than when he had approached, self-complacent and elated. And though we know nothing of his after history, we may readily believe that if ever he came to feel his need of a Saviour, his sorrow at having been told to sell his possessions lay at the root of that conviction of sin, which must have been produced ere he would have valued a Redeemer. If, in place of going away from Christ when he found duty too hard, he had turned to Christ confessing inability, and supplicating guidance and assistance, I can well suppose that Christ would then have opened to him the provisions of the gospel-that, like St. Paul at Philippi, he would have shown him more definitely how the sinful might be justified. But he was not yet ready for the preaching of the atonement, simply because he was not yet ready with the confession of sin. Had St. Paul found the jailor confident as to his having kept the commandments, I can suppose that he would have forthwith given him another commandment to keep; but because he found him conscious of having broken the commandments, he could immediately point to the Deliverer who had obeyed the law in his stead. There was, then, no difference between our Lord and his apostle, except that they had different cases to handle, or the same case, it might be almost said, but in different stages. And there is a most important lesson for all preachers of the gospel in the different treatment which the same case thus received in its different stages. For we are not always to be giving prominence even to so grand and glorious a truth as that of the atonement. It is the greatest, the most glorious of truths; it gives all its substance to the gospel, nay, rather without it there is no gospel at all; and yet even this truth is not to be heedlessly and indiscriminately exhibited. Our Lord would not have said, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine," if the choice and precious truths of the gospel were to be set forth without care at all times and to all persons. We must observe seasons and cases, if we would be faithful stewards of the mysteries of Christ. I must not be always putting forward the truth, the blessed truth of a crucified Saviour, without a just regard to the character and condition of the party to whom I speak. If called on to visit the sick and the dying, am I instantly to begin discoursing on the sacrifice which has taken away the sin of the world, without examining whether the individual before me have any feeling of being a sinner, any true repentance, any sense of danger? This, probably, were only to drug him with an opiate, when his case may require the being agitated and aroused. Woe, immeasurable woe, indeed, unto the man who should keep the Saviour out of the sight of the trembling sinner; but nevertheless we ought to be assured that the sinner does tremble, before we show him his Deliverer. I know, indeed, that the sinner must be sent to Christ for everything; Christ has been "exalted to give repentance" as well as "remission of sins;" therefore must the sinner go to Christ for the grace of penitence, as well as for the grace of pardon. But he will never go to Christ till he feels his lost condition; and to produce this feeling is what the clergyman must first of all attempt. The law is to be preached before the gospel, and as preparatory to the gospel; the doctrine of a judgment to come is to be applied, to produce apprehension of God's wrath, and then the doctrine of a propitiation for sin, to allay the fears which must otherwise drive to despair. And it may unhappily but too often occur, that through the premature exhibition of the blessed truth of the atonement men are sent out of the world in a deluded state; for they are glad enough when they feel themselves dying to be told of a Saviour. It will fall upon them like a very grateful truth in the hour of their extremity, that God hath provided a Substitute, and exacted from him the punishment of their iniquity, and they will have no hesitation in leaving their case in the hands of this Substitute, though all the while they may be hardened at heart, with no real compunction for a long life of misdoing, and no principle which if life had continued would show itself in a thorough change of conduct. Let, then, the clergyman probe the conscience first, and apply the balm afterwards. Let him hold up to the sinner the terrible attributes of God. Let him show the sinner his moral worthlessness, and endeavour by every possible contrast and denunciation to put him into possession of the exigences of his case, as exposed to a wrath certainly too great to be measured, and apparently too imminent to be escaped. Then, when with the jailor at Philippi he is thoroughly affrighted, driven from every refuge of lies, and "shut up,” as the Scripture expresses it, "unto the faith which shall afterwards be revealed," then will be the time to hold forth the Lord Jesus Christ, to exhibit his sacrifice, to dwell on his intercession, to point to him on the cross and on the throne. And if the clergyman who shall thus for a time keep back the doctrine of the atonement till there be conviction and confession of sin, be accused of keeping back the gospel, or of doling it out in bits, in place of delivering it in its glorious abundance, let him at least remember that Christ himself made no mention of his sacrifice to an inquirer who showed no consciousness of guilt; Christ himself, when addressed by one who was all complacency at the virtues which had distinguished his life, said not a syllable on the believing in order to the being saved; but he said emphatically, in answer to the question, "What shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?"Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother." It must be confessed at once, for it is asserted in Scripture, that "faith is the gift of God;" and hence a man who is merely told that salvation is of faith, may feel as though there were nothing for him to do, nothing for him to set about. He needs a more tangible direction. How is faith itself to be come at? Through what process of endeavour or application is he likely to be able to reach that believing apprehension of a Saviour's merit which seems given as the condition of admission into the kingdom of heaven? Here our text comes in with its clear and straightforward precept, a precept which addresses itself to any one amongst you who, being told that he must believe in order to the being saved, asks how he is to believe. The answer is that of our Lord, not mine: "You know the commandments; you know what God forbids, you know what he requires. Well then, "if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments." Set at once about a work of obedience, and you will not be far from the entrance into life. But when this direction has been given, methinks I hear you say, 'Alas, we cannot keep the commandments.' I know it; but you need not continue breaking them in the manner in which you have perhaps long been accustomed to. You must make a much more vigorous effort at keeping them; you might give up many things which you know they condemn; you might practise many things which you know they enjoin. 'And will this save us?' you say. Nay, sirs, I said not so: Christ is your Saviour. Neither your faith nor your works will save you; but in thus endeavouring to keep the commandments you will be making use of such grace as God has imparted, and may therefore expect that mercy will be given. Additional faith will enable you for additional obedience; and as you proceed in the earnest effort at conforming yourselves to the revealed will of God, you will find that faith is commanded as one of your duties. "This," saith St. John, "is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ." Your failures will by this time have taught you that you need another righteousness than your own; you will therefore hear gladly of a Surety and of a Saviour, and you will be disposed to rely on him, from having proved that you cannot rely on yourselves. Thus obedience will issue in faith, and both will terminate in Christ. Oh think not that, in taking the history given in our text, and prescribing from it obedience to the law as the method of entrance into the kingdom of heaven-think not that we are wishing to keep you from Christ, or to keep Christ from you. It is Christ that is the alone Saviour to whom we are anxious to bring you; but we must make you feel that you need a Saviour; then you will soon feel that Christ is just the Saviour whom you need; and whilst you sit, as God grant you all may, humbly and thankfully at the feet of the Saviour, your experience will be evidence that the way of "entrance into life" is the way of "keeping the commandments." 440 212 The Preacher. No. XXX. HEROD'S CONSCIENCE. A Sermon DELIVERED ON SUNDAY AFTERNOON, JANUARY 25, 1857, (Chaplain in Ordinary to Her Majesty, and Canon Residentiary of St. Paul's) IN THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PAUL, LONDON. "At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, and said unto his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him."-Matthew xiv. 1, 2. THE miracles of our Blessed Lord were of so surprising a character, and were wrought with so much publicity, that they drew the attention of all classes, even of those who were least likely to concern themselves in matters of religion. Of this description was Herod, the son of that Herod who was usually called "The Great," and who was king of Judea at the time of Christ's birth. The Herod of whom we now speak was tetrarch of Galilee-that province having been assigned him by the will of his father, and confirmed by the decree of the Roman Emperor Augustus. We need not recount to you the circumstance of his treatment of John the Baptist; you will all remember how he threw him into prison, when reproved by him concerning his brother Philip's wife, how he then bound himself by an improper oath, and sooner than break that oath gave orders for the beheading of John. Thus fell the herald of the Messiah, the victim of an imperious and adulterous woman; and he of whom prophets had spoken long ages before his birth, and who had arisen in the power and spirit of Elias, perished, through the permission of God, ignobly in a dungeon, leaving his death as an evidence how perilous it is to reprove the vices of the great. But John entered into rest, exchanged a prison for paradise. Were his persecutors advantaged by his removal, when he was no longer on earth, to frown on their wickedness, and disturb their guilty pleasures by his indignant remonstrances? Were they easier than before, and less molested in their sin? Of Herodias we read nothing; and possibly the hardened woman, whom nothing could turn from her revenge, was but little affected by remorse. We know assuredly that her day of retribution must have come; but we know not whether she was successful for a time in stifling conscience, or whether she was haunted by the spectre of the prophet whom she had slain. But we are not left in ignorance as to the condition of Herod. Our text refers, as we have already hinted, to a period at which the miracles of Christ attracted so much attention, that even those who cared least for matters of religion were compelled to form some opinion in regard to their Author; and while everybody was busy with conjecturing who Jesus was, Herod could no longer be ignorant that there was a worker of miracles in the land, however unwilling he might be to be disturbed by the presence of a prophet. And now come to light the secret terrors of this guilty prince. There were various suppositions afloat as to who Jesus might be. One conjectured that he was Elias, another that he was Jeremias, a third that he was one of the prophets, and his own disciples maintained him to be the Christ. But what opinion had Herod to offer, in the midst of these conflicting theories—Herod, who appears to have been a Sadducee, and therefore professed as part of his creed that there was no resurrection? Surely, he will not seek the living amongst the dead, and imitate those who held that in Jesus some departed worthy was revived? Yet, in a complete forgetfulness of the doctrines of his own religious system, this is precisely what Herod does. He goes to the grave, as though he fully believed in a resurrection, that he may discover the individual who is healing the sick and casting out devils. But whom do his conjectures bring back from the sepulchre? Are his thoughts on the prophets of a far back time, and does he search among their tombs for one deserted by its tenants? Oh! no, Herod looks into a bloody grave, which had not long closed on its occupant. "He said unto his servants"-he could not even keep the conviction and apprehension to himself "This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead; and therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.” This is a very remarkable fact. Taking into account that Herod was a Sadducee, and that he had, moreover, consented to the murder of John, only because he considered himself bound by an oath, you have before you one of the most remarkable exhibitions of the working of conscience that can be found in any history, whether sacred or profane. We will try to consider this in detail. We will consider Herod, in the first place, as suffering from the reproaches of conscience; in the second place, as driven in his distress to confess a truth which he had banished from his creed ; and, in the third place, as unable to quiet his anxieties by any specious apologies for his conduct. I. Now, we shall begin by simply considering Herod as acted on by conscience; for it is evident that nothing but the workings of a mind ill at ease could have led him to conjecture that Jesus was the Baptist : and whilst we are quite ready to admit that writers on Natural Theology may have unduly magnified the power of conscience, yet we would not willingly lose an opportunity of assigning its right place to this internal monitor and judge. We tell you, then, of conscience, that it distinguishes so accurately between right and wrong, that it warns man so emphatically against the doing the one, and diffuses through his soul such a sense of satisfaction when he follows the other, that he who has this principle within him, carries about a revelation from heaven, and can never be tried in a future state of being as one who had been destitute of all knowledge of God's will. In all the punishment which conscience now administers the great element is dread, and in all the rewards it bestows the great element is hope. The punishment is in strict truth the apprehension of punishment; and the reward is the expectation of reward. You are all witnesses to this. I speak on a matter on which every one amongst you must have had some experience, |