VANITY OF HUMAN GLORY'.
1 Jonl iii. 1. "" The world knoweth us hot, because it knew Him hot."
F St. Simon and St. Jude, the Saints whom we this day eommemorate, little is known l. St.. Judc, indeed, still lires in the Church in his Catholie epistle; but of his history we only know that he was brother fo St. James the Less, aud nearly related fo our Lord; and that, like St. Peter, he hM been a married man. Besides his naine of Jude or Judas, he is also ealled Thaddeus and Lebbeus in the Gospels. Of St. Simon we only know that he was ealled the Canaanite, or Zealot, for the words have the saine meaning, belonging, before his conversion, to a certain tierce sect, who, under the idea they were doing God service, took upon themselves fo execute the law upon offenders without legal authority, and without formal accusation or trial. It is said that both AFostles were at length martyred 1 Prcached on the Festival of St. Simon and St. Jude.
Vanity of Hman Glory. x 73 in the course of their efforts to gather together God's elect into His fold. Little is known of St. Simon and St. Jude; thcy laboured and they taught in their generation; they were g'iftcd with miraculous powers, and by thcir preachin founded churches and saved souls; they travelled into the East and V%st, till at last thcy were taken away fi'om the earth. Yet we know little of their history now. Althoug'h "honourcd in thcir g'eneration, and the glory of their times,")'et they "have no memorial, but are pcrished as though thcy had nevcr beenl. '' St. Jude's Epistle, indeed, is a standing monument, yet hot of his doings, but of his g'ifts. What he wrote leads us to conjecture indeed what he was; but of his history, we know no more than of that of St. Simon. And hence we draw an important lesson for ourselves, which, however obvious, is continually forg'otten by us in the actual business of life; riz. to do our duty without aiming at the world's praise. Mankind knows nothing of St. Simon's and St. Jude's deeds and surfering, s, tho]gh these were g, reat; yet there is One who "knows thcir works, and labour, a.nd patience,.. and how they bore.., and for Ilis Name's salie laboured, and fainted hot ." Their deeds are blotted out from history, but not from the Lamb's book of lire; for "blessed are they who die in Him,... that they a Ecclus..-,div. 7.9. Rev. il. 2, 3.
may rest ri-oto their labours; and their works do follow lhem ." Ou this g'reat praetieal rule, viz. fo do what we do heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men, I shall now make some remarks; and in doin so, I shall be pointing out a mode in which we may follow these blessed Saints, n'hose lires ai, first sig, ht seem fo have left no pattern 1)ehind them for out imitation. In heathen rimes, when men understood that thev had souls, yet did not know what n'as the soul's truc happiness, or how if was to be,¢aiued, mueh n-as thought, and more talked, of what they ealled glo, faine, howur. This was natul'al, as a little eonsideration will show. For before men begin fo exereise their minds, -hile they remain ignorant and dull, the eommon pleasures of sense satisfy them—eating', drinkin, and making" merry. They do hOt think of the morrow. They bave no end in view, and aet on no plan. But when intelligence is awakened, and they learn fo feel, refleet, hope, plan, and exert themselves; then mere animal indulg'enees are not enough for them, and they look about for some hiffher pleasures, more lasting- and more refined. This is the real etTect of that eivilization which is so much extolled; it gives men refined wishes, and sets them on g'ratifying, them. An enlig'htened age is one whieh feels the wants of human nature. Knowledg'e and mental eultivation render men
Uad o./" Itumaz Glory. 7 5 alive o fle flfing's around flem, busy, and resfless; bu fley do no morë flmn make men sensible of fleir wns; fley find no remedy for flem; fle bring" no appropriate food to the hunger they ereate: for i is religion alone ean do this. Now the aneient, heathen whom I speak of were just in this state; having minds eulfivated and refined intelleetually, they felt the eapabilities of lnan for aeting on a larg'e tiehl, and the need of solne stimulus to make him ae[ flms. They saw t.hat human ha.turc was eapa- 1,le of g'reat things, and they pereeived t.ha[ some ffreat oods must be at.tainable in some way or other, thouh they did no[ well know wha fley were. Feelings sueh as these, aeing upon men in the tumul[ of lire, with their passions awake, keenlv se on (wha are ealled) politie«d objeets, and averse fo those self-denying" habits whieh eonseienee (if listened fo) would bave suggested fo be the way fo tha[ unknown happiness whieh their heart was imagining, led them fo think of what they ealled ,'lory and popularity as the g'reates[ of g'oods, and that to whieh they oug'ht espeeially fo aspire. Now what exaetly they wished fo signify by t.he word "glory," is diffieult fo say, for they were ap[ to speak of i as if if were some real thing, and that» too, whieh one eould possess and make one's own; yet, il" we eome to eonsider ifs real meaning', i plainly stands for nothin. else than the praise of or.ber men, the beingadmired, honoured, and feared; or, more e)mmonly,
76 Pani[y of t-[uman G[ory. lmving" a celebraed ha»te; ha is, for a somehingexernal o ourselves. ]3u whaever precise noions they wished to aaeh fo he word, hey used o talk in glowin language of he neeessiy of g'oing" hrough dang'ers a.nd sufferins for glory's sake,—labouring o benefi he world for g'lory,—and dying for g'lory. ow when we read of poor heathens usin this lang'ua.ge, i is our duty to piy hem, for i is plain euough to any sober reasoner, that nothin is so vain as to tMl of this glory bcin real and substantial g'ood; for thcrc is no bettcr reason for my bein" happy bccausc my naine is celebrated, than bccause any thin else is cclcbrated which, accidentally, and for a time, is connected with mysclf, and called mine. ][y naine is my own only in the case of those who use it in speaking of me; i.e. of those who happen to see and know me. But when those who noyer sw me talk much of my naine, they do me no more good or harm lhan if they celebrated any thin else which I may know to be mine. They may praise g bouse that was once mine—that is hot prising" me; nor, in like manner, is it doing me any good, or honouring me, when those who nevcr saw me use my name respectfully. If is g mere imagination, which can give no so!id or lasting plcasure. Thcre is some meaning and sense (though great wickedness) in coveting our neighbour's bouse or garden, horse or gss; the unjust stewrd, thoug'h a bad man, at least acted wisely, i.e. according fo a worldly wisdom; but those wbo covet honour, I menn a great name, really covet no substantial thing at all, and are hot only "the most offcndingmen alive," inasmuch as this passion for lame may carry them on to the most atrocious crimes, but nlso the most foolish of men. Now, in the ancient heathen we ma.y blame, but we must pity this sin, because it at least evidcnced them a knowledge of a great want of humn.n nature, and was so far the sign of a higher sttte of mind than that of othcrs who did hot feel any wants at all, who had no notion of nny but selfish enjoymcnts, and were content fo lire and die like the brutes that perish. Their sin lay, hot in being" anxious for some good or other, which was hot before their eyes, but in hOt consultin, their own hearts on the subject, and going" the way which their conscience told them. But, I say, they were heathcns,—they had no Bible, no Church; and therefore we pity them; and by their errors are reminded to look to ourselves, and see how fir we are clean from their sin. Now it is a most melancholy fct, that Christians are charg'eable, for all their light, with the saine foolish irrational sin. This was hot a.t first sight to be expected. This is a peculiar case. Observe; I do not say itis wonderful that we should seck the praise of persons we know. This I can understn.nd. We all naturally love to be respected and admired, and in due limits perhaps we may be allowed to do so; the love of praise [VIII]
i capable of receiving a relig'ious discipline and charaeter. But the surprising thing is, that we should leave the thought of present goods, whether sensual enjoyments, or the more refined pleasure which t.he praise of our friends bring's us, yet without going" on to seek the g'ood of the next world; t.hat we should deny ourselves, yet not deny ourselves for shadov. If is natural, I say, to love to have deference and respect paid us by our acquaintance; but I ara spea.king of the desire of glory, that is, the praise of a vase multitude of persons we never saw, or shall sec, or tare about; and this, I say, is a depraved appetite, the artifieial produee of a fi, lsely enlig, htened intellect; as unmcaning as itis sinful, or rather more sinful, becaus'e if is so very unnaeaning; exeusable indeed in heathen, not only bccause thcy knew no better, but because they had no better g"ood clearly proposed to them; but in Christians, who have the favour of God and eternal lift set before them, deeply criminal, turning away, as they do, from the bread of heaven, to fced upon ashes, with a deceived and corrupted imagination. This love of indiscriminate praise, then, is an odious, superfluous, wanton sin, and we should put it away with a manly hatred, as something, irrational and deg, rading,. Shall man, born for hig, h ends, the servant and son of God, the redeemed of Christ, the heir of iinmortality, out of his way to bave his Inere naine praised by vase populace, or by various people, of whom he knows
Iz«nity of ltuman Glory. I79 nothin, and mos of whom (if he sa.w them) he wouhl himself be the firs fo eondemnP I is odious; yet youn¢ persons of hig minds and vigorous powers, are espeeially liahle fo be led captive by his snare of devil. If reasoning does no eonvinee them, le çaets, he love of g'lory has ifs peeuliar eondemnaIion in ifs eonsequenees. No sin has been so productive of widespread enduring rtin amon mankind: wars and conquests are the means by which men have mos rcckoncd on securingif. A ree is known by its fi-ui. These remarks aq»ly fo the love of indiscriminatc praise in all ifs shapes. 'ew persons, indeed, are in a condition to be tempted by the love of g'lory; bu ail persons ma.y be tempted fo indule in vanity, whieh is nothing else bu he love of general admiration. A vain person is one who likes fo be praised, whoever is the praiser, whether good or bad. Now eonsider, how few men are no in their measure vain, till they reach ha period of lire when by the course of nature vanity disa.ppears? Le ail Cllristians carefully ask t.hemselves, wheher they m no very fond, no merely of the praise of heir superiors and fi'iendsthis is rig'h,but of ha of any person, any chanee-eomer, abou whom they know nothinff. Vho is no open fo flattery? and if he seems no fo be expooed fo i, is i no tha he is oo shrewd or o refined fo be beguiled by any but wha is delieate and unostenatious? A lnan new'r eonsiders who i is who praises him. Bu he mos dangerous, perhaps, of .11 kinds of vanity is fo be vain of our personal appearanee; most dangerous, for sueh persons are ever under temptation—I may say, ever sinning'. Wherever they go they earry their nare with them; and their idle love of admiration is graified without effi»rt by the very looks of those who gaze upon then. Now I shall say somcthin tapon the natural and rational love of prnise, and how far if may be safelv indulged. A. T have ah-eady said, it is nattera/ fo desirc thc cstccm of ail those with whom we llave intercourse, ail wh,ma we love. Indeed, Ahnighty God intends tas to do so. Vhen we love a. person, we eannot but wish he should love us; but he cannot love us, without also feelin respect and esteem towards us. And a.s fo the question, from whom we should desire praise, and how fir, we have this simple rule—fi-om all who stand fo us in Christ's place. Christ Himself is out g'reat Judge; from IIim we lnust supremely seek praise; and as far as men are in IIis place, so far mav we seek it ri'oto men. We may desire the praise of out parents and superiors, and the praise of g-ood men— in a word, ail whom we have a value for; but the desire of indiscriminate praise, the praise of those for whom we bave no respect or reard, this is the mischief. We »aj desire the praise of those we have never seen, if we believe them to be g'ood men. St. Paul hot only speaks of the mutual rejoiein between hilnself and the
Corinthians 1, who knew each other, bnt likewise returns thanks that the thlne of the faith ot' the. ltomans was spre:id all over the Christian world-'. Aml in this wav u e mav desire tbe praise of good persons yet unborn— I mean the Chureh of God, go the end or" tiln.. Sg. Mary, in the hynm we daily use, returns thanks that "fl'oin heneefbrth all enel'ations shall e:tll her blesseda. '' But this feeling of hers is very dillbreng ri'oto the desil'e of what is called glory, posthmnous thlne, fimm after death; as if, tbrsooth, it were a great thing fo have one's naine fimailiar fo the mouths of the mixed multitude of this world, of swearers, and jesters, and liars, and railers, and blasphemers, and of all those men, who even il" they do hot sin g'rossly in deed, 3"et use their tongues tbr evil, speak the words of the world, slander the Chureh, speak evil of dignities, propag'ate error, and defend silmers; a great thing truly, and mueh fo be desired, fo be honoured 19, that evil world whieh dishonours God and Ilis Son! Olm additional caution I must add, about allowing ourselves tbe praise of others; no only must we desire the pra.ise of none but. g'ood melb but we must uo earnestly desire fo be known even by many g'ood men. ïhe truth is, we eannot know, really know, nlany persons at all, and it id always dangerous to delig'ht in the praises ot" srangers, even though we believe tle,n tobe good men, and mueh more go seek tiroir p:'aises, whieh la 2 Cor. i.g. " Rom. i. 8. a Luke i. 48.
18 OE 1 "«zi O, of/ret»zaz Glor)'. a kind of ambition. And further than this, i is more agreeable fo the Christian temper tobe satisfied rather fo know and fo be known by a tbw, and fo grow day by day in their esteem and affection, than to desire one's name tobe on the lips of many, though they protbss religion, and assoeiate us with relig'ious (,bjects. And it is out great privilege fo hure tbe real blessing in out power, while the fimcicd g'(d alone is dicult fo be gined. Few Christians can be great or eau leave a naine fo postcrity; but most Christians will, in the length of their lires, be able to secure the h)ve and praise o one or two, who are to them the representatives of Ilim vhom "having" hot seen they love," and in whose presenee, or at least in whose memory, they may comtbrt their heart till He corne. This doubtless has bcen the hapl)iness of nmny saints who have not even left their names behind them. I was the 1)rivilege doubtless of St. Simon and St. Jude. They, indeed, were hot simply unknown to the world in their lirerime, but even hated and peroecuted by it. Upon thcm came out Saviour's prophecy, that "men should revile them.... and say all manner of evil against them iklsely for His sake l.,, Yet in the affection the Church bore them, in the love they bore to each other, and, above all, the praise of that Saviour whom they had tbllowed on earth, and who naml them in the nmnber of those who had eontinued with Him in His tempta- tions1, and were written in heaven, they had a real g'lory, not as the world giveth. Vho can estinaate, who eau imag'ine the deep, the wonderful, the awl joy vhieh thc a.pprobation of Christ would impart fo thcm? Vhen we considcr how intim:.tely they wcre allowcd fo associa.te with Him, how thcy were witnesses of IIis heavenly conversation thro,-h the days of Ilis flesh, or" IIis acts of mercy, or" IIis Divine words, of the graee, the tenderness, the sanctity, thc majcsty, thc cahnucss, whieh reig'ned within Him of I[is kaowlcdge, IIis wisdom, IIis pcrt'eet love or" God, IIis zeal for God's service, IIis patient obedience,—and mueh more when they knew the dread secret oF what IIc was belote IIc came on earth, what He was even while on earth in presence, —fo bave had a smile, an enco,raging word, ff'oto Him, was it lmt a privilege to treasure in memory beyond any thing elsc, a remembranee so bright that every thing else looked discoloured and dim? and would it hot have alnounted fo a loss oF rcason in them fo bave even had the thought of seeking the praise of weak, ignorant, sinful mortals? Let us seek this praise which cometh of God, though we shall hot bave that sensible expcrience of it which the Apostles were vouchsafed. Let us seek it, for it is fo be obtained; it is given fo those worthy of it. The poorest, the oldest, and most infirm among us, those who are living hot merely m obscurity, but are despised Luke xxii. 28—30.
I 84 I "anity ofHtnzan Goo,. and forgotten, who seem o answer no good purpose by livin on, and whose death will hot be felt even by their neig.hbours as a loss, these even may obtain out 8aviour's approvin look, aud reeeive he future greeting', "WeLI done, good and fait.hfid servant." Go on, then, eontentedly in the path of duty, seeking" Christ in IIis honse and in IIis ordinanees, and He will be your glory af IIis eoming. IIe will own you belote His Father. Let t.he world record in history the names of hcroes, statesmen, and conquerors, and reward courage, and alfility, and skill, and perseverance, with its proud titles of honour. Verily, these bave their ïeward. Your names will be written in Heaven, with those of St. Simon and St. Jude, and the other Apostles. You will bave the favour of Him whose favour is lire. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him; and He will show them His covcnant ."