Christian Activity 4
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I am reminded that it is time for me to look towards the conclusion, which must not, however, arrive until I have given to the text that emphasis which the existing events of the present times so remarkably supply. We live, my friends, in no common era. The church of Christ has arisen from her long repose, and, as if refreshed by the slumbers of ages, and concentrating the neglected energies of centuries, is entering upon labors which will never cease until she shall stand between the new heaven and the new earth, wherein dwells righteousness.
The river of life, clear as crystal which flows from the throne of God and the Lamb, long impeded in its course by the lukewarmness of former generations, has at length happily forced its barrier, and is flowing through innumerable channels, prepared by the zeal of all denominations of Christians, to receive its vivifying streams, and to convey them in different directions to the parched places of the earth. Missionary establishments have opened a spacious bed for the heavenly waters, on the banks of which Hindus and Hottentots, Chinese and Otaheitians, are at this moment washing away their sins, quenching their thirst after happiness, and inhaling the bliss of eternal salvation. The British and Foreign Bible Society, more like the ocean than a river, is rolling the tide of life to every shore beneath the skies.
Another division of the sacred stream is flowing back, though alas but slowly, to its original source, and conveying salvation to the children of Israel. The Religious Tract Society pours forth a mighty stream; while the Sunday School system supplies its rivulets, where children of every age may sip the waters of salvation. Survey, my friends, the grand and solemn scene, and ask, if through your neglect these numerous and important channels shall have their supplies cut off? Shall our lukewarmness renew those impediments, the demolition of which has been celebrated by songs on earth, and songs in heaven? Lukewarmness never had so little to excuse, so much to aggravate its guilt as now. The curse of Meroz must light upon that man who, in the present age, denies his help to the work of the Lord.
But I ought not, surely, to forget the object for which you are now assembled, and while enumerating the various opportunities which are presented for gratifying your zeal, omit the Association which you have this day formed for diffusing, through your own county, a greater plenitude of gospel truth. The sole object of this union is to promote the glory of God, and the best interests of man. You are animated by higher motives than those which derive their energy from sectarian distinctions. There are spots in every county which, in respect to religious culture, are barren and desolate indeed. In some places the population has become enormously disproportionate to the provision made by the establishment for Christian instruction; in others, the parish church is beyond the reach of a large part of the inhabitants; and in some, we are obliged to believe, however the expression of our convictions may give offence, that the glad tidings of the gospel are not published in all their fullness and importance from the pulpit of the minister, nor its purifying tendency exhibited in his life. In such cases as these it is at once our duty to God, our country, and our fellow-creatures, to step in and supply the lack of service.
The establishment of county associations has been followed, in many parts of the kingdom, with a degree of success which should stimulate your exertions, and encourage your hopes. Congregations have been collected from those parts of the community which spent their sabbaths in profanity and mischief; churches of holy and peaceable Christians have been formed of those who were once, at least some of them, the pests of society; places of worship have been erected, and whole neighborhoods reformed. Nor are these the only advantages resulting from such institutions. As in all other cases of moral charity, there will be a reaction of benefit.
By creating a new object of no ordinary interest; by leading to a more frequent fellowship between the different ministers and churches of the county; and at the same time exciting among them a spirit of holy emulation in this labor of love, the affairs of our congregations will be kept from sinking into a dull and stagnant state, the fire of zeal will be cherished, and the cords of brotherly love will be drawn still closer round our hearts. One of the purposes, no doubt, for which all the male part of the Jewish people was to appear together, three times a year, before the Lord, was to preserve unimpaired the bond of fraternity, so much in danger of being relaxed without occasional communion; and such an end, in no small degree, will be accomplished by a diligent attendance upon the half yearly or annual meetings of these County Associations.
It must be obvious to everyone, that for such an object as this, funds are indispensable, and that they must be raised by the associated churches. Every congregation in the county, and every individual of the congregation, will feel the obligation to exert themselves according to their ability, in support of a cause exclusively their own. It would surely be a criminal inconsistency, while such exertions are made to send the gospel to distant lands, to neglect those places which are destitute of it in our own immediate vicinity. Like rays diverging from a center, and pressing to the remotest circumference through all the nearer and intermediate spaces, our zeal emanating from our own personal religion should reach the heathen world through our relatives, friends, and neighbors that lie between.
For these, and all similar exertions, it becomes us to recollect that "the time is short." Earth is the scene, and human life the limit, of these honorable efforts. You are flying over the field of labor upon the wings of time, and can only drop a few seeds of immortality as you pass rapidly along. Your opportunity for doing good must end with your life, and may end long before. Unlooked for misfortunes may reduce you to poverty; incurable disorders may render you helpless; and in such circumstances the recollection of neglected opportunities will be no pleasant companion to your afflicted heart. But should your means of usefulness be continued to the end of life, and life itself be protracted far into the years of decrepitude and infirmity, even then how short is the period allotted to zeal and benevolence for doing the work of the Lord. Shall we cut off even from this short space one half by neglect, and by lukewarmness misemploy the other half?
The honor and felicity derived so largely from this service, are all confined, so far as our information extends, to the present world, and give one advantage to saints on earth above those who have entered upon their heavenly rest. Angels, it is true, are represented as performing mysterious offices of love for the Christian during his pilgrimage below; "as ministering spirits they minister to the heirs of salvation;" but even this is not done until he is become an heir of salvation, which is ordinarily effected through the instrumentality of man. We read of no mission composed of the spirits of just men made perfect sent from the skies, and charged with the gospel to a benighted part of the globe. Let us then be diligent. Opportunity is the flower of time, which we hold this moment in our hand, fresh, fragrant, and blooming—but which tomorrow may drop and wither upon our grave. "Work therefore while it is called today, the night comes when no man can work; and whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave where you are going."
Permit me, my brethren and fathers in the Christian ministry, with all affection and respect, to enforce the language of the text upon your most serious attention. It speaks to us with its full emphasis. We are bound to do the work of the Lord, not merely by the common ties of Christian duty, but by all the weighty obligations which the most solemn office beneath the skies has imposed upon our consciences. Among the various duties which we are to enjoin upon the people, religious zeal unquestionably occupies a conspicuous place.
But exhortations to this duty, unless enforced by our conduct, will come to the hearts of our hearers, chilling as the breeze which issues from the north, and has swept over the surface of the frozen ocean. It behooves us to recollect that we are accountable for the very spirit of our congregations; since, in this respect, a minister who, in addition to competent talents and prudence, is beloved by his people, can cause the tone of their character to strike in unison with his own. We should be in the midst of the house of God, like the ever burning lamps in the holy place of the temple—our zeal should resemble the heavenly fire, which sent forth a quenchless flame upon the brazen altar.
Let us, then, be patterns of Christian activity. Let us manifest a forwardness in giving endorsement and support, so far as our ability extends, to every plan that has for its object the best interests of man, and the glory of God. And while contending for the faith once delivered to the saints; while assiduously cherishing in our flocks the spirit of personal devotion; while laboring to the utmost in the cause of evangelical morality, let us not forget, both by our sermons and our conduct—to admonish our churches to new efforts, in the language of the text, "Beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord!"
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