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Title: Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII (of 8)
Author: John Henry Newman
Release Date: January 14, 2008 [eBook #24284]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)
***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PAROCHIAL AND PLAIN SERMONS, VOL.
VIII (OF 8)***
E-text prepared by Al Haines
PAROCHIAL AND PLAIN SERMONS
by
JOHN HENRY NEWMAN, B.D.
Formerly Vicar of St. Mary's, Oxford
In Eight Volumes
VOL. VIII.
New Edition
London
Longmans, Green, and Co.
and New York: 15 East 16th Street
1891
CONTENTS.
SERMON I.
Reverence in Worship.
"_Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen
ephod._"--1 Sam. ii. 18
SERMON II.
Divine Calls.
"_And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel,
Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak: for Thy servant heareth._"--1
Sam. iii. 10
SERMON III.
The Trial of Saul.
"_And Saul said, Bring hither a burnt offering to me, and peace
offerings. And he offered the burnt offering._"--1 Sam. xiii. 9
SERMON IV.
The Call of David.
"_So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a
stone._"--1 Sam. xvii. 50
SERMON V.
Curiosity of Temptation to Sin.
"_Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil
men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away._"--Prov.
iv. 14, 15
SERMON VI.
Miracles no Remedy for Unbelief.
"_And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke Me?
and how long will it be ere they believe Me, for all the signs which I
have showed among them?_"--Num. xiv. 11
SERMON VII.
Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"_Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before
the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and
against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation
and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have
heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto
thy fathers, and thou shall be gathered into thy grave in peace; and
thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this
place._"--2 Kings xxii. 19, 20
SERMON VIII.
Inward Witness to the Truth of the Gospel.
"_I have more understanding than my teachers, for Thy testimonies
are my study; I am wiser than the aged, because I keep Thy
commandments._"--Psalm cxix. 99, 100
SERMON IX.
Jeremiah, a Lesson for the Disappointed.
"_Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee,
saith the Lord._"--Jer. i. 8
SERMON X.
Endurance of the World's Censure.
"_And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them; neither be afraid of
their words, though briars and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell
among scorpions; be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their
looks, though they be a rebellious house._"--Ezek. ii. 6
SERMON XI.
Doing Glory to God in Pursuits of the World.
"_Whether, therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to
the glory of God._"--1 Cor. x. 31
SERMON XII.
Vanity of Human Glory.
"_The world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not._"--1 John iii. 1
SERMON XIII.
Truth hidden when not sought after.
"_They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned
unto fables._"--2 Tim. iv. 4
SERMON XIV.
Obedience to God the Way to Faith in Christ.
"_When Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou
art not far from the kingdom of God._"--Mark xii. 34
SERMON XV.
Sudden Conversions.
"_By the grace of God I am what I am: and His grace which was bestowed
upon me was not in vain._"--1 Cor. xv. 10
SERMON XVI.
The Shepherd in our Souls.
"_I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd gaveth His life for the
sheep._"--John x. 11
SERMON XVII.
Religious Joy.
"_And the Angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is
born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord._"--Luke ii. 10, 11
SERMON XVIII.
Ignorance of Evil.
"_And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of Us, to
know good and evil._"--Gen. iii. 22
ephod._"--1 Samuel ii. 18.
Samuel, viewed in his place in sacred history, that is, in the course
of events which connect Moses with Christ, appears as a great ruler and
teacher of his people; this is his prominent character. He was the
first of the prophets; yet, when we read the sacred narrative itself,
in which his life is set before us, I suppose those passages are the
more striking and impressive which represent him, in the office which
belonged to him by birth, as a Levite, or minister of God. He was
taken into God's special service from the first; he lived in His
Temple; nay, while yet a child, he was honoured with the apparel of a
sacred function, as the text tells us, "he ministered before the Lord,
being a child, girded with a linen ephod."
His mother had "given him unto the Lord all the days of his life[1],"
by a solemn vow before his birth; and in him, if in any one, were
fulfilled the words of the Psalmist, "Blessed are they that dwell in
Thy house, they will be always praising Thee[2]."
Such a constant abode in God's house would make common minds only
familiar with holy things, and irreverent; but where God's grace is
present in the heart, the effect is the reverse; which we might be sure
would happen in the case of Samuel. "The Lord was with him," we are
told; and therefore the more the outward signs of that Lord met his
eye, the more reverent he became, not the more presuming. The more he
acquainted himself with God, the greater would be his awe and holy fear.
Thus the first notice we have of his ministering before the Lord,
reminds us of the decency and gravity necessary at all times, and in
all persons, in approaching Him. "He ministered before the Lord, being
a child, girded with a linen ephod." His mother had made him yearly a
little coat for his common use, but in Divine Service he wore, not
this, but a garment which would both express, and impress upon him,
reverence.
And, in like manner, in his old age, when Saul sent to seek David at
Naioth, where Samuel was, his messengers found Samuel and the prophets
under him all in decent order. "They saw the company of prophets
prophesying, and Samuel over them." And this was so impressive a
sight, that it became an instrument of God's supernatural power towards
them, and they prophesied also.
On the other hand, if we would have an example of the want of this
reverence, we have it in Saul himself, the reprobate king, who, when he
was on his way to Naioth, and was visited by God's Holy Spirit, did not
thereupon receive the garment of salvation, nor was clothed in
righteousness, but behaved himself in an unseemly wild way, as one
whose destitution and shame were but detected by the visitation. He
stript off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel, and lay down in
that state all that day and all that night.
This difference we see even at this day:--of persons professing
religion, some are like Samuel, some like Saul; some (as it were) cast
off their garments and prophesy in disorder and extravagance; others
minister before the Lord, "girded with a linen ephod," with "their
loins girt and their lamps burning," like men awfully expecting the
coming of their great and glorious Judge. By the latter, I mean the
true children of the Holy Catholic Church, by the former, I mean
heretics and schismatic.
There have ever been from the first these two kinds of
Christians--those who belonged to the Church, and those who did not.
There never was a time since the Apostles' day, when the Church was
not; and there never was a time but men were to be found who preferred
some other way of worship to the Church's way. These two kinds of
professed Christians ever have been--Church Christians, and Christians
not of the Church; and it is remarkable, I say, that while, on the one
hand, reverence for sacred things has been a characteristic of Church
Christians on the whole, so, want of reverence has been the
characteristic on the whole of Christians not of the Church. The one
have prophesied after the figure of Samuel, the other after the figure
of Saul.
Of course there are many exceptions to this remark in the case of
individuals. Of course I am not speaking of inconsistent persons and
exceptional cases, in the Church, or out of it; but of those who act up
to what they profess. I mean that zealous, earnest, and faithful
members of the Church have generally been reverent; and zealous,
earnest, and faithful members of other religious bodies have generally
been irreverent. Again, after all, there will be real exceptions in
the case of individuals which we cannot account for; but I mean that,
on, the _whole_, it will be found that reverence is one of the marks or
notes of the Church; true though it may be that some particular
individuals, who have kept apart from it, have not been without a
reverential spirit notwithstanding.
Indeed so natural is the connexion between a reverential spirit in
worshipping God, and faith in God, that the wonder only is, how any one
can for a moment imagine he has faith in God, and yet allow himself to
be irreverent towards Him. To believe in God, is to believe the being
and presence of One who is All-holy, and All-powerful, and
All-gracious; how can a man really believe thus of Him, and yet make
free with Him? it is almost a contradiction in terms. Hence even
heathen religions have ever considered faith and reverence identical.
To believe, and not to revere, to worship familiarly, and at one's
ease, is an anomaly and a prodigy unknown even to false religions, to
say nothing of the true one. Not only the Jewish and Christian
religions, which are directly from God, inculcate the spirit of
"reverence and godly fear," but those other religions which have
existed, or exist, whether in the East or the South, inculcate the
same. Worship, forms of worship--such as bowing the knee, taking off
the shoes, keeping silence, a prescribed dress, and the like--are
considered as necessary for a due approach to God. The whole world,
differing about so many things differing in creed and rule of life, yet
agree in this--that God being our Creator, a certain self-abasement of
the whole man is the duty of the creature; that He is in heaven, we
upon earth; that He is All-glorious, and we worms of the earth and
insects of a day.
But those who have separated from the Church of Christ have in this
respect fallen into greater than pagan error. They may be said to form
an exception to the concordant voice of a whole world, always and every
where; they break in upon the unanimous suffrage of mankind, and
determine, at least by their conduct, that reverence and awe are not
primary religious duties. They have considered that in some way or
other, either by God's favour or by their own illumination, they are
brought so near to God that they have no need to fear at all, or to put
any restraint upon their words or thoughts when addressing Him. They
have considered awe to be superstition, and reverence to be slavery.
They have learnt to be familiar and free with sacred things, as it
were, on principle. I think this is really borne out by facts, and
will approve itself to inquirers as true in substance, however one man
will differ from another in the words in which he would express the
fact itself.
Samuel was a little child who had never fallen away from God, but by
His grace had ever served Him. Let us take a very different instance,
the instance of a penitent sinner as set before us in the parable of
the Publican and Pharisee. I need hardly say which of the two was the
most pleasing to God--the Publican; whereas the Pharisee was not
accepted by Him. Now what did the Pharisee do? He did not even go so
far as to behave in an unseemly, extravagant way: he was grave and
solemn, and yet what he did was enough to displease God, because he
took too much upon himself, and made too much of himself. Though grave
and solemn, he was not reverent; he spoke in a haughty, proud way, and
made a long sentence, thanking God that he was not as other men are,
and despising the Publican. Such was the behaviour of the Pharisee;
but the Publican behaved very differently. Observe how he came to
worship God; "he stood afar off; he lift not up so much as his eyes
unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a
sinner[3]." You see his words were few, and almost broken, and his
whole conduct humble and reverent; he felt that God was in heaven, he
upon earth, God All-holy and Almighty, and he a poor sinner.
Now all of us are sinners, all of us have need to come to God as the
Publican did; every one, if he does but search his heart, and watch his
conduct, and try to do his duty, will find himself to be full of sins
which provoke God's wrath. I do not mean to say that all men are
equally sinners; some are wilful sinners, and of them there is no hope,
till they repent; others sin, but they try to avoid sinning, pray to
God to make them better, and come to Church to be made better; but all
men are quite sinners enough to make it their duty to behave as the
Publican. Every one ought to come into Church as the Publican did, to
say in his heart, "Lord, I am not worthy to enter this sacred place; my
only plea for coming is the merits of Jesus Christ my Saviour." When,
then, a man enters Church, as many do, carelessly and familiarly,
thinking of himself, not of God, sits down coldly and at his ease,
either does not say a prayer at all, or merely hides his face for
form's sake, sitting all the while, not standing or kneeling; then
looks about to see who is in the Church, and who is not, and makes
himself easy and comfortable in his seat, and uses the kneeler for no
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