THE

GOSPEL PREACHER.

SERMON No. I.

THEME.- -"WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST?"

Tais opens the way for an inquiry of the highest importause, "What think you of Christ?" This leads to another, limiting the inquiry to one point, Whose Son is he? Of all the inquiries propounded to men, these are the most important, fundamental and all-engrossing. They penetrate down into the very depths; to the foundation of the religion of Christ; the bottom cornerstone of the faith and hope of the world. On these inquiries, the matter contained in them, the manner in which we treat them, and our actions in reference to them, turn our eternal weal or woe. The very first matter of inquiry pertaining to the only true religion on the face of the earth, and the only one having one particle of divine authority in it, is brought up for consideration in these inquiries, "What think you of Christ?" This question reaches to the very basis. It penetrates that which is fundamental-vital; it is a matter of inquiry that can not be let alone; it is so related to us that we can not be indifferent to it. Even the skeptic, who professes not to believe on Christ, and assumes, or

tries to assume, an air of indifference in reference to him, can not let the inquiry alone about him. He must be talking about him. The bare thought that he might be all he claims to be, is exciting, rousing and alarming. He is not thus troubled about Mohammed, agitated and roused on hearing men talk of him; nor about the prophet of Mormonism; nor is he thus troubled about the Pope of Rome, Swedenborg, or Ann Lee! Why not? There is a reason for this. These do not annoy him; follow him in his meditations by day, and in his visions by night; he is impressed with no profound awe when he thinks of these, nor is he filled with any fear; he is not excited by these the one way or the other, nor troubled; he shows no particular interest in them the one way or the other, and has no zeal to oppose those friendly to them. But mention the name of Jesus of Nazareth to him, and a different feeling is roused at once. A fierce spirit of opposition is awakened in him, and all of the same sort in hearing are called up in hostility. The calmness, indifference and unconcern manifested before disappear! Why is this?

In the same way, mention the Koran, the apochryphal writings, the unwritten traditions of the Papacy, or the Book of Mormon, and no excitement is produced, no concern is manifested, or fury awakened on the part of the skeptic; no cry is raised about imposture, superstition or tradition; no cry is heard about contradictions, absurdities and inconsistencies; nor is any fierce opposition called out. Why not? Is it because skeptics are friendly to these books? By no means. This is not the reason. These are dead books; he has no fear of them. They bear no relation to him, nor to the world, that can excite his fears, or rouse his opposition. They are null and void. But mention the Bible, and you rouse all the

skeptics in hearing. The cry is heard of contradictions, absurdities and incongruities in all directions. A spirit of opposition is awakened from one side of the country to the other. Every vicious spirit spits forth its venom; every unclean spirit sets up the howl about the uncertainty of "old musty manuscripts," translations, councils, and the like channels through which the Bible is supposed to have come down through the ages to our time. The general rule is, that those who know the least about these matters, talk the most, longest and loudest. But why should they be excited at all? Why not quietly settle down, saying simply, if they say anything, the Bible is all a hoax, and cease troubling about it? There is the difficulty; they can not do that; they can not tell why; they can not quiet down and let it alone, treating the whole with indifference. They know not why, but they can not be indifferent; they know not the reason, but the matter will not rest, will not be quiet, will not let them alone, or be let alone. Why is this?

The Author of the Bible knows all about men; never crrs when he speaks of them, but makes them sensible that he understands them throughout. The Bible tells all about men-what is in them. The skeptic can not rest with one book in our midst that describes us altogether. Such a book troubles him; he can not rest to have it printed, circulated, read, believed in private families, Sunday-schools, Bible-classes, prayer-meetings, and numerous other places. Whether men know it or not, like it or not, there is one Being over us who knows us altogether, and takes account of all our actions; and we have one book in which is revealed his mind about men; in which he tells all about us; even our thoughts, our desires and purposes; the very inmost thoughts and intents of our hearts; reveals what is in us. We can look

into that book and see ourselves-not as we see or represent ourselves, or as others see and represent us, but as we are. This is not all. This one Being not only knows us, but knows what is to become of us; what we are to be, and tells us; reveals it to us in the one book-the Bible. This is the dread part of it! Man does not like to see himself, and that as he is; especially in his sinful alienation from God. He does not like to read, and have others read, a revelation of himself; one that will be believed, and worthy of all credence; not only addressed to himself, but to all people; to be known and read of all men!

This one glorious Being connects the conduct of men in this world with their fate in the world to come, and shows that the conditions of men in the world to come will depend on their conduct in this world. In his own glorious book he reveals to man a heaven for the righteous, and a hell for the devil and his angels, where the wicked will have their part, in the world to come. In this one book, from side to side, he discriminates between the righteous and the wicked, him that serves God and him that serves him not. This is the trouble, on the part of some men, with the one Being and the one book of which we are to speak in this discourse. By this one Being, in this book, we are assured that "God is angry with the wicked every day;" that he has "no pleasure in the wicked," and that "the wicked shall be turned into hell with all the nations that forget God." This one Being is the supreme and the absolute authority both in heaven and on earth, and in this one book the supreme and absolute authority is set forth. This one book emanates from this one Being, and without him it would be all null and void. It receives all its authority from him; its very life is from him, and by his Anointed,

the Lord Jesus the Christ, by whom and for whom all things were made; who was before all things, and by whom all things consist. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." "Without him was not anything made that was made." "He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending." He says, after his resurrection, in most triumphant language: "I am he who was dead, and am alive, and behold I live forever and ever, and have the keys of Hades and of death. I can shut and no man can open; I can open and no man can shut." Paul says, "He has, by inheritance, a greater and more excellent name than any of the august messengers that minister in the presence of Jehovah.” He was God

manifested in the flesh. He said to the Jews, "He who sees me, sees the Father;" and again, "Before Abraham was, I AM." John says, "He is the true God and eternal life." Paul says, "He is the express image of the invisible God, and the brightness of his Father's glory." He further says, "In him dwells all the fullness of the Deity substantially." "He is the head over all things to the Church."

No other teacher ever came before the world in the same manner as our Lord. He says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man comes to the Father but by me." He says, "It has been said by them of oid, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth; but I say, Not so now," thus placing his teaching in bold and avowed contrast with what had been taught of old. He knew what had been said of old, and regarded as law, and, indeed, what was law, and divine law at that, and gave all the privilege to understand that he intended a revolution, a new order of things, a new dispensation. He places the expression, "I say to you," in contrast with