(SIXTII.U'DAY IN LEN'T.)
GREAT number of men lire aud die v,'ithou retlecting" af ail upon the statc,," lhings in whk.h lhey find themselves. Thev take lhins as they corne, and fi»llow their inelinations as far as fliey have the oppovtunify. They are g'uided maiuly hy pleasure and pain, no bv reason, prineiple, or conscience; and they do no attemp to ideqret this world, to detevmine wha i means, or to rednee wha thev see and feel to system. u when persons, either ri'oto thoughtfulness of miud, or ff'oto intellectnal aetivity, beg'in to contemplae "he visible state of thing's into which thev are born, then /brthwith they find if a. maze and a perplexity. It is a riddle whieh they eannot solve. If secms fllll oç contradictions and without a. drift. Why i¢. is, and what it is to issue in, and how it is what it. is, and how we eomc fo be iutrodueed i:to it, and what is out destiny, are ail mysteries.
84 Thc Cross,of Chris! In this diffieulty, some have fi, rmed one philosophy of lift, and others anothev. M,n have thoug'ht they had round the key, by nlt, all of whieh thev mi.ht read what is so ol»seul-e. Ten thousad things tome 1,ef«we us ont nfler nnother in the course of lift,, and what are we fo think of them? what colour are we fo ive them? kl"e wo fo h,ok af ail thins in a gay nnd mirthfifl way? or in a. melancho]v way? in « desl,ondin " or n holefld wnv? Are we fo m:dçe liht, of lift, altogether, or fo treat the whole suli,,et serios]v? Are we fo make greatest thins of little eonsequenee, or h.nst things of great eonsequent.e?.kre we t,, keep in miml what is past nnd g'one, or nre we look on fo the flffure, or nre we fo be nl»sol'bed in whnt is prescrit? ][ou. nre we to look at thins? this is the question whieh all l,ersons of observation ask themselves, and answer eaeh in his own wav. Thev wish fo think bv rule by somethin within them, whieh mnv harmonise and ndjusf what is without them. 8ueh is the need fe]t by reflective mbds. Now, let me ask, wlmt i. the reul key, wlmt is the Christian interpreration of this world? What is given us by revelation to estimate nnd nensure this world bv? The event of this season,the Crueifixion of the Son of God. It is thé, death of the ]ternal Vord of God nande flesh, which is oto" l'eat ]esson how fo think nd how fo spe:k of this wor]d. IIis Cross has put ifs due vulue upon every lnn, whieh we set, upon all fi-,rtunes, nll advantaes, ail ranks, 11 dignities, all pleasm'es; upon the lust ofthe flesh, nnd fhe lust of the eyes, and the pride of lift. It bas set a priee upon the exeifements, the rivnlries, the hopes, the fenrs, the desires, tbe efforts, the
Zh« 3[««surc" f Zhc lUorhg. 8 5 triumphs of mortal man. I, has g'iven a meaning fo the various, shiftin course, the trials, the temptations, the sufferings, of his earthly statc. If, has lmmg'ht, together and ruade consistent, ail that seelned discordant and aimless. If, has taught us how to lire, hav to use this world, what to expeet, what to desilv, what fo hope. If, is tlle t,me into whieh all the stnins of this w«wld's music are ultilnatelv fo be resolved. Look around, and sec w]ia{ the w«wld ]lresents cil' hig'h and low. Go fo the court of princes. Sec the treasure and skill of all nations br«mght together i«» honour a ehild of lllall. Observe the prostratimi «,t" the lnanv beçore the t,w. Çonsider the tbrlu and eerem, mial, the pomp, the state, the eireumstanee; nnd the l'ain-glory. Do you wish fo klimv the worth of if, ail? h,.k af the Cross of Christ. Go to the political world: sec nation jealous of nation, trade rivalling trade, armies and fleets matehed against eaeh other. Survey the various ranks of the eommullity, ifs parties and their eontests, the Stl'iving's of the ambiti«ms, the intrig'ues of the eraftv. 'liat is lhe end of all this turmoil? the grave. %çhat is the measure? the Cross. Go, agin, fo the world of intellect and science: eonsider the wonderfiil dis«overies which the hunian mind is making, the variety of arts to whieh its diseoveries give fise, the all but. miracles by whidl if, shows ifs power; and next, the pride and confidence of reason, and the absorbing devotion of thought fo transitory objeets, whieh is the eonsequenee. Would you forma right, judgment of all this? look af the Cross.
Again: look at misery, look at poverty and destitution, look af Oplression and eaptivity; go whcre food is scanty, aud lodging" unhealthy. ('onsider pain and suflk'rin', diseases long or violent, ail that is friffhtfld and revolting'. V,uld y,m know how to rate ail these? gaze uon the Cross. Thus in the Cross, and l[im who hunff upon if, ail things meet; ail lhing's subserve it, ail thing's need if. It is their centre and their interpretation. For ]le was ]içtcd up upon if, that ]Ie might draw all lnen and ail thiug's mto 1 lira. But it will l»e said, that the viev which the Cross of Christ imparts t» us o1' human litb and of the world, is hot tlmt whi«h we should take, if left to ourse]ves that it, is hot an obvions view; that if we look af thing's on their surthee, they are thr more brig'ht and smmv than they appear when viewed in the lig'ht which this season easts upon theln. The world seems ruade t],r the enjoylnent, of.iust such a being as man, and man s put into if. ]Ie bas the c,q«ciQ/of enj»yment, and the worhl sulTlies thc eas. llow lmtural this, what a simple as well as plcasant philosophy, yet how dittbrent ff'oto that of the Cross The doctrine o the Cross, it lnaV be said, disarranges two parts of a swtem whieh scem ruade each other; it sevel's the ff'uit t'rm thc eater, the enjoyment fl-om the enjoyer. IIow does this solve a problem? does if hot rather itself ereate one? ] answer, first, that whatever fbree lhis objection lnay have, surcly it is merely a repetition of that which Eve iklt and Satan urg'ed in Edcn; fbr did hot the woman see that the fbrbidden tree was "good fbr tbod," and " a. tree lc 2fc«sz, rc o./ lc lI?orZd. 8 7 fo be de¢ii'ed. '" Vell, then, is if wonderfid tha we too, the deseendants of the Hrs pair, should sti]l be in a world where t]lere is a forbidden il'uit, and tlmt (ur trials shou]d lie in bein within reaeh of i1.,;md our ]mppiness in abstaining ff'oto if? Ïhe world, af firs sight, appears atle for pleasure, and the vision of ChrisUs Cross is a solemn and sorrowfitl sig'h intel'ferilg with this appearance. Bc if s); but why lilaS" if llOt },e our duty te) abstain tYom enj,,ymcnt lmtwithstandin, if if was a duI$" even in Een? But ag'ain; if is but a superfieial view of thins fo say that. this lire is ruade tbr pleasure md hapliness. To those who look under thc surfiwe, if tells a very ditç tbrent talc. The doctrine of the Cross does but teach, thoug'h infinitelv more tbrcibly, still after all it does but teaeh the verv saine lcsson whieh this world teaehes fo those.who lire long in if, who have nmch experienee in if, who know if. The world is sweet fo the lips, but biffer fo the faste. If pleases af fil'St, but. hot af last. It lo,:,ks ay on the outside, but evil and lniserr lie coneealed within. Vhen a man has passed a certain lulnber of ycars in if, he criês out with the Preaeher, "' Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." Nay, if he has hot relig'ion for his g'uide, he will be foreed fo g'o fiu'ther, and say, "AIl is Vallity and vexation of spirit;" all is disappointlnent; all is sorrow; all is pain. The sore jud@ments of God upon sin are eoneealed within if, and force a nmn fo rieve whether he will or no. 'herefol'e the doctrine of the Cross of Christ d,es but antieipate for us our experienee of the world. If is true, if bids us grieve for out sins in the midst of all that smiles and
88 7"he Cross of Crist g'lit.Lers around us; buL if we will noL heed if, we shall af length be foreed t. grieve f.r them ri-oto underoin their tba.rflfl lmnishment. If we will hot aeknowlcdgc lhat this world has been ruade misel'al»lc ly sin, ri'oto thc sight of Him on wholn out sins were laid, we shall expericnce it fo l»c miserable ly lhc recoil of timse sins lipOll ourselves. It may bc granted, then, that the doctrine of the Cross is n.t on thc surthce of the world. The surfilee ot' things is brig'ht only, and the Cross is sorrowfil; itis a. hidden doctrine; if lies undcr a veil; if at first sigt startles us, and we arc tcmpted to revolt ri'oto if. Likc St. Peter, we ery out, " Bc if çar ri'oto Thee, Lord; this shall hot bc unto Thce. ''.knd vctit is a true doctrine; tbr truth is not on thc surthcc of things, but in the depths. And as the doctrine of the Cross, though it be the true interpretation of this world, is hot prominently manifsted in it, upon ifs surthce, but is concealed; so aCain, when received into thc fifiththl heart, there if abides as a living prineiple, but deep, and hidden ri'oto observation. Religious men, in the words of Scripture, "lire by the fidth of the Son of God, who loved them and gave IIimsclf ibr them :" but they do hot tell this o all men; they lcave others o final it out as they may. Out Lord's own command to His disciples was, that when they fast, thev should " anoint their hcad and wash their faceS. '' Thus they are bound not fo make a display, but ever to be content to look outwardly differ- enls oto whals they are really inwardly. ïhey are fo «'arry a eheertifl eountenanee with theln, and fo eontr,l and reg'ulate t.heir feeling's, that. those feelings, by ]ein expended Oll l.he SUl't]tee, lnav retire deep into their hearts and there live. And thus " Jesus Christ and He crueified" is, as the Xpostle tells us," a hidden wisdom;" hidden in the world, whit.h seenls al fil'St sig'hL speak t far other loetvinc,and hidden in the fhilhfitl soul, which fo persons at. a distance, «w fo chance behohlers, seems fo be livinff 1,ut an ordinarv lift', while l'eallv if is in set'ter h,hling' «ommuni,n with 1 lira who was "manitbsted in the tlesh," " erueitied through weakness," "justified in the Sl, irit, seen of Angels, and reeeived up into g'hwy." This being the case, the rcat and awfifl dot.tl'ile the Cross of Christ, whieh we now eonmemol'ate, titly be ealled, in the language of figure, the heart relig'ion, q'he heart may l»e eonsiderl as the seaL lire; iL is the 1,rineiple of lnotion, heat, and aetivity; ri'oto iL the blood goes fo and fro fo the extreme l,arts t.he body. I sustains the man in his powers and ihculries; it. enables the brain fo think; and when it is touehed, man dies. And in like manner the saered doctrine of ChrisL's klonin¢ Sacrifice is the vital principle on whieh the Christian lives, and withouL whieh Christianitv is hot. WithouL if no other doctrine is held profitably; to believe in Christ's Divinity, or in tIis manhood, or in the Holy Ïrinity, or in a judgmenL fo «,»nie, or in the resurreetion of the dead, is an untrue belief, noL ChrisLian thith, unless we reeeive also the " " "'s sacrifice. On the other hand, fo doeLrine of nrsr.
ceive iL prcsupposes thc rcecption of other high truths of the (;ospcl 1,csides; iL involves the bclicfin Christ's truc divinity, in llis iruc iw.'.ati,m,:md in man's sinfifl ,tatc 1,y natm'e; ami il prepares thc wav fo bclief in the sael'Cd ]']llt'll:ll'iStic tbast, in which ]le wll«l was once ci'ueio J over giron fo ollr ollls illd b.dios, verilv ami hidccd, in llis ]l«,dy and iii I lis llhod. But 'aill> lhc ll?:u'l, is hidd? t'i'«mi vit, w; if is «iu'ot'ullv raid sceurelv .ilill, lloll; it is hot likc tho cvcset ill lhe tDl-eheal, OOliiiiiililllili" ail, ilill Oli r>P.11: iiill so in lik lllallllOl- flic s:lol'c.d ih/etrhie iii" the.{tolling- Snerifiee is put tlrth irrevcretly, }lUt iii ]le 3UOl'ed sceretly; hot t. lle tlst.d aS;t llecss;iry illS{l'lllllCll{ iii the eonvc.rsion of the uag'odly, or fi»r lhc sat]sfielion ,f rcasoners of this world, 1,ut fo be mdhlded fo the docile and.bedient; o young ehildren, wholn lhc world has hot corrupted; fo the sorrowfifl, who nced comtbrt; l«, thc sincere and ernest, wlm necd a rule of lift'; lo the inlmeent, who nccd warninR'; aad fo the cstablishcd, who have earned th« knowledgc of if. One more remark I shall m:ke, and thcn conelude. lt. mus. hot he supp.sed, leeause the doctrine of the Cross m:kes us sad, tlm thcretbre lhe Gospel is a sad religion. Thc Psahnist says, " Thev tha sow in tears shall rcap in joy;" and out Lord says, "They that mourn shall be comforted." Let no one go away with {hc impression that the Gospcl makes us tal{c a. gloomy view of the world and of lift. It hindcrs us indeed ri-oto taking a superfieial view, and tlnding a vain transitory joy in what we sec; btt it forbids oto" ilnmediate
9", Th« Cross f Chris! as well as of Ilis suffcring's, wounds us indeed, but so wounds as fo heal also..nd t.hus, te,c), all lhat is brig'ht and beautifil, even «,n the surthce of this xv«,rld, though if has no substmee, and may hot suitably be cnjoycd for ifs own sake, yct is ct. figure and promise of that truc joy whieh issues out,,f the At«,nemcnt. It is . promise befiwehand of what is fo lw: it is a shidow, raising hol»e beeause the substance is fo tblh»xv, but hot fo be rashly taken instcad of the substance. A,d it is (i«d's usual mode of dealing" wilh us, in mt.rey to scnd thc shad,»w before the substance, that we may takc comt,rt in what is to bc, }3cri, re it conlt.S. Ihus iur I,wd belote IIis Passion rode into Jcrsalem in triumph, with the multitudes,.,')-ing" l[osanna, and strewing I[is road with 1-,ahn branches and thcir garments. Ïhis was Lut a vain and hollow l,ageant, nor did out Lord takc plcasure in if. It was a shadow which stayed hot, but flitted awv. It could hot be m«we t.han shadow, tbr the Passion had n,»t becn undcr',,nc l»y whieh l[is truc triumph was wrought out. lit eould hot enter into IIis g'lory belote [Ie had first suflbred. I[e eould nof take pleasure in this scmblanee of it, knowing that it was unreal. Yet that first, shadowy triuml,h was the omen and presge of lhc truc victorv to corne, when fie had overcomc the shirpness ofdeath. And we eommemorate this tigurarive triumph on the last Sunday in Lent, fo eheer us in the slwrow of the week that follows, and fo remind us of the truc joy which cornes with Easter-Day. And so, too, as regards this world, with all ifs enjoyments,)et disappointments. Lêt us hot trust if; let the Z«asure o./" ehc lI'orM. 93 us not ive out hearts fo if; let us hot bein with i. Let us bein vith fifith; let us bein with Christ; let us beg'in with llis Cross and thc humiliation fo which if leads. Let us first bc drawn fo Ilim wh,» is liftcd up, that. so lle nmy, with Himself, fi'cely givc us ail thins. Le us "seek first, the Kiugdom of God and ]Iis rihteousness," and then ail those things of this world "will be added to us." They alone:tre al,le trulv fo enjoy this world, who beg'in with the world unseeu. They alone enjoy if, who have first abstained fr,,m ïhey alone ean truly fi, ast, wh» lmve tlrst fasted; thev alone are able fo use the vorld, who have learned hot abuse if; Oaey al,ne inherit if, who take if as a shadow of the world fo corne, and who for thnt world fo corne relinquish