Acts xiii, 36.
“For David, after he had served his own generation by
the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his
fathers.”
There are, as you will readily
perceive, several interesting points of resemblance, between
David, here spoken of, and our beloved and honoured friend, whose
lamented death has occasioned this discourse. Both of them
became religious early in life; and consecrated their youth to
the God of their fathers. Both of them were men after
God’s own heart; who, in the midst of human infirmities and
imperfections, reverenced the divine authority, looked for pardon
and salvation to the divine mercy, and esteemed the divine
loving-kindness to be better than life. Both of them had
the tongue and the pen of a ready writer; and said much, and
wrote much, for the edification of the church of God. Both
of them contributed largely and cheerfully of their own property,
for the support and extension of the cause of God and of true
religion. Both of them, when brought into various
tribulations, found it good to be afflicted, and made the
everlasting covenant of their God, all their salvation and all
their desire. And of both of them it may with propriety be said, in the
language of our text, “They served their own generation by
the will of God; they fell on sleep; and they were laid to their
fathers.” There are also, as you are aware, some
points of difference between them, as well as of resemblance; to
which, however, it is not needful to refer particularly;
especially as I am desirous to direct your attention, in this
discourse, not so much to specific instances of resemblance
between these holy men, as to the beautiful accordance which
there is between the description given in our text, and the life
and character of Mr. Gurney. There are indeed various terms
by which he might be appropriately designated; yet the one which
is used in our text, though in some respects the humblest, is
perhaps the best. He was a servant; and till he fell
asleep in death, and was laid unto his fathers, he was employed
in serving his own generation by the will of God. I think
that all who were acquainted with him, will acknowledge that his
whole life was service; service as opposed to selfishness, and
idleness, and injuriousness; service done for God, on behalf of
the church and the world; and service which he was prompted to
undertake by Jesus Christ his Lord and Master, and from the
exercise of which he became eminently beneficial to society, and
eminently holy and happy in his own person. As he was, to a
great extent, a public man, well known not only to you who
compose this numerous congregation, but to most of our
fellow-citizens, and to many of our fellow-countrymen, I may
without impropriety speak of him more freely and more fully than
I would speak of a more private individual; and especially as I
am desirous that his character and conduct, as a christian
servant, should be clearly and influentially perceived by us all;
that by the grace of God we may imitate his example, and enable
survivors to say of each one of us, “He served his own
generation by the will of God, and fell on sleep, and was laid
unto his fathers.” In order therefore to describe and
recommend to you the christian servant, we shall consider the
office which he sustains; the manner in which he is to discharge
it; and the state in which it terminates.
I. Let us consider, in the first place, THE OFFICE WHICH HE SUSTAINS. I
make this a distinct and primary subject of consideration, not
that there is any difficulty in ascertaining what christian
service is, but because I am desirous you should perceive and
feel that it is an essential part of christian character.
It is true that the office of servant is not the only one which a
man of God sustains; nor is the name the only one which is
descriptive of his character and life. He is a disciple;
who sits at the feet of Jesus, and learns from his word the great
mystery of godliness. He is a professor of Christ’s
gospel; who publicly declares his belief of its doctrines, and
his subjection to its authority. He is a soldier; who
endures hardness, and fights the good fight of faith. And
he is a son; a child of God; a partaker of the spirit of
adoption, whereby he cries Abba, Father; and an heir of God
through Jesus Christ. But he is a servant, in a sense which
includes these names and relationships, and which describes a
condition, in some respects superior to them all. As a
servant is one who is subject to the authority of another person,
and is employed on his behalf, so a christian is in willing
subjection to God, and is employed by and for his Master in
heaven. Formerly he was in the service of Satan, serving
divers lusts and passions; but from that service he has been
redeemed, not with corruptible things, such as silver and gold,
but with the precious blood of Christ; and from that service he
has been called by the effectual voice of the Holy Spirit, who
has constrained him to renounce sin, and Satan, and the world,
and to consecrate his service to the Lord. “Know ye
not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are
to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto
righteousness. But God be thanked, that, though ye were the
servants of sin, ye have obeyed from the heart that form of
doctrine which was delivered to you. Being then made free
from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.”
The man who thus becomes the servant of God, receives a
qualification and a commission to serve both the church and the
world—to serve the church, by seeking the spirituality,
union, and increase of its members; and to serve the world, by
seeking the temporal and spiritual welfare of all mankind.
Without the desire and the practice of service such as this,
religion would be but an empty name, or a mere sentimental
emotion. It would be, not a living, but a dead religion;
“for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith
without works is dead also.” This christian service
which is thus the effect, becomes also the evidence of personal
piety. There are some things, the possession or the
practice of which are no decisive test of character. You
may be in membership with a church of orthodox principles; and
you may be the zealous advocate of denominational peculiarities;
and yet, by these very things, you may be gratifying prejudice
rather than piety; and your religious professions and
attachments, may be only modifications of selfishness. But
if you are found sustaining the office and discharging the duties
of a servant of Christ, you are walking in the footsteps of your
Lord and Master; you are living, not to yourself, but to him who
died for you and rose again; you are looking not at your own
things only, but at the things of others also; and therefore you
love not in word, or in tongue, but in deed, and in truth.
How perfectly was this office sustained by Jesus Christ, the
servant of God in the redemption of sinners. He himself is
Lord of all; the Maker and the Monarch of the universe. “He was
in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with
God; but he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form of a servant.” And how perfectly this
“form” was indicative of the reality.
“The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister.” “I am among you, said he to his
disciples, as one that serveth;” and when, on one occasion,
he had girded himself with a towel, and washed his
disciples’ feet, he said, “I have given you an
example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily,
verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord;
neither is he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.”
Happy indeed! for both happiness and honour are derived, not from
exalting, but from humbling ourselves; not from self-indulgence,
but from self-denial; and from a cordial and practical imitation
of Him, who was meek and lowly in heart, and who went about doing
good. How peculiarly and prominently was this the character
of our departed friend. How much he had received of his
Master’s spirit, and how willing he was to walk in his
Master’s steps. Many of you, my brethren, I trust
have so received, and are so inclined. Let us therefore
follow him as he followed Christ. And as we profess to
sustain the office of Christian servants, let us now give the
more earnest heed to the apostolic injunction, “Let every
one of us please his neighbour, for his good, to
edification.”
II. Such being the office, which the Christian servant
sustains, let us consider, in the second place, The manner in which it is to be
discharged. “He is to Serve his own generation
by the will of God.” Here, you perceive, is a course
of conduct regulated by an important principle; both of which are
to be included in our consideration of the manner in which this
office is to be discharged. On an ordinary occasion, I
would have described and illustrated this conduct, and this principle, by
an express reference to scripture doctrine, precept, and
example. But it is our privilege to have had among us an
individual, well and publicly known, who sustained this office,
and whose life and character afford an impressive illustration of
the manner in which it should be discharged; and therefore, as
Peter “freely” spake to the people, of the patriarch
David, who served his own generation by the will of God, I shall
now freely speak to you of our departed friend and brother, as an
example of the same religious service.
In the first place then, A CHRISTIAN IS
TO SERVE HIS OWN GENERATION. He may indeed be the
means of serving future generations also. While
David was serving the men and the institutions of his own time,
his prayer was, “Now also when I am old and grey headed, O
God, forsake me not, until I have shewed thy strength to this
generation, and thy power to every one that is to
come.” And the God to whom this prayer was addressed,
enabled him to accomplish his desire, by the preparations which
he made for the erection of the future temple, and by the Psalms
which he composed, and which have contributed so richly to the
instruction and comfort of our own and of preceding
generations. Martyrs and Reformers of old, who, as servants
of Christ, were faithful even unto death, and sealed their
service with their blood, were also thereby the means of securing
benefits to the church and the world, which have come down from
their days to our own, and by which we ourselves are established
and blessed. And our beloved friend too, who has served the
present generation, will serve the future also. “He,
being dead, yet speaketh,” and he will continue to speak,
not only by the remembrance of his holy example, but also by the
vigour which he has imparted to many of our benevolent and
religious institutions, and by the books which he has published,
and which future generations will read. Of every truly Christian
servant it may therefore be said, even when he rests from his
labours, that his works do follow him. His years are
thereby prolonged to many generations. He lives on earth,
and in heaven, at the same time. And blessed is that
servant, who, amidst the repose and joy of his celestial home, is
crowned by the benedictions of men of generations subsequent to
his own, to whose salvation he was the means of
contributing. But let no one aim at the future, to the
neglect of the present. Let no one withhold time, and
self-denial, and personal effort, from the present, with the
intention of making an atonement by levying a tax on his property
for the future. Let no one accumulate, and hoard up now,
with the intention of letting a portion go when he can no longer
retain it. But let every man be his own executor, as far as
he is able, and let him endeavour to serve future generations by
generously and religiously serving his own.
The present generation is emphatically “our
own;” and, therefore, it has upon us peculiar
claims. Every good man has been converted and sanctified by
the grace of God, in order that he may be qualified and disposed
to serve it. The objects which have the first claim upon
our service, are our own families; nor are we to undertake the
service of a philanthropist, of a Sunday school teacher, or even
of a preacher of the gospel, to their neglect and injury;
“for if any man provide not for his own, and specially for
those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse
than an infidel.” Those among whom we are placed as
neighbours, demand our service next; and so on, according to our
means and opportunities, till the circle of our service is as
wide as the family of man. Our charity, which may thus
begin at home, is therefore not to end there; but must resemble
the service rendered by the sun, who sheds his light and sweet
influences, first on the planets which are nearest to his centre,
and then
extends them to those which lie at the remote circumference.
Our Christian brother, now departed, so faithfully served his
own generation, that his conduct in this respect may furnish an
influential rule and encouragement to ourselves; and though we
may not have the means and capacities which he possessed, yet
from his extensive service, we may learn how to conduct our own,
according to the ability which God hath given us. He, then,
served his own generation, by a public profession of the
gospel of Christ. In early life he was placed in
circumstances where he was free to choose whom he would serve;
and he had wealth, and talents, and attractive influences, which
would have gained him a cordial welcome among the men of the
world, who have their portion in this life. But he came out
from among them, and was separate. He determined to become
a disciple of Christ, not secretly, for fear of the frown or
ridicule of the world, but publicly, declaring himself to society
and to the church, as a Christian man, bound to act on Christian
principles, and to exhibit them publicly and practically in all
his religious and his secular affairs. This was a most
appropriate act of Christian service; and the moral courage which
he manifested in thus following out his convictions, by
confessing Christ before men, is a noble example to the men of
his own class, and of his own generation.
“Vain,” says he, “will be our belief in the
glad tidings of salvation through the crucified Immanuel, unless
it be followed by a holy decision of mind, in giving up ourselves
to God. The want of this holy decision, may be
regarded as the second grand cause of the imperfections which so
often interrupt our conformity to the divine will. When
Saul was arrested in his career of violence, by a light and voice
from above, he ‘was not disobedient to the heavenly
vision;’ he surrendered at discretion to the
all-conquering Saviour; forsook, at once, his self righteousness
and self will, and became, without reserve, what every Christian
ought to be, a servant of the Lord. The die was
cast, which for ever determined his adherence to the cause of
Jesus Christ and him crucified.” [11]
He served his own generation by a consistent and
influential character. He not only began well in his
Christian course, but having obtained help of God, he continued
in it, even to the end. Suppose it had been
otherwise. Suppose that, after he had made a public
profession of the gospel, he had renounced it; or, by some act or
course of immorality, had profaned it. What a frightful
supposition! Can you estimate the evil and the disservice
of such an apostacy? How would the church have mourned, not
as she did at his death, with sorrow softened with hope, but with
bitter tears, and a broken heart; and how would the enemies of
truth and purity have rejoiced and blasphemed! Can you then
estimate the service which he rendered to Christ and to his
church, by that long course of holy and consistent conduct which,
by the grace of God, he was enabled to pursue; and during which
he was neither ashamed of the gospel nor a shame unto it.
Brethren, let us watch and pray, that we may thus serve God
ourselves, and let us devoutly listen to the charge which our
divine Master is ever addressing to his servants, “Be thou
faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of
life.”
He served his own generation by his liberal
contributions, which he rendered to the cause of humanity and
religion. Giving money, in due proportion, and to proper
objects, was placed by him among the duties inculcated by
religion and benevolence; and his giving was distinguished, not
only by the largeness of its amount, but by the manner in which
it was
conducted. He gave cheerfully, constantly, and
religiously. If you have ever been refused money, when you
have asked it for a really deserving case, the refusal was not
from Mr. Gurney. If, after long and beseeching entreaty,
you have received a donation grudgingly, it was not from Mr.
Gurney. There were sometimes cases when he might have
excused himself, by pleading the amount he had already given to
similar objects, or the claims and the peculiarities of his own
religious denomination; but, though he would not give against the
convictions of his conscience, yet his giving was evidently
limited only by those convictions, and by the range of his own
means. “I only wish to keep my head fairly above
water,” was the remark which he made to a friend, who had
received a donation from him for a religious purpose, just after
he had been giving some large sums of money; and when an effort
was being made, some time ago, to induce persons to become
collectors for a charitable institution in this city, to which he
had given liberally, he said, “It sometimes requires more
self-denial to ask for contributions than it does to give them,
and the most liberal people are often those who beg, not those
who give.” You know how he remembered the poor; and I
shall never forget the gratification which he expressed when the
District Visiting Society was established, because, as he then
said, he had the means of sending money to the poor, in a way
that would secure its proper distribution. I have said that
he gave religiously. He regarded his possessions as a
sacred trust, committed to him by his divine Master, for the
supply of the wants of others as well as of his own; and he felt
his responsibility as a steward who would soon be called to give
an account of himself unto God. What he gave, therefore,
was given unto the Lord; and many a cup of water has he given to
his disciples, because they belonged to Christ. How many
lessons of wisdom and religion, relative to the principle and
mode of giving, may thus be learned from the example of our
departed brother, who never saw an object of necessity or
distress and then “passed by on the other side,” but
whose oil, and wine, and purse, were always ready for the
necessities of his neighbour.
He served his own generation by personal efforts.
His gifts were not merely pecuniary. It was his own maxim,
that a man may give much money, and yet exercise very little of
benevolence or of self-denial. He gave what, to a man in
his circumstances, was often more valuable than gold—he
gave time, and personal attention, and laborious effort, to
assist in the working of many of the public institutions with
which he was connected; and till circumstances rendered it
needful that he should in some measure withdraw his personal
attendance, he was one of our most punctual and regular committee
men; and sometimes undertook service which others preferred to
decline. Many of our public institutions are really
conducted by comparatively few individuals; and it will be a
great advantage to the societies themselves, and to the public at
large, when we have a greater number of men who, like Joseph John
Gurney, will be seen in our committee rooms, and on our
platforms, giving their presence and influence, as well as their
silver and gold.
I need not say that, among his personal efforts, he served his
own generation by his writings. In the many volumes
which he has published, there are of course the expression and
the advocacy of his peculiar opinions as a Dissenter, and as a
Friend; but his writings are characterized, not by these
peculiarities, but by what is common to the church of God.
They are full of the truth as it is in Jesus. Some of them
are eminently critical, argumentative, and learned; all of them
are eminently excellent in their sentiments and influence;
containing no words which, “when dying, he need wish to
blot,” but only such as were serviceable to the interests
of sobriety, righteousness, and godliness.
But he also served his own generation by seizing present
opportunities of usefulness, and by acting in accordance
with the requirements of the times. He was greatly
impressed with the importance of thus acting; and during the
eventful period in which he lived, he had many opportunities of
manifesting it. When such opportunities presented
themselves, he never lingered till they were lost, but whatsoever
his hand found to do, he did it with all his might. He was
a servant, who not only “knew his Lord’s will,”
but also “prepared himself.” He was one of
those “who had understanding of the times, to know what
Israel ought to do.” When therefore he was appealed
to by the cause of Education, of Prison Discipline, of Slave
Emancipation, of the Bible Society, of the Poor, or by any
department of service which occurred to him as a Christian
minister, he promptly responded to the call; and by his
persevering labours, imparted strength and courage to his
coadjutors. In such cases he sometimes manifested a degree
of tact and holy wisdom, which showed how heartily he was devoted
to his object. This appears very much in his writings; and
in some of his letters, inserted in the unpublished life of the
late Lord Suffield; and the anxious desire which he felt that his
Lordship’s mind might be brought under the influence of
religion, as the only right principle of action, and as the only
spring of joy, is truly beautiful and affecting. For
instance, when referring to the subject of Prison Discipline, he
says, “I truly rejoice in thy thus being enabled to employ
thy time, talents, and influence, in the cause of humanity; and
may I not say, Christianity? Most heartily do I wish thee
well on thy way, and may the preserving power of the Lord be with
thee, to protect, bless, and sanctify all thy proceedings, and
thy whole self, in body, soul, and spirit.” In
another letter he says, “So much for politics; with regard
to my last subject—religion—I was a little
afraid lest thy silence might indicate dissent, and I am truly
rejoiced to find it otherwise. To salute thee as a brother,
in ‘him who died for us and rose again,’ is a
pleasure indeed! I cannot consent to keep silence on this
subject, though I feel with thee how much it requires all our
reverence; but I remember what a certain prophet said,
‘they that feared the Lord spake often one to
another.’ I am however quite aware that there are
right times and seasons; that the temple must not be polluted by
unhallowed feet; and that our feet are too apt to be unhallowed,
unless they are first ‘shod with the preparation of the
gospel of peace.’” “I cannot
express,” says he in another place, “what I think of
the value of those religious convictions which are hinted at in
thy letter. I consider them to be beyond all price, because
the work, not of man, but of God. I should conceive that it
must have been through much mental conflict that thou hast come
at them, for I have long found occasion to believe that we must
be made in some measure partakers of the sufferings of Christ,
before we can enjoy the privileges of true religion.
‘Are ye willing to drink of the cup that I drink
of?’ ‘After what is past, it is impossible not
to feel a warm personal interest in thee.’
‘Such a heart and mind are talents to be employed in thy
Master’s service.’” Can you conceive
of any thing more spiritually beautiful than these extracts
are? And who can hear them without thanking God on the
writer’s behalf?
And to shew how naturally and gracefully he could mingle
religion with the common affairs of life, I may relate to you an
incident which was told me by a friend, who one day happened to
travel with Mr. Gurney, and some other persons, on the outside of
the coach. When they had proceeded a few miles, Mr. Gurney
said, “as we started rather early this morning, I
was not able, at home, to read my portion of Scripture, so that
if there be no objection, I will read a chapter
aloud.” He did so, making suitable remarks on the
verses as he read them, and diffusing such a hallowed influence
on those around him, that my friend said, “it was one of
the happiest days I ever spent.” Now, with Mr.
Gurney, the doing such a thing as that, was as free from
ostentation, as it was from awkwardness. It was a deed of
“simplicity and godly sincerity;” and was so
conducted, as to seem as appropriate for the top of a coach, as
for a meeting house, or a cathedral. There is a paragraph
in one of his unpublished manuscripts, which is in beautiful
harmony with this anecdote, and which may possibly have some
reference to it. After speaking of the duty and importance
of “always being on the watch, to make a good use of our
time,” he says, “I have sometimes endeavoured to
apply these principles to travelling, in which a
considerable portion of the time of some persons is almost
unavoidably occupied. A call of duty or business, may often
carry us to places at a distance from our own homes. Is the
time, taken up by the journey, to be one of mere indolence?
Is the convenience of being conveyed from one place to another,
to be the only profit which it shall yield? Ought we not
rather to make a point, on such occasions, of adding to our stock
of knowledge, and of useful ideas, by reading, by conversation,
and reflection? Is there no object of interest which may be
examined by the way? Is there no person of piety or talent,
with whom we may find a passing opportunity of
communicating? Are the motions of the coach or chariot so
rapid, that we cannot leave behind us, as we pass from place to
place, important instruction in the form of Bibles, Testaments,
or tracts? Much may not be required of us; but it is
well, if on our arrival at our place of destination, we can
acknowledge that we have both received and communicated a
little good in the course of our journey.” And again. “As the
servant who waits well on his master, is ever on the qui
vive to know what will be next wanted, so are we to wait on
the hours, and even on the moments of each passing day, to know
what duties they point out to us, or what employments they
suggest for the improvement of our minds.”
Thus it was, brethren, that our departed friend endeavoured to
discharge the office of a servant in his own generation. He
served it, by a public profession of the gospel of Christ; by a
consistent and influential character; by his liberal
contributions to the cause of humanity and religion; by his
personal efforts and writings; and by seizing present
opportunities of usefulness, and acting in accordance with the
requirements of the times.
But we have still to remark, secondly, that a Christian is to
serve his own generation in accordance with
the will of God. The text may indeed be read,
“after he had, in his own generation, served the will of
God.” But even this arrangement of the words implies,
that the service which he rendered, in the midst of his own
generation, was according to the will of God; and as this refers
to the principle and motive of Christian service, it can be
applied, equally with the former expression, to the service
rendered by our Christian brother, the strongest desire of whose
heart it was, so to serve as to please God.
A man may do right acts from wrong motives. The
Pharisees gave alms to the poor. That was right. But
their motive in giving, was to be seen of men. That was
wrong. It was seeking to please men rather than God, who
trieth the hearts. No action can be religious which has not
its motive and its end in God, and which is not in accordance
with his will. The man, therefore, who properly and
acceptably serves his own generation, must do it by the will of
God.
This was exactly the opinion of our beloved friend.
“Paul,” says he, often declares himself to be
“an apostle by the will of God. Now we may rest
assured that had not his will been surrendered at discretion, he
would neither have been enabled to lead a life of holiness, nor
have been qualified for his peculiar path of religious
duty. His whole work and service would have been marred;
and he would have been comparable to nothing better than a
stunted tree, bringing forth fruit destined not to ripen.
Such a sacrifice of the will, is indeed absolutely necessary, not
merely to the general purposes of virtue, but to the specific
value and usefulness of every member of the church of
Christ.”
Acting on these great principles, our departed brother served
his own generation in accordance with the revealed will of God
in the Bible. Whatever peculiarities distinguished him
as a member of the Society of Friends, he believed them to be in
conformity with the holy Scriptures; and I am sure that, so far
as the office of a christian servant is concerned, he would
acknowledge no will that appeared to him to be contrary to
“the will of God” as revealed in the inspired
volume. If he followed the light within himself, it was
because he believed it to be from the same divine source with the
light without, which shines upon the sacred pages. He was a
most attentive and devout reader of this holy book, not only in
the family, but in the closet, and in the study; and it was not
unusual with him to invite the visitors at his house to join him
in those morning readings in the Greek Testament, in which, after
breakfast, he was accustomed to engage. The frequency and
devotion with which he searched the scriptures, to ascertain his
Lord’s will, he earnestly recommended to others; and you
are all witnesses how often, in his Bible society Speeches, he
repeated and enforced the apostolic declaration, “all
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in
righteousness.”
He served his own generation, under a deep conviction of
the supreme and rightful authority of God over him.
There are many persons who live and act on the principle that
they have a right to do what they will with themselves, and with
what they call their own. “Our lips, say they, are
our own, who is Lord over us?” “I am not my
own,” was the language of our christian brother.
“I belong to Christ, my Lord and Master.” And
in language literally his own, he declares, “there is
nothing more distasteful to the natural man, than the piercing
spirituality, the comprehensive grasp, and the binding authority
of God’s precepts. The child of darkness prefers his
own devices—he is a rebel to the core. But
Christianity requires an uncompromising compliance with the whole
counsel of God as it relates to our conduct. Our whole life
must be regulated by the directions of his perfect law. No
rebellious feeling, no corrupt motive or thought must be
harboured; no favourite sin spared; no unwelcome duty
omitted.” [19]
He served also in remembrance of his responsibility to
God. Every step he took in this service, he felt was on
his way to the judgment seat, there to give an account of himself
unto God. And we, be it remembered, are perpetually
approaching the same tribunal. We can no more get rid of
our responsibility, than we can of our immortality. Whether
we admit it or deny it; whether we declare ourselves to be
accountable to God, or independent of God; the great white throne
is before us, and he that sits upon it, “will bring every
work into judgment, and every secret thing, whether it be good or
bad.”
And,
once more, he served under a deep sense of obligation to
God. There is no motive in the universe of such mighty
power, in the divine service, as the love of Christ to sinners;
his love in redemption; his love in dying for the ungodly.
“The love of Christ constraineth us.” And while
it constrains us to love Christ, who redeemed us with his
precious blood, it also constrains us to persevere in a course of
christian service, with an alacrity and devotedness which no
other motive could inspire. Oh! how this was felt by our
beloved friend. What a master motive to his heart was the
love of Christ in becoming the propitiation for our sins!
In his speeches, and in his writings, what lofty inspiration did
the theme produce! and how he seemed to feel as if he could never
say enough, nor do enough, to testify his obligation to that
benignant Master, “who loved him, and gave himself for
him!”
Delightful as it is, thus to speak of one, who, after this
manner, served his own generation according to the will of God,
we nevertheless desire to say it all in perfect accordance with
the doctrine, that all his disposition, and all his capacity, for
his Master’s service, was derived entirely from his
Master’s grace. I should be doing a grievous wrong,
not only to Scripture sentiment, but to his own most cherished
convictions, if I were in the least degree to intimate that any
of his spiritual excellencies were either self-originated or
meritoriously exercised. No—amidst my highest
admiration of his character, I would remember the admonition
which he gave to me, when he met me on my way to preach the
funeral sermon for Joseph Kinghorn—“praise the
Master, not the servant;” and I do so when I say, that all
which the servant became, the Master made him. The same
hand which gave him the reward of the faithful servant, had
previously given him the fidelity; and, therefore, we glorify God
in him; and we carefully remember, that the holiest christian
on earth, and the brightest saint in heaven, willingly unite in
the one declaration, “By the grace of God I am what I
am.”
III. Our remarks on the christian servant must now be
brought to a close; and having considered the office which he
sustains, and the manner in which it is to be discharged, I must
briefly consider in the third place, THE
STATE IN WHICH IT TERMINATES. “For David,
after he had served his own generation, by the will of God, fell
on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers.”
“He fell on sleep”—not, he
died. “He that believeth on me, says Christ, shall
never die.” He becomes absent from the body, and is
present with the Lord; but this is not dying. It is not
death, to close our eyes on earth, and open them in heaven; to
lose the embrace of earthly friendship, and fall into the arms of
Christ. This is not death; nor is it even sleep, so far as
the spirit of the Christian servant is concerned. The
spirit becomes absent from the body, and present with the
Lord. It goes out of its tabernacle of clay, into the house
which is not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; and there
it joins the spirits of just men made perfect, in the general
assembly and church of the first-born. But the body sleeps,
and sleeps in Jesus, who redeemed it with his precious blood; who
made it a temple for the Holy Ghost to dwell in; who will watch
over its precious dust while it remains in the grave,
“waiting there for the adoption, to wit the redemption of
the body;” and who, when that morning of adoption dawns,
will “come to wake it out of sleep, and to fashion it like
unto his own glorious body;” “for this corruptible
must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality.”
“And was laid unto his fathers.” The
phrase in the Old Testament is, “He was gathered to his
people.” So far as it may refer to the body, it
alludes to the gathering in the grave; but even in the earliest
times, when the phrase was used, it looked beyond the grave, to
the people whom God had begun to gather round his throne.
And from the days of the patriarchs to our own, the God of all
grace has been still increasing the number, and gathering his
saints together, “who have made a covenant with him by
sacrifice.” And when the spirit of our departed
friend entered the mansions of his Father’s house, to what
a numerous and a glorious company was he gathered, of those who
had gone before, in ancient and in modern times. And while
it is to Christ, that the gathering of the people shall be, and
while he will be to them, throughout eternity, their joy, and
glory, and heaven, yet blessed and celestial will be the
recognitions and the remembrances, when the newly arrived guest
is introduced to his former companions and coadjutors. What
heart can conceive of the heavenly joy with which our departed
brother, on his arrival there, met with those eminent and holy
men, with whom, when on earth, he had taken sweet counsel, in
works of faith and labours of love. What tongue can tell
the greetings with which he was welcomed to the Marriage Supper
of the Lamb, when he sat down with Patriarchs, and Prophets, and
Apostles, and Martyrs—with Wilberforce, and Simeon, and
Buxton, and the glorious company of the Redeemed, in the presence
of Christ the Master of the feast! Oh! to be thus gathered
to the general assembly and church of the first-born, in that
land of light and immortality, where there is no shade to dim its
brightness; no sin to defile its purity; no tribulation to
interrupt its joys; no languor, no pain, no disease, to burden
the willing spirit; and no death to break up the blessed
family. Lord “gather not my soul with
sinners.” Let me, O Lord, be gathered to my fathers
in Christ. “Let me die the death of the righteous,
let my last end be like his!”
Well might “devout men carry him to the grave, and make great
lamentation for him.” Well might the whole city
assume the appearance of a consecrated sabbath, and send forth
its thousands and tens of thousands to mourn at his
funeral. Well might the voice of triumph mingle with the
voice of tears, and exclaim at his sepulchre, “Thanks be to
God who hath given him the victory, through our Lord Jesus
Christ;” for “a prince and a great man has fallen in
Israel.” And by his death, which has brought such
gain to himself, the poor have lost a sympathizing benefactor;
society has lost a bright example; the church of Christ has lost
a beloved brother, a laborious servant, and a faithful minister
of the gospel; and his own mourning family have lost “the
desire of their eyes with a stroke.” Let us then
endeavour to supply all this loss, as far as we are able.
Let each of us determine, by the grace of God, to serve our own
generation with increasing energy and devotedness. And let
the review of his life, and the rapidity of his death, urge us
all to be “steadfast and unmoveable, always abounding in
the work of the Lord, forasmuch as we know that our labour is not
in vain in the Lord.”