* Tbomas Adam^.
252 SORROW
of old : " 0 Lord, I will praise thee : though thou wast angry with me thine anger is turned away, and thou comfortedst me." ^
Who may tell how often sorrow
Cometh at the close of day; Sorrow for the sinful record
Borne by passing time away; Sorrow for good resolutions
Broken in the toil of life; For the Christian's weapons tarnished,
Blunted in the daily strife; For the weakly heart's backsliding
In the journey to its bourne; For the dulness of the spirit
Dwelling in its carnal urn. Yet this sorrow bringeth comfort,
When it bends the contrite knee In an act of heartfelt worship,
In a deep humility. Then it is the blest forerunner
Of a grace that steals always. With refreshing to the spirit.
Changing sighs to songs of praise. Sorrow such as this be ever
Welcome to this heart of mine, Through such tears a hopeful rainbow
O'er my future path doth shine; Minister of heaven's giving.
Messenger to clear the way. Till the love of God descending
Teaches all my soul to pray. And, in answer, such a measure
Of His strength divine comes down, That my spirit more than ever
Strives to win and wear the crown. Godly sorrow, oft come hither
On the stilly wings of eve, Such a holy joy attends thee
That it is a bliss to grieve.* * M. G. Pearse, Parables and Pictures, 229. ^ R. W. Buckley.
The Liberality of Christ.
■u
Literature.
Bishop (J. W.), The Christian Yea/r, 51,
Burnett (F.), The Enrichment of Life, 22.
Cross (J.), Old Wine and New, 234.
Christlieb (T.), Memoir with Sermons, 160.
Cunningham (W.), Sermons, 103.
Dykes (J. 0.), Sermons, 151.
Fairbairn (A. M.), The City of God, 288.
Grubb (E.), The Personality of God, 57.
Hare (J. C), Parish Sermons, ii. 343.
Hatchings (W. H.), Sermon Sketches, 1st. Ser., 257.
Jerdan (C), For the Lord's Table, 85.
Kuegele (F.), Country Sermons, New Ser., i. 125.
Manning (H. E.), Sermons, ii. 284.
Maturin (W.), The Blessedness of the Dead in Christ, 249.
Milne (W.), Looking unto Jesus, 161.
Newman (J. H.), Parochial and Plain Sermons, vi. 39.
Price (A. C), Fifty Sermons, iv. 225.
Pulsford (W.), Trinity Church Sermons, 1.
Spurgeon (C. H.), Metropolitan Tabernacle Puljnt, xxxvii. (1891), No.
2232 ; xl. (1894), No. 2364 ; xlvii. (1901), No. 2716 ; liv. (1908),
No. 3092. Children's Pulpit : 1st Sunday after Christmas, ii. 104 (B. Waugh). Christian World Pulpit, xiii. 48 (F. Ferguson) ; Ixii. 425 (J. A. Robinson) ;
Ixxvi. 115 (J. Reid). Churchman's Pulpit : Christmas Day, ii. 269 (J. A. MacCulloch) ,
Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, xii. 345 (J. LI. Davies). Literary Churchman, xxxii. (1886) 531 (J. W. Hardman). Sunday Magazine, 1888, p. 274 (H. Simon).
aS4
The Liberality of Christ.
For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might become rich. — 2 Cor. viii. 9.
St. Paul is exhorting the Corinthians to contribute to the relief of the poor Christians at Jerusalem. First, he tells them what the churches of Macedonia had done. In persecution and poverty they had given so largely that St. Paul was reluctant to accept the gift till they prayed him with much entreaty to do so. Then he urges upon the Corinthians that, as they abounded in other endowments, spiritual and moral, they would abound in this grace also. And then he checks himself, and sums the appeal by calling on them to give proof of the sincerity of their love, for he says, "Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ." No argument could go above or beyond this.
The argument includes these three things — I, What our Lord was. II. What He became.
III. What He purposed.
What He Was,
"Though he was rich."
In what did Christ's wealth consist? In the seventeenth chapter of St. John's Gospel is recorded that last great prayer of the Master. In it He reminds the Father that before the world was created He shared God's glory. This, then, is the first item in the inventory of His wealth. He shared through eternity the glory of the Infinite God. In the same prayer He reminds God that before the earth was created He possessed the Father's love.
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256 THE LIBERALITY OF CHRIST
The love of the All -Father, from time eternal, was His. This is the second item in the inventory of His wealth. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He rebukes His warlike followers, and tells them that He could pray the Father and He would send Him legions of angels. During His agony in the Garden and after His tempta- tion in the wilderness, angels came and ministered unto Him. From this it is fair to assume that, in the ages before the Incarnation, He had the service, love, and fellowship of all the heavenly hosts. This is the third item in the inventory of His wealth. In the first chapter of John's Gospel we read that " all things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that hath been made." He was the Creator, and therefore, through all time the absolute Owner, of every atom of material wealth in the entire universe of God, This is the fourth item in the inventory of His wealth.