Questions. Whose never closing eye watches over you and guards you from danger when you are sleeping and insensible to every thing around you? God's. What does He give you the power of seeing? The light of the new day. What of hearing? The cheerful voice of men and animals. And to whom do you owe every innocent enjoyment? To God alone. If therefore you do not pray to Him daily and reverently, what are you guilty of making? A sinful excuse. Teacher. Remember then when you neglect God, and His services, and commands, you incur the same guilt as those who had bought oxen and land and therefore refused to come to the supper. You then do as they did, follow the bad and deceitful world. Remember what is said by the Lord when the servant came and shewed him these excuses, "None of those men which were bidden, shall taste of my supper." God grant that neither you, or I, or any whom we love and wish happy, may be of that unfortuate number, who when the Master has risen up and shut to the door, are answered from within, "depart from me into everlasting darkness." Third Sunday after Trinity. ST. LUKE xv. 1st and following verses. "Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners for to hear Him. And the pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them. And He spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. Teacher. The murmuring Scribes and Pharisees had accused our Saviour of shewing too much civility and indulgence to persons of bad character; the publicans and sinners. To clear Himself from this charge, He explains by the parable of the shepherd and his sheep, that He had left His state of happiness in heaven and came into this world to save sinners from the misery of eternal punishment. His sufferings and death gave them the power, if they would but have the will, to be led back to the favour and acceptance of God Almighty. Questions. What had the murmuring Scribes and Pharisees charged our Saviour with having shewn ? Too much civility and indulgence to persons of bad character. Who were they? The publicans and sinners. To clear Himself from this charge, or rather to explain the reason for His doing so, what parable did He relate? The parable of the shepherd and his sheep. Where had our Saviour been enjoying a state of happiness? In heaven. And what cause brought Him down from that state of happiness into this world? To save sinners from the misery of eternal punishment How did He give all those who heard Him then, (as He has done ever since, and still does) the power, if they would but have the will, to be led back to the favour and acceptance of God Almighty? By His sufferings and death. Teacher. Our capacities are not able to understand (not even the wisest person who ever lived) why God ever permitted sin to enter into any of His works. We only know that in this world it besets us on every side, and that God hates and detests it so much, that nothing less than the death of His beloved Son, followed by our repentance, can make Him reconciled to mankind, so as to receive them into His heavenly kingdom. Questions. What cannot the wisest persons who ever lived tell us? Why sin was ever permitted to enter into any of God's works. What besets us on every side? Sin. How has God shewn His hatred of it? That nothing less than the death of His Son can make Him reconciled to mankind. Is the death of Christ alone sufficient without our repentance? No. Teacher. Certainly not; to believe that the death of Christ is sufficient without our repentance, would be encouraging us to sin instead of making us afraid of it. And when our Saviour says that there is joy over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine good people who need no repentance; it can only mean that the angels who are happy, and delight in happiness, must rejoice to see a soul escape from misery. Questions. What would be encouragement to sin, instead of making us afraid of it? To believe that our Saviour's death will be sufficient without our repentance. When our Saviour said that there is more joy over one sinner that repenteth, than over ninety and nine good persons who need no repentance, can He mean by that, that those who have sinned will be happier than those who have always been obedient? No. Does it not mean that the angels who are happy and always delight in happiness, must rejoice to see a soul that has been in danger of everlasting misery, at last escape from the snares of the Devil, and be admitted to some portion of their own happy lot? Yes. Teacher. A person who has been sick, rejoices in restored health but it would have been better not to have been sick at all-and thus it is with the sinner.—It is better to repent than to die in sin, (which is so dreadful!) but it would be much better to try not to sin at all. Questions. What does a person who has been sick rejoice in? Restored health. What would have been still better? Not to have been sick at all. Is it not the same with the sinner? Yes. To repent is better than what? Than to die in sin. But what would have been better. Not to sin at all. I hope none of you have made any excuses in the last week. |
