Sermons On National Subjects - free ebook by Charles Kingsley

SERMONS ON NATIONAL SUBJECTS.

BY CHARLES KINGSLEY. London: MACMILLAN AND CO. AND NEW YORK 1890 First Edition , 1880. Reprinted , 1886, 1890....

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I. THE KING OF THE EARTH.

FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT. [ Preached in 1849.] Behold, thy King cometh unto thee.— Matthew xxi. 4. This Sunday is the first of the four Sundays in Advent. During those four Sundays, our forefathers have advised us to think seriously of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ—not that we should neglect to think of it at all times. As some of you know, I have preached to you about it often lately. Perhaps before the end of Advent you will all of you, more or less, understand what all that I have said

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II. HOLY SCRIPTURE.

SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT. Whatsoever things were written aforetime, were written for our example, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope.— Romans xv. 4. “ Whatsoever was written aforetime.” There is no doubt, I think, that by these words St. Paul means the Bible; that is, the Old Testament, which was the only part of the Bible already written in his time. For it is of the Psalms which he is speaking. He mentions a verse out of the 69th Psalm, “The reproaches o

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III. THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

THIRD SUNDAY IN ADVENT. The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek; He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.— Isaiah lxi. 1. My friends, I do entreat those of you who wish to get any real good from this sermon, to listen to me carefully all through it. Not that I have to complain of you in general for not attending to me. I thank God, and th

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IV. A PREPARATION FOR CHRISTMAS.

FOURTH SUNDAY IN ADVENT. Rejoice in the Lord always.— Philippians iv. 4. This is the beginning of the Epistle for to-day, the Sunday before Christmas. We will try to find out why it was chosen for to-day, and what lesson we may learn from it. Now Christmas-time was always a time of rejoicing among many heathen nations, and long before the Lord Jesus Christ came. That was natural and reasonable enough, if you will consider it. For now the shortest day is past. The sun is just beginning to cli

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V. CHRISTMAS-DAY.

He made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a slave.— Philippians ii. 7. On Christmas-day, 1851 years ago, if we had been at Rome, the great capital city, and mistress of the whole world, we should have seen a strange sight—strange, and yet pleasant. All the courts of law were shut; no war was allowed to be proclaimed, and no criminals punished. The sorrow and the strife of that great city had stopped, in great part, for three days, and all people were giving themselves up

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VI. TRUE ABSTINENCE.

FIRST SUNDAY IN LENT. I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection.—1 Cor . ix. 27. In the Collect for this day we have just been praying to God, to give us grace to use such abstinence, that our flesh being subdued to our spirit, we may follow His godly motions. Now we ought to have meant something when we said these words. What did we mean by them? Perhaps some of us did not understand them. They could not be expected to mean anything by them. But it is a sad thing, a very sad thing,

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VII. GOOD FRIDAY.

In all their affliction He was afflicted, and the angel of His presence saved them. In His love and in His pity He redeemed them; and He bare them and carried them all the days of old.— Isaiah lxiii. 9. On this very day, at this very hour, 1817 years ago, hung one nailed to a cross; bruised and bleeding, pierced and naked, dying a felon’s death between two thieves; in perfect misery, in utter shame, mocked and insulted by all the great, the rich, the learned of His nation; one who had grown up

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VIII. EASTER-DAY.

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.— Colossians iii. 1. I know no better way of preaching to you the gospel of Easter, the good news which this day brings to all men, year after year, than by trying to explain to you the Epistle appointed for this day, which we have just read. It begins, “If ye then be risen with Christ.” Now that does not mean that St. Paul had any doubt whether the Colossians, to whom he was speaki

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IX. THE COMFORTER.

FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER EASTER. If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you.— John xvi. 7. We are now coming near to two great days, Ascension-day and Whit-Sunday, which our forefathers have appointed, year by year, to put us continually in mind of two great works, which the Lord worked out for us, His most unworthy subjects, and still unworthier brothers. On Ascension-day He ascended up into Heaven, and received gifts for men, even for His enemi

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X. WHIT-SUNDAY.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance—against such there is no law.— Galatians v. 22, 23. In all countries, and in all ages, the world has been full of complaints of Law and Government. And one hears the same complaints in England now. You hear complaints that the laws favour one party and one rank more than another, that they are expensive, and harsh, and unfair, and what not?—But I think, my friends, that for us, and esp

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XI. ASCENSION-DAY.

And Jesus led them out as far as to Bethany; and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him and returned to Jerusalem, with great joy; and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God.— Luke xxiv. 50–53. On this day it is fit and proper for us—if we have understood, and enjoyed, and profited by the wonder of the Lord’s Ascension into Heaven—to be in the same state

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XII. THE FOUNT OF SCIENCE.

( A Sermon Preached at St. Margaret’s Church , Westminster , May 4 th , 1851, in behalf of the Westminster Hospital .) When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and received gifts for men, yea, even for his enemies, that the Lord God might dwell among them.— Psalm lxviii. 18, and Ephesians iv. 8. If , a thousand years ago, a congregation in this place had been addressed upon the text which I have chosen, they would have had, I think, little difficulty in applying its meaning to them

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XIII. FIRST SERMON ON THE CHOLERA.

( Sunday Morning , September 27 th , 1849.) God’s judgments are from above, out of the sight of the wicked.— Psalm x. 5. We have just been praying to God to remove from us the cholera, which we call a judgment of God, a chastisement; and God knows we have need enough to do so. But we can hardly expect God to withdraw His chastisement unless we correct the sins for which He chastised us, and therefore unless we find out what particular sins have brought the evil on us. For it is mere cant and h

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XIV. SECOND SERMON ON THE CHOLERA.

Visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children.— Exodus xx. 5. In my sermon last Sunday I said plainly that cholera, fever, and many more diseases were man’s own fault, and that they were God’s judgments just because they were man’s own fault, because they were God’s plainspoken opinion of the sin of filth and of habits of living unfit for civilised Christian men. But there is an objection which may arise in some of your minds, and if it has not risen in your minds, still it has in other peo

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XV. THIRD SERMON ON THE CHOLERA.

I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the Fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.— Exodus xx. 6. Many of you were perhaps surprised and puzzled by my saying in my last sermon that God’s visiting the sins of the fathers on the children, and letting the innocent suffer for the guilty, was a blessing and not a curse—a sign of man’s honour and redemption, not of his shame and ruin. But the more I have thought of those words, the

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XVI. ON THE DAY OF THANKSGIVING.

(Nov. 15th, 1849.) God hath visited his people.— Luke vii. 16. We are assembled this day to thank God solemnly for the passing away of the cholera from England; and we must surely not forget to thank Him at the same time for the passing away of the fever, which has caused so much expense, sorrow, and death among us. Now I wish to say a very few words to you on this same matter, to show you not only how to be thankful to God, but what to be thankful for. You may say: It is easy enough for us to

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XVII. THE COVENANT.

The Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, and Israel for his own possession. For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did he in heaven and earth, and in the sea, and in all deep places.— Psalm cxxxv. 4, 5, 6. Were you ever puzzled to find out why the Psalms are read every Sunday in Church, more read, indeed, than any other part of the Bible? If any of you say, No, I shall not think you the wiser. It is very easy not to be puzzle

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XVIII. NATIONAL REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS.

And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all; that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone. As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, will I rule over you. . . . And ye shall know that I am the Lord.— Ezekiel xx. 32, 33, 38. A father has two ways of showing his love to his child—by caressing it and by punishing it. His very anger may be a sign of his love, a

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XIX. THE DELIVERANCE OF JERUSALEM.

And it came to pass that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred and eighty five thousand: and when they arose in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.—2 Kings xix. 35. You heard read in the first lesson last Sunday afternoon, the threats of the king of Assyria against Jerusalem, and his defiance of the true Lord whose temple stood there. In the first lesson for this morning’s service, you heard of king Hezekiah’s fear and perplexity; of the

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XX. PROFESSION AND PRACTICE.

Though they say, “The Lord liveth,” surely they swear falsely.— Jeremiah v. 2. I spoke last Sunday morning of the wonderful way in which the Lord delivered the Jews from the Assyrian army, and I promised to try and explain to you this morning, the reason why the Lord allowed the Assyrians to come into Judæa, and ravage the whole country except the one small city of Jerusalem. My text is taken from the first lesson, from the book of the prophet Jeremiah. And it, I think, will explain the reason

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XXI. THE UNFAITHFUL SERVANT.

But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the men servants and the maid servants, and to eat and drink and to be drunken; the lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him asunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.— Luke xii. 45, 46. But why with the unbelievers? The man had not disbelieved that he had any Lord at all; he had only believed that h

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XXII. THE WAY TO WEALTH.

Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.— Isaiah lv. 6, 7. Some of you, surely, while the first lesson was being read this morning, must have felt the beauty of it; and if you were thoughtful, perplexed, weary, sad at heart, perhaps you felt that it was more than beautiful—that it w

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XXIII. THE LOVE OF CHRIST.

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead. And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again.—2 Cor . v. 14, 15. What is the use of sermons?—what is the use of books? Here are hundreds and thousands of people hearing weekly and daily what is right, and how many do what is right?—much less love what is right? What can be the reason of this,

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XXIV. DAVID’S VICTORY.

Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, whom thou hast defied.—1 Samuel xvii. 45. We have been reading to-day the story of David’s victory over the Philistine giant, Goliath. Now I think the whole history of David may teach us more about the meaning of the Old Testament, and how it applies to us, than the history of any other single character. David was the great hero of the Jews; the greatest

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XXV. DAVID’S EDUCATION.

Made perfect through sufferings.— Hebrews ii. 10. That is my text; and a very fit one for another sermon about David, the king after God’s own heart. And a very fit one too, for any sermon preached to people living in this world now or at any time. “A melancholy text,” you will say. But what if it be melancholy? That is not the fault of me, the preacher. The preacher did not make suffering, did not make disappointment, doubt, ignorance, mistakes, oppression, poverty, sickness. There they a

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XXVI. THE VALUE OF LAW.

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God.— Romans xiii. 1. What is the difference between a civilised man and a savage? You will say: A civilised man can read and write; he has books and education; he knows how to make numberless things which makes his life comfortable to him. He can get wealth, and build great towns, sink mines, sail the sea in ships, spread himself over the face of the earth, or bring home al

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XXVII. THE SOURCE OF LAW.

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God. The powers that be are ordained of God.— Romans xiii. 1. In this chapter, which we read for the second lesson for this afternoon’s service, St. Paul gives good advice to the Romans, and equally good advice to us. Of course what he says must be equally good for us, and for all people, at all times, in all countries, as long as time shall last; because St. Paul spoke by the Spirit of God, who is God eternal, and

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XXVIII. THE EDUCATION OF A HEATHEN.

Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise, and extol, and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment; and those that walk in pride He is able to abase.— Daniel iv. 37. We read for the first lesson to-day two chapters out of the book of Daniel. Those who love to study their Bibles, have read often, of course, not only these two chapters, but the whole book. And I would advise all of you who wish to understand God’s dealings with mankind, to study this book of Daniel, and espec

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XXIX. JEREMIAH’S CALLING.

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.— Jeremiah xxiii. 5. At the time when Jeremiah the prophet spoke those words to the Jews, nothing seemed more unlikely than that they would ever come true. The whole Jewish nation was falling to pieces from its own sins. Brutish and filthy idolatry in high and low—oppression, violence, and luxury among the court and the

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XXX. THE PERFECT KING.

Tell ye the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King cometh to thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt, the foal of an ass.— Matthew xxi. 5. You all know that this Sunday is called the First Sunday in Advent. You all know, I hope, that Advent means coming, and that these four Sundays before Christmas, as I have often told you, are called Advent Sundays, because upon them we are called to consider the coming of our King and Saviour Jesus Christ. If you will look at the Collects, Epistles, and

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XXXI. GOD’S WARNINGS.

It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.— Jeremiah xxxvi. 3. The first lesson for this evening’s service tells us of the wickedness of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. How, when Jeremiah’s prophecies against the sins of Jehoiakim and his people were read before him, he cut the roll with a penknife, and threw it into the fire. Now, we must not look on this

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XXXII. PHARAOH’S HEART.

And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.— Exodus ix. 17. What lesson, now, can we draw from this story? One, at least, and a very important one. What effect did all these signs and wonders of God’s sending, have upon Pharaoh and his servants? Did they make them better men or worse men? We read that they made them worse men; that they helped to harden their hearts. We read that the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel

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XXXIII. THE RED SEA TRIUMPH.

Preached Easter-day Morning , 1852. This is a night to be much observed unto the Lord, for bringing the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.— Exodus xii. 42. You all, my friends, know what is the meaning of Easter-day—that it is the Day on which The Lord rose again from the dead. You must have seen that most of the special services for this day, the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel, and the second lessons, both morning and evening, reminded you of Christ’s rising again; and so did the prope

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XXXIV. CHRISTMAS-DAY.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be on His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The Mighty God, The Father of an Everlasting age, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice henceforth even forever.— Isaiah ix. 6, 7. In the time when the prophet Isaiah wrote this prophecy,

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XXXV. NEW YEAR’S DAY.

(1853.) But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopi

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XXXVI. THE DELUGE.

My spirit shall not always strive with man.— Genesis vi. 3. Last Sunday we read in the first lesson of the fall. This Sunday we read of the flood, the first-fruits of the fall. It is an awful and a fearful story. And yet, if we will look at it by faith in God, it is a most cheerful and hopeful story—a gospel—a good news of salvation—like every other word in the Bible, from beginning to end. Ay, and to my mind, the most hopeful words of all in it, are the very ones which at first sight look mo

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XXXVII. THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

The kingdom of God is within you.— Luke xvii. 21. These words are in the second lesson for this morning’s service. Let us think a little about them. What they mean must depend on what the kingdom of God means; for that is the one thing about which they speak. Now, the kingdom of God is very often spoken of in the New Testament. Indeed, it is the thing it speaks of above all others. It was the thing which our Lord went about preaching. It was the thing of which He spoke in His parables, liken

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XXXVIII. THE LIGHT.

But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light. Wherefore He saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.— Ephesians v. 13, 14. St. Paul has been telling the Ephesians who they are; that they are God’s dear children. To whom they belong; to Christ who has given Himself for them. What they ought to do; to follow God’s likeness, and live in love. That they are light in the Lord; and are

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XXXIX. THE UNPARDONABLE SIN.

Wherefore I say unto you: All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever speaketh a word against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this world, or in the world to come.— Matthew xii. 31, 32. These awful words were the Lord’s answer to the Pharisees, when they said of Him: “He casts out devils by

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XL. THE SPIRIT OF BONDAGE.

For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father.— Romans viii. 15. Some of you here may not understand this text at all. Some of you, perhaps, may misunderstand it; for it is not an easy one. Let us, then, begin, by finding out the meaning of each word in it; and, let us first see what is the meaning of the spirit of bondage unto fear. Bondage means slavery; and the spirit of bondage means the spirit which

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XLI. THE FALL.

As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed on all men, for that all have sinned.— Romans v. 12. We have been reading the history of Adam’s fall. With that fall we have all to do; for we all feel the fruits of it in the sinful corruptions which we bring into the world with us. And more, every fall which we have is like Adam’s fall: every time we fall into wilful sin, we do what Adam did, and act over again, each of us many times in our lives, that which he f

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XLII. GOD’S COVENANTS.

I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.— Genesis ix. 13. The text says that God made a covenant with Noah, and with his seed after him—that is, with all mankind; with us who sit here, and our children after us, and with all human beings who will ever live upon the face of the earth. God made a covenant with them. Now, what is a covenant? We say that two men make a covenant with each other when they make a bargain, an agreement; in this

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XLIII. THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS.

Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.—1 Timothy iii. 16. St. Paul here sums up in one verse the whole of Christian truth. He gives us in a few words what he says is the great mystery of godliness. Now, men had been inventing for themselves all kinds of mysteries of godliness; all sorts of mysterious and wonderful notions about God; all sorts of mysteri

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XLIV. THE WORK OF GOD’S SPIRIT.

If I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they believe not on me: of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more: of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.— John xvi. 7–11. I do not pretend to be able to explain to you the whole meaning of this text, or even more than a very small part of it. Fo

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XLV. THE GOSPEL.

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain: for I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures.—1 Corinthians xv. 1–4. This is St. Paul’s acc

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XLVI. GOD’S WAY WITH MAN.

And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have wrought with you for my name’s sake, not according to your wicked ways, nor according to your corrupt doings, O ye house of Israel, saith the Lord God.— Ezekiel xx. 44. In this chapter the prophet Ezekiel argues with his sinful and rebellious countrymen, and puts them in mind of all that God has done for them and with them, from the time when He brought them out of Egypt to that day. And now comes the old question, What has this to do with us! S

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XLVII. THE MARRIAGE AT CANA.

There was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there. And both Jesus was called, and His disciples, to the marriage.— John ii. 1, 2. It is, I think, in the first place, an important, as well as a pleasant thing, to know that the Lord’s glory, as St. Paul says, was first shown forth at a wedding, at a feast. Not at a time of sorrow, but of joy. Not about some strange affliction or disease, such as is the lot of very few, but about a marriage, that which happens in the ord

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XLVIII. PARABLE OF THE LOWEST PLACE.

And He put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when He marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, when thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room, lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; and he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto th

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