Good Planting

TEAR from thy heart the poisonous weed
Of self and sin, that's growing there;
And PLANT, instead, celestial seed;
And thus eternal fruitage bear.

Not by "the way side" shall it grow;
Not in a hard and rocky soil;
But where it shall not fail to know
The cultivator's tears and toil.

Plant in the good and honest heart;
Not tares, but heaven's celestial grain;
And pray the heavenly Father's art,
To give the sunshine and the rain.

And from that seed and sacred root,
The bud and flower thou soon shalt see;
The fragrant bloom, the golden fruit
Of Eden's bright, immortal tree.

— Christ in the Soul (1872) XXXIX.

Endued With Power From on High

Among the devotedly pious men, who came to this country from England about two hundred years since, was Richard Mather, a preacher of the Gospel. With his wife and children, and many other praying people he sailed from Bristol, in England, on the twenty-third of May, 1635. With him was another preacher by the name of Maud. Mather kept a journal. “The twenty-fourth," he says in his journal, "being the Lord's day, the wind was strong in the morning, and the ship danced, and many of our women and some children were not well, but sea-sick, and mazy or light in their heads, and could scarce stand or go without falling, unless they took hold of something to uphold them. This day Mr. Maud was exercised in the forenoon, and I in the afternoon." The language is passive; — implying that while they preached outward  to others, they themselves were preached to inwardly by the Holy Ghost; and that they could not safely give the word to others, unless it was first given to themselves.

This form of language is used throughout the book. In reference to the second Sabbath on shipboard, he says, " It being the Lord's day, there could be no going out that day. I was exercised in the forenoon, and Mr. Maud in the afternoon." And so everywhere, when he had occasion to speak of his preaching. He had been inwardly taught in such a manner, that he could have no idea of good and effectual preaching, except so far as the preacher was himself first inwardly exercised;  that is to say, taught by an inward and divine inspiration. And I find this sentiment everywhere embodied in the language and the history of other holy men, who, at the same period, took their lives in their hands, and settled in the wilderness. Their strength was not in themselves. Their lives, their works, are an evidence. What but a God, indwelling in the soul, and  “exercising them," as they expressed it, in the center of their being, could have inspired the adventurous thoughts in the minds of those praying pilgrims, and have given strength to their mighty purpose?

The most successful and favored periods in the history of all denominations of Christians, will illustrate and confirm these views.

It is such preaching, we doubt not, which is destined more and more to characterize the latter days. As men are gradually brought into a closer alliance with God, as with their own consent they yield themselves to be watered from the everlasting fountain, the issues from their souls will be life to others, because they will have life in themselves. As the life which they have in themselves is life from God, it is light as well as life; that is to say, it is enlightenment, or truth. The true life always expresses the truth. The truth is written upon it, just as a falsehood is written upon a false life; — and, being written there, it is read and known of all men. The man who has the true life in him, harmonizes with providence, with God, and with all true and good things. Not only his words but his actions, are truths. Not only his daily talking of God and of divine things is a sermon, but his daily walking with God is equally a sermon. He is a preacher by divine right; "teaching like one having authority, and not as the Scribes," — not going before he is sent but tarrying at Jerusalem, like the primitive disciples, until he is “endued with power from on high." [Luke 24:49]

— edited from A Treatise on Divine Union (1851) Part 7, Chapter 4.

The Message is From God and God Only

Preach, therefore, by word. Preach also by action. Preach the Gospel at home, and preach it every where.  But always remember, in connection with a deep sense of human infirmity and liability to error, to preach it under the guidance, and by the power, of the Holy Spirit. The message is from God, and God only. To be united with God in proclaiming his messages, we must speak as God gives us utterance. It is important, in this age of the world, when we hope the millennial period is rapidly approaching, to revive and to act upon the great primitive truth, that holy men speak as they are moved by the Holy Ghost; and that, so far as they are holy, they have no power of speaking otherwise.

God's Heart is Set on Speading the Gospel of Christ

This great work, — namely, the bringing home the Gospel to every human soul, — is God's work; — his heart is set upon it. For this he has raised up patriarchs and prophets of other days; — for this he has employed the ministration of angels; — for this, in the fulness of time, he has sent his beloved Son. It is his purpose, by means of the Gospel, which was completed in the example and death of Christ, to raise up a people set apart for himself; — a peculiar people, — a people possessing the Christian spirit, and zealous of good works. Unchangeable in his purpose, unchangeable in his plan of operation, he can unite with those only, who are ready to unite with him. The man who is not disposed to do all that the providence of God allows him to do, in aid of this great work, is not a co-worker with God, and is not in harmony with him.

— edited from A Treatise on Divine Union (1851) Part 7, Chapter 4.

Preaching the Gospel Abroad

"Preaching the Gospel," which we have spoken of as man's great duty after his own restoration to God, is a form of expression which may be understood in various ways. The first idea attached to it, as we find it employed in the New Testament, is announcement abroad.  It is said of the Savior, on a certain occasion, that he sent his disciples to preach the kingdom of God, "and they departed, and went through the towns, Preaching the Gospel and healing everywhere." His last command was: — "Go, therefore, and teach all nations. And we know that the early Christians, after having labored a short time at Jerusalem, went abroad, as preachers of Christ's coming and kingdom, into various and distant parts of the world.

Preaching the Gospel abroad, however, does not exclude the idea of preaching it at home. The labor of those who are united with God, is not limited to the transmission of the news of salvation to distant lands. This, undoubtedly, is a great and indispensable work; but it is not the whole. He is truly a missionary of God, who communicates God's truth, and discharges God's mission of benevolence, whenever and wherever an opportunity is presented. Harlan Page, who labored at home, was as truly a preacher of the Gospel, and as truly a missionary, as the Brainerds and Martyns and other devoted men, who have preached and toiled in distant climes and among savage tribes. Always do we have the poor, the sick, the suffering, the ignorant with us. Constantly are we so situated, that a just and kind word, and even a kind look, will have its effect as a messenger of the spirit and truth of the Gospel. The ignorant are to be instructed, the suffering to be relieved, the impenitent to be awakened, the wandering to be reclaimed, the weak in faith and hope to be strengthened. There is a sense, in which every man, whatever his position in society, either is, or ought to be, a preacher of righteousness. Nor will these views be considered as unreasonable, or as destitute of foundation, when we remember that the man always preaches effectually, and cannot help doing so, who stands in the position which God's providence has assigned him; who lives the life of prayer and faith, and exhibits in speech and action that meek and benevolent spirit, which the Gospel is calculated to inspire.

— edited from A Treatise on Divine Union (1851) Part 7, Chapter 4.

Preach the Gospel!

Man's first great work is personal; and has reference to his own restoration. To renounce his separation, and to unite himself with God, is a work which cannot be postponed or made subservient to any other. Being, by God's grace, personally restored to a better state, hIs next business is to aid in the restoration of others. And, in doing this, the first thing is to extend the announcement of Christ's coming, and of the blessed influences connected with it; — in other words, to preach the Gospel.

The last words of our blessed Saviour, as they are recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, were these: "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world."

Resignation

Oh, let the fires of trouble burn;
Seek not too soon to quench the flame;
In peaceful Resignation learn,
The better way their wrath to tame.

Resistance, which thy fears inspire,
Doth not protect, doth not restore;
'Tis rather fuel for the fire,
And makes it blaze and burn the more.

But when thy troubled soul accepts
The furnace of its wasting grief;
A power unseen thy life protects;
'Tis Christ himself that brings relief.

Oh yes, 'tis Jesus with thee stands;
The heated fires grow weak and dim;
He shields thee with His outstretch'd hands;
HIS ARM IS ROUND THEE. Trust in Him.

— Christ in the Soul (1872) XXXVIII.