And then He l»resently adds, « So likewise, whosoever he be of you lat forsakeh hot ail tha he hath, he emmot be 3Iy a John xiii. 86. 4 John xxi. 18-22.
The cz[ztrcs of 'ai[h. 299 disciple:" thus warning us of the full sacrifice we mus make. We give up out all to ira; and He is fo claire this or tha.t» or grant us somewhat of i for season, according to His good pleasure. On the other hand, the case of the luth yOUlg nlan, who went away sorrowfil, when our Lord bade hN1 give up his aH and follow Him, is an instance of one who had wt fait.h to make the venture of this world for the next, upon His word. If then faith be the essence,)f a Christian lire, and if if be-what I have now described, if follows that out duty lies iii risking upon Christ's word what we have, for what we have not; and doing so in a noble, generous way, not indeed raslfly or Hghtly, st.fil without knowing accurately what we are doing, hot ]nowing either what we give up, nor again what we shall gain; uncertain about our reward, unceoE.a.ila about our extent of sacrifice, in all respects leaning, wait.ing upou Hiln, tnasting in Him to ftdfil His proMse, trusting in Him to enable us fo fidfil out own vows, and so in aH respects proceeding without carefulness or anxiety about the future. Now I tiare say that what I bave said as yet seems plain and unexcel»tionable to most of those who hear me; yet surely, when I proceed to dlW the practic inference wlfich immediately foHows, there are those who in their secret hearts, if not in open avowal, will draw back. bien allow us Iinisters of Crist to proceed in out preaching, whe we confine ourselves to general truths, mat.il they see that they themselves are implicated in theln, and bave to act upon them; and then they suddenly corne to a stand; they coHect thelnselves and Luke xiv. 2S-83.
3oo The U«tzrcs of Faith. dmwback, and say, "They do no see hisor do no adroit th«t"and though they are quite unable to say «hy that should hot fillow fi',mx what they already allow, which we show mtst follow, still they persist in saying, that thcy do hOt see that it does fi»llow; and they look about for excuses, and fley say we carry things too far, and that we are extravagant, and that we ought to limit and mdify what we say, that we do hot t;tke into account rimes, and seasons, and the like. This is what they pretcnd; and well hus it bcen said, "where thcre is a will thcre is a way;" for thcre is no truth, howcver vcrpowel'ingly clear, but lnen may escape ff'oin it by shutt, ing their eyes; there is no duty, hovever urgent,, but they may find ten thousand good reasons against it, in their oWll case. And they are sure to say we carry things too far, when we car T thelu hone to thelnselves. This sad infirlnity of men, called Christians, is exemplified in the subject immediately before us. Who does hot at once adlnit t.ht tçith consists in venturing on Christ's word without seeing? Yet in spire of this, may it hot be seriously questioned, whether lnen in general, even those of the ber.ter sort, ventm-e any thing npon His truth tt all? Considcr for an instant. Let evcry one who hears me ask himself the question, what stake has he in the truth of Chrt's promise? How would he be a whit the worse ofi] supposing (which is impossible), but, supposing it tofail? We know what it is to bave a stakein any venture of flis world. We venture out prol)ert.y in plans which l»romise a return; in l»lans which we trust, which we ha,ce f,ith in. What ha-e we ventured for Christ What bave we given fo The Apostle said, that he and his lrethren wouhl be of all men most misera.ble, if the dead were hot raised. Cn we in any degree apply this to ourselves We think, perhaps, a.t present, we bave some hope of heven well, tkis we should lose of course; but fter all, how should we be worse off s to our ïn'csct condition A tradêr, wl,) hs embarked some prope,y iu a speculation which ttils, hot only loses his prospect )f gain, but somewhat,f his own, which he ventured with the koi)c of the gain. This is the quest, ion, Wht have venture,l I really fear, xvhen we corne fo ex,mine, it will be fonnd that there is nothing we resolve, nothilg we do, nothing we do llOç do, lot.hing we void, nothing we choose, nothing we give up, nothing we pursue, which we should hot resolve, and do, lld hOt do, and void, lld choose, a.nd give up, nd pursue, if Christ had not died, and heaven were hot promised us. I really fear that most men clled Christians, whatever they may profess, whtever they my think they feel, whtever warlnth nd illumination nd love they may claire as their own, yet would go on lmost s they d,, neither much better nor nmch worse, if they beEeved Christianity fo be fible. When young, they indulge their lust.s, or af least pursue the wofld's vanities; s tilne goes on, they get into a fair wy of business, or other mode of making money; then they marry gnd settle; and their interest coinciding with their duty, they seem to be, and think themselves, respectable and religious men; they grow 8ttached to things a.s they re; fley begin to hve zetfl
302 T/e lcztm'cs of Fait/z. agaist vice and error; and they follow after peaee with all men. Sueh eonduet indeed, as far as iL goes, is right and praiseworthy. Only I say, it has uot neeessarily any thing to do with religion at all; there is nothing in if whieh is any proof of the presenee of religious prineiple in those who adopt if; there is nothing they would hot do stiii, though they had lmtlfing to gain from it, except what they gain from it now: they do gain something now, they do gratify their present wishes, they are quiet and orderly, because if is their interest and taste to be so; but they vento'c nothing, they risk, they sacrifice, they abandon nothing on the faith of Christ's word. For instance: St. ]arlmbas had a property in Cyprus; he gave it up for the poor of Christ. Here is an intelligible sacrifice. I[e did something he would hot have dç, ne, unless the Gospel were true. It is plain, if the Gospel turned out a falle (which God forbid), but if so, he wç, uld have taken his line most uuskflfully; he wotld be in a great nfistake, and would have suffered a loss. He would bc like a merchant whose vessels were wrecked, or whose correspondents had failed. Man has confidence in man, he tasts to the credit of lfis neighbour; but Christians do not risk largely upon tlmir Saviour's word; and this is the Olm thing they have to do. Christ tells us l [imself, " Make fo yourselves friends of the lnammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations;"i.e. buy an interest in the next world with that wealth which this world uses unrighteously; feed the lnmgry, clothe the naked, relieve the sick, and it shall turn to "bag's that wax hot Luke xvi. 9.
T/ze I/'c[urcs of Fait. 3o3 old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth hot."7 Thus almsdeeds, I say, are an inteUig'ible vcnture, and an evidence of fiith. So ag'ain the man who, when his prospects in the world are good, gives up the promise of wealth or of ennence, in order to be nearer Christ, to have a place in His temple, to bave more opportunity for prayer and praise, he makes a sacrifice. Or he who, from a noble string after perfection, puts off the desire of worhy comfo, and is, like Daniel or St. Parti, in much lal»)ur and business, yet with a so- tary heart, he too ventures something upon the certainty of the wofld to corne. Or he who, after fading hto sin, repents in deed as we as in word; pttts some yoke upon ls shoulder; subjects himself to puuishment; is severe upon his flesh; denies himse TM immcent pleasm'es; or purs hhuse * to l»ubc shame,he too shows that hh fith is the realizg of flings hoped for, the warrant of tlngs hot seen. Or aga: he who only gets himself to pray agMnst those thgs wch the many seek after, and to embrace wlmt the heart natm'a.y shrinks from; he who, when God's wfll seems to tend towards worlçy fil, whfle he deprecates it, yet prevails on himse TM to say heartfly, " Thy w be donc;" he, even, is not without his sacrifice. Or he who, beg in prospect of wealth, honestly prays God that he may never be rich; or he who is in prospect of station, and earnestly prays that he may never have it; or he who bas friends or ndred, and LOEe i.
3o4 7"/te Ventures of Faith. acquiesces with an entire heart in their renloval while if is yet doubtful, who can say, "Take them away, if it be Thy will, to Thee I give them up, to Thee I commit them," who is willing fo be taken af his word; he too risks sonlewhat» md is accepted. Such a one is taken af his word, while he understands not, perhaps, what he says; but he is accepted, as lnemfing somewhat, and risking much. Generous hearts, like James raid John, or Peter, offert speak largely and confidt,ntly leforehand of what they wiH do for Christ, hot insincercly, yet ignorantly; and fi,r their sincerity's sake they are taken af their word as a reward, though they hure yet to lem'n how serious that word is. "They say nnto I lim, We are able;"—and the vow is reeorded in heaven. This is the case of all of us at, manv seasons. Fimt, af Confirmation; when we promise what was promised for us at Baptism, yet without being able to understand how mueh we promise, but rater tnsting fo God graduaHy to reveal it, and fo give us strength aeeording to our day. So again they who enter Holy Orders promise they know hot what, engage themselves Ihey kn«)w hot how deeply, debar themselves of the wofld's ways they know hot how intimately, find perchanee they lllUS ci/ off fi'onl them the right hand, sacrifice the desire of their eyes and the stirring ç,f their hearts at the fl_)ot of the Cross, while they thought, in their simplieity, they were but ehoosing the qniet easy lire of "plain men dwelling in tents." And so again, lu va.rious ways, the eireumstanees of the times cause men at certain seasons to t.ake this path or that, %r religion's sake. They know hot whither they are being earried; they sec hot the end of their course; they know no lnore tlm,, this, that if is rght to do what they are now doing; and they hear a whisper withiu theln, w]lich assures them, as it did the two holy brothers, that whatever their prescrit conduct involves in time to corne, they shall, through (od's grace, be eçlml to it. Those blessed Aposfles said, "We are able;" and in truth thcy were enablcd o do an,l suffhr as they had said. St. James was giveu strength to be steadfast unto dcath, the dcath of lmu'tyrd, nn; being slain with the sw,_,l'l in,lcrusalem. St. J,hn, his brother, had still nlore to 1,car, dying htst of fle Apostles, as St. James first. Ite had to bear bereavement,, first, of his brother, then of the other Aposties. tic had to bea.r a length of years in loneliuess, exile, and weakness. He had to experience the dreariness of being solitaw, when those whom he loved had been summoned away. He had to live in his own thougts, without falniliar friend, with those only about him who belonged to a youlger generation, t)f him were denmnded l,y his gracious Lord, as pledges of his faifl, all his eye loved and his heart hehl converse with. He was as a mm moving his goods into a far country, who at intervals and by portions sends them before him, till his present abode is well-nig unfurnished. He sent tbrward his friends on their jonrney, whfle he stayed himself behind, that there might he those in heaven to have thoughts of him, to look out for him, nd receive him vhen his Lord should call. He sent belote him, also, ofler still more voluntary pledges and ventures of his faith,a self-denying walk, a zealous maintenance of the truth, fasting and prayers, labours of love, a ¥irg life, buffet- IV] U
306 The Ventures of 'aith. ings from Lhe heaLhen, perseeution, and banishlnenL. Well mighL so greaL a SainL say, ai Lhe end of his days, "Corne, Lord Jesus!" as Lhose who are weary of Lhe nighL, and waiL for Lhe morning. All his LhoughLs, ail his eontemplaLions, desires, and hopes, were sLored in Lhe invisible vorld; and death, when iL came, broughL back Lo him the sighL of whaL he had worshipped, whaL he had loved, vhaL he had held intereourse with, in years long pasL away. Then, when again brought inLo Lhe presence of whaL he had losL, how would remembranee revive, and falniliar Lhoughts long buried eome Lo lire! Who shall date Lo deseribe Lhe blessedness of those who find all their pledges safe returned Lo them, all Lheir ventures abundantly and beyond measure satisfied? 2.las! that we, my breLhren, htve not more of Lhis high an unearthly spiriL! Hov is iL that we are so eonLent.ed with things as Lhey are,—LhaL we are so willing Lobe leL alone, and Lo enjoy Lhis life,—t.hat we make such excuses, if any one presses on us Lhe neeessiLy of something higher, Lhe duty of bearing the Cross, if we would earn t.he Crown, of the Lord Jesus Christ? I repeat iL; whaL are out ventures and l'isks npon t.he Lruth of His word? for IIe says expressly, "Every one t.hat hath tbrsaken houses, or bvethren, or sisters, or father, or mot.her, or wife, or ehildren, or lands, for lXI3 Name's sake, shall reeeive an hundred-fold, and shall inherit everlasLing lire. P, ut many that are firsL shall be last; and the IL shall be first."s s lIatt, xix. 29, 30.