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THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD
THE GOOD NEWS OF GOD
SERMONS BY CHARLES KINGSLEY M.A. London MACMILLAN AND CO. AND NEW YORK 1887 [ The Right of Translation is Reserved ] Transferred from Messrs. Longman & Co ., 1863 Reprinted, Fcap. 8vo, 1866, 1874, 1877, 1878 Reprinted, Crown 8vo, 1878, 1880, 1881, 1883, 1885, 1887...
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SERMON I. THE BEATIFIC VISION.
SERMON I. THE BEATIFIC VISION.
Matthew xxii. 27. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. These words often puzzle and pain really good people, because they seem to put the hardest duty first. It seems, at times, so much more easy to love one’s neighbour than to love God. And strange as it may seem, that is partly true. St. John tells us so—‘He that loves not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?’ Therefore many good people, who
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SERMON II. THE GLORY OF THE CROSS.
SERMON II. THE GLORY OF THE CROSS.
John xvii. 1. Father, the hour is come. Glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. I spoke to you lately of the beatific vision of God. I will speak of it again to-day; and say this. If any man wishes to see God, truly and fully, with the eyes of his soul: if any man wishes for that beatific vision of God; that perfect sight of God’s perfect goodness; then must that man go, and sit down at the foot of Christ’s cross, and look steadfastly upon him who hangs thereon. And there he will
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SERMON III. THE LIFE OF GOD.
SERMON III. THE LIFE OF GOD.
1 John i. 2. For the Life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested unto us! What do we mean, when we speak of the Life everlasting? Do we mean that men’s souls are immortal, and will live for ever after death, either in happiness or misery? We must mean more than that. At least we ought to mean more than that, if we be Christian men. For the Bible tells us, that Christ brought life and immortality t
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SERMON IV. THE SONG OF THE THREE CHILDREN.
SERMON IV. THE SONG OF THE THREE CHILDREN.
Daniel iii. 16, 17, 18. O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up. We read this morning, instead of the Te Deum, the Song of the Three Children, beginning, ‘Oh all ye works of the Lord, bless ye the Lord:
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SERMON V. THE ETERNAL GOODNESS.
SERMON V. THE ETERNAL GOODNESS.
Matthew xxii. 39. Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Why are wrong things wrong? Why, for instance, is it wrong to steal? Because God has forbidden it, you may answer. But is it so? Whatsoever God forbids must be wrong. But, is it wrong because God forbids it, or does God forbid it because it is wrong? For instance, suppose that God had not forbidden us to steal, would it be right then to steal, or at least, not wrong? We must really think of this. It is no mere question of words, it
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SERMON VI. WORSHIP.
SERMON VI. WORSHIP.
Isaiah i. 12, 13. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. This is a very awful text; one of those which terrify us—or at least ought to terrify us—and set us on asking ourselves seriously and honestly—‘What do I believe after all? What manner of man am I after all?
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SERMON VII. GOD’S INHERITANCE.
SERMON VII. GOD’S INHERITANCE.
Gal . iv. 6, 7. Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. This is the second good news of Christmas-day. The first is, that the Son of God became man. The second is, why he became man. That men might become the sons of God through him. Therefore St. Paul says, You are the sons of God. Not—you may be, if you are very good: but you are,
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SERMON VIII. ‘DE PROFUNDIS.’
SERMON VIII. ‘DE PROFUNDIS.’
Psalm cxxx. 1. Out of the deep have I cried unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. What is this deep of which David speaks so often? He knew it well, for he had been in it often and long. He was just the sort of man to be in it often. A man with great good in him, and great evil; with very strong passions and feelings, dragging him down into the deep, and great light and understanding to show him the dark secrets of that horrible pit when he was in it; and with great love of God too, and of
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SERMON IX. THE LOVE OF GOD ITS OWN REWARD.
SERMON IX. THE LOVE OF GOD ITS OWN REWARD.
Deut . xxx. 19, 20. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life that both thou and thy seed may live; that thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest cleave unto him, for he is thy life and the length of thy days, that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord God sware unto thy fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to give them. I spoke to you last Sunday on this text. But there is so
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SERMON X. THE RACE OF LIFE.
SERMON X. THE RACE OF LIFE.
John i. 26. There standeth one among you whom ye know not. This is a solemn text. It warns us, and yet it comforts us. It tells us that there is a person standing among us so great, that John the Baptist, the greatest of the prophets, was not worthy to unloose his shoes’ latchet. Some of you know who he is. Some of you, perhaps, do not. If you know him, you will be glad to be reminded of him to-day. If you do not know him, I will tell you who he is. Only bear this in mind, that whether you
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SERMON XI. SELF-RESPECT AND SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS.
SERMON XI. SELF-RESPECT AND SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Psalm vii. 8. Give sentence for me, O Lord, according to my righteousness; and according to the innocency that is in me. Is this speech self-righteous? If so, it is a bad speech; for self-righteousness is a bad temper of mind; there are few worse. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a l
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SERMON XII. TRUE REPENTANCE.
SERMON XII. TRUE REPENTANCE.
Ezekiel xviii. 27. When the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness which he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. We hear a great deal about repentance, and how necessary it is for a man to repent of his sins; for unless a man repent, he cannot be forgiven. But do we all of us really know what repentance means? I sometimes fear not. I sometimes fear, that though this text stands at the opening of the Church service, and though people hear
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SERMON XIII. THE LETTER AND THE SPIRIT.
SERMON XIII. THE LETTER AND THE SPIRIT.
( Twelfth Sunday after Trinity .) II Cor . iii. 6. God, who hath made us able ministers of the New Testament; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. When we look at the Collect, Epistle, and Gospel for to-day one after the other, we do not see, perhaps, what they have to do with each other. But they have to do with each other. They agree with each other. They explain each other. They all three tell us what God is like, and what we are to bel
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SERMON XIV. HEROES AND HEROINES.
SERMON XIV. HEROES AND HEROINES.
( Whitsunday .) Psalm xxxii. 8. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. This is God’s promise; which he fulfilled at sundry times and in different manners to all the men of the old world who trusted in him. He informed them; that is, he put them into right form, right shape, right character, and made them the men which they were meant to be. He taught them in the way in which they ought to go. He guided them where they could not gui
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SERMON XV. THE MEASURE OF THE CROSS.
SERMON XV. THE MEASURE OF THE CROSS.
Ephesians iii. 18, 19. That ye may be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge. These words are very deep, and difficult to understand; for St. Paul does not tell us exactly of what he is speaking. He does not say what it is, the breadth and length, and depth, and height of which we are to comprehend and take in. Only he tells us afterwards what will come of our taking it in; we shall know t
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SERMON XVI. THE PURE IN HEART.
SERMON XVI. THE PURE IN HEART.
Titus i. 15. Unto the pure all things are pure: but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure: but even their mind and conscience is defiled. This seems at first a strange and startling saying: but it is a true one; and the more we think over it, the more we shall find it true. All things are pure in themselves; good in themselves; because God made them. Is it not written, ‘God saw all that he had made, and behold, it was very good?’ Therefore St. Paul says, that all things ar
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SERMON XVII. MUSIC.
SERMON XVII. MUSIC.
( Christmas Day .) Luke ii. 13, 14. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. You have been just singing Christmas hymns; and my text speaks of the first Christmas hymn. Now what the words of that hymn meant; what Peace on earth and good-will towards man meant, I have often told you. To-day I want you, for once, to think of this—that it was a hymn; that these angels we
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SERMON XVIII. THE CHRIST CHILD.
SERMON XVIII. THE CHRIST CHILD.
( Christmas Day .) Luke ii. 7. And she brought forth her first-born Son, and wrapt him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger. Mother and child.—Think of it, my friends, on Christmas day. What more beautiful sight is there in the world? What more beautiful sight, and what more wonderful sight? What more beautiful? That man must be very far from the kingdom of God—he is not worthy to be called a man at all—whose heart has not been touched by the sight of his first child in its mother’s
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SERMON XIX. CHRIST’S BOYHOOD.
SERMON XIX. CHRIST’S BOYHOOD.
Luke ii. 52. And Jesus increased in wisdom, and in stature, and in favour both with God and man. I do not pretend to understand these words. I preach on them because the Church has appointed them for this day. And most fitly. At Christmas we think of our Lord’s birth. What more reasonable, than that we should go on to think of our Lord’s boyhood? To think of this aright, even if we do not altogether understand it, ought to help us to understand rightly the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Chri
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SERMON XX. THE LOCUST-SWARMS.
SERMON XX. THE LOCUST-SWARMS.
Joel ii. 12, 13. Therefore also now, saith the Lord, Turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. This is one of the grandest chapters in the whole Old Testament, and one which may teach us a great deal; and, above all, teach us to be thankful to God for the blessings wh
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SERMON XXI. SALVATION.
SERMON XXI. SALVATION.
Isaiah lix. 15, 16. And the Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment. And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him, and his righteousness it sustained him. This text is often held to be a prophecy of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I certainly believe that it is a prophecy of his coming, and of something better still; namely, his continual presence; and a very noble and deep one, and one fro
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SERMON XXII. THE BEGINNING AND END OF WISDOM.
SERMON XXII. THE BEGINNING AND END OF WISDOM.
Proverbs ii. 2, 3, 5. If thou incline thine ear to wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after wisdom, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. We shall see something curious in the last of these verses, when we compare it with one in the chapter before. The chapter before says, that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That if we wish to be wise at all, we must begin by
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SERMON XXIII. HUMAN NATURE.
SERMON XXIII. HUMAN NATURE.
( Septuagesima Sunday .) Genesis i. 27. So God created man in his own image; in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. On this Sunday the Church bids us to begin to read the book of Genesis, and hear how the world was made, and how man was made, and what the world is, and who man is. And why? To prepare us, I think, for Lent, and Passion week, Good Friday, and Easter day. For you must know what a thing ought to be, before you can know what it ought not to be; you must
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SERMON XXIV. THE CHARITY OF GOD.
SERMON XXIV. THE CHARITY OF GOD.
( Quinquagesima Sunday .) Luke xviii. 31, 32, 33. All things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: and they shall scourge him and put him to death; and the third day he shall rise again. This is a solemn text, a solemn Gospel; but it is not its solemnity which I wish to speak of this morning, but this—What has it to do with the Epistle, and with
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SERMON XXV. THE DAYS OF THE WEEK.
SERMON XXV. THE DAYS OF THE WEEK.
James i. 17. Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is neither variableness, nor shadow of turning. It seems an easy thing for us here to say, ‘I believe in God.’ We have learnt from our childhood that there is but one God. It seems to us strange and ridiculous that people anywhere should believe in more gods than one. We never heard of any other doctrine, except in books about the heathen; and there are perhaps not three pe
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SERMON XXVI. THE HEAVENLY FATHER.
SERMON XXVI. THE HEAVENLY FATHER.
Acts xvi. 24–28. God that made the world, and all that therein is, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands . . . For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. I told you last Sunday of the meaning of the days of the week; but one day I left out—namely, Tuesday. I did so on purpose. I wish to speak of that day by itself in this sermon. I told you how our forefathers worshi
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SERMON XXVII. THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
SERMON XXVII. THE GOOD SHEPHERD.
John x. 11. I am the good shepherd. Here are blessed words. They are not new words. You find words like these often in the Bible, and even in ancient heathen books. Kings, priests, prophets, judges, are called shepherds of the people. David is called the shepherd of Israel. A prophet complains of the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves, and will not feed the flock. But the old Hebrew prophets had a vision of a greater and better shepherd than David, or any earthly king or priest—of a he
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SERMON XXVIII. DARK TIMES.
SERMON XXVIII. DARK TIMES.
1 John iv. 16–18. We have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love but perfect love casteth out fear; because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. Have we learnt this lesson? Our reading, and thinking, and praying, have been in vain,
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SERMON XXIX. GOD’S CREATION.
SERMON XXIX. GOD’S CREATION.
Genesis i. 31. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good. This is good news, and a gospel. The Bible was written to bring good news, and therefore with good news it begins, and with good news it ends. But it is not so easy to believe. We want faith to believe; and that faith will be sometimes sorely tried. Yes; we want faith. As St. Paul says: ‘Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God; so that things which are seen were not made of
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SERMON XXX. TRUE PRUDENCE.
SERMON XXX. TRUE PRUDENCE.
Matthew vi. 34. Take, therefore, no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Let me say a few words to you on this text. Be not anxious, it tells you. And why? Because you have to be prudent. In practice, fretting and anxiety help no man towards prudence. We must all be as prudent and industrious as we can; agreed. But does fretting make us the least more prudent? Does anxiety make us the least more i
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SERMON XXXI. THE PENITENT THIEF.
SERMON XXXI. THE PENITENT THIEF.
Luke xxiii. 42, 43. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou be with me in paradise. The story of the penitent thief is a most beautiful and affecting one. Christians’ hearts, in all times, have clung to it for comfort, not only for themselves, but for those whom they loved. Indeed, some people think that we are likely to be too fond of the story. They have been afraid lest people should bu
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SERMON XXXII. THE TEMPER OF CHRIST.
SERMON XXXII. THE TEMPER OF CHRIST.
Philippians ii. 4. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. What mind? What sort of mind and temper ought to be in us? St. Paul tells us in this chapter, very plainly and at length, what sort of temper he means; and how it showed itself in Christ; and how it ought to show itself in us. ‘All of you,’ he tells us, ‘be like-minded, having the same love; being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory: but in lowliness of mind let each esteem oth
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SERMON XXXIII. THE FRIEND OF SINNERS.
SERMON XXXIII. THE FRIEND OF SINNERS.
( Preached in London .) Mark ii. 15, 16. And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house, many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with publicans and sinners they said onto his disciples, How is it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? We cannot wonder at the scribes and Pharisees asking this question. I think that we should most of us ask
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SERMON XXXIV. THE SEA OF GLASS.
SERMON XXXIV. THE SEA OF GLASS.
( Trinity Sunday .) Revelation iv. 9, 10, 11. And when those beasts give glory, and honour, and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and honour, and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. The Church bids us r
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SERMON XXXV. A GOD IN PAIN.
SERMON XXXV. A GOD IN PAIN.
( Good Friday .) Hebrews ii. 9, 50. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. What are we met together to think of this day? God in pain: God sorrowing; God dying for man, as far as Go
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SERMON XXXVI. ON THE FALL.
SERMON XXXVI. ON THE FALL.
( Sexagesima Sunday .) Genesis iii. 12. And the man said, The woman, whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. This morning we read the history of Adam’s fall in the first Lesson. Now does this story seem strange to you, my friends? Do you say to yourselves, If I had been in Adam’s place, I should never have been so foolish as Adam was? If you do say so, you cannot have looked at the story carefully enough. For if you do look at it carefully, I believe you will
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SERMON XXXVII. THE WORTHY COMMUNICANT.
SERMON XXXVII. THE WORTHY COMMUNICANT.
Luke xviii. 14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other. Which of these two men was the more fit to come to the Communion? Most of you will answer, The publican: for he was more justified, our Lord himself says, than the Pharisee. True: but would you have said so of your own accord, if the Lord had not said so? Which of the two men do you really think was the better man, the Pharisee or the publican? Which of the two do you think had his soul in the safer
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SERMON XXXVIII. OUR DESERTS.
SERMON XXXVIII. OUR DESERTS.
Luke vi. 36–38. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again. One often hears complaints against this world, and against mankind; one hears it said
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SERMON XXXIX. THE LOFTINESS OF GOD.
SERMON XXXIX. THE LOFTINESS OF GOD.
Isaiah lvii. 15. For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy, I dwell in the high and holy place; with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. This is a grand text; one of the grandest in the whole Old Testament; one of those the nearest to the spirit of the New. It is full of Gospel—of good news: but it is not the whole Gospel. It does not tell us the whole charac
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