Selected from: The Scottish Pulpit: Sermons of Eminent Scottish Divines (Vol. 1, Glasgow, 1839), 421–428. Preached in Lady Glenorchy’s Chapel, Edinburgh, on Monday, November 5, 1832, being the day after the dispensation of the Lord’s supper.
“And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.”
—Mark 16:15
When our Saviour uttered these words, he had finished his work on earth. As the eternal Son of God in human nature, he had lived a life of misery, and died an ignominious1ignominious –deserving or causing public disgrace or shame (Ed.) death, nailing to the cross the handwriting of condemnation, and bringing in an everlasting righteousness. At the end of three days, he had shaken off the robes of mortality, and come forth, proclaiming liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that were bound. For forty days in his risen humanity, he had mingled with his disciples, explaining the mysteries of the Old Testament Scriptures, and speaking of the things which pertained to his kingdom. And now, before leaving this world, and passing within the veil in this glorified humanity, to appear in the presence of God for us, he had come solemnly to give them his parting admonition. They were to act as his representatives on earth after his departure. The destinies of a world of ruined men were, as far as man was concerned, to be committed into their hands—the cause which had been contemplated with deep interest from the foundation of the world by angels, and patriarchs, and prophets, which had brought the eternal Son of God from Heaven, was now to be entrusted to them. An event had taken place at Jerusalem, in which every son of Adam on the wide surface of the earth was interested, which was to bring unnumbered multitudes to Heaven, and thus greatly to influence the records of eternity. And Christ, looking steadfastly upon the faces of his chosen followers, and thinking of the multitude of sinners which then thronged this miserable world, and of the countless generations then unborn, who afterwards were to be blessed by his salvation, uttered these most emphatic words: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.”
It becomes you, my friends, when retiring from this sacred feast, to look back with gratitude to the origin of your Christian privileges and hopes, as well as forward to the duties which you are bound as Christians to discharge. And, clearly, it was only because Christ uttered this commandment that you, in this distant island of the sea, and upon whom the latter ends of the world are come, have been permitted to sit down at a communion table, and to rejoice in hope of the glory of God; and it is for the same reason now that not we only, but you, as the sworn disciples of Jesus, are bound in your several situations, to help on the triumph of the everlasting Gospel, by endeavouring to save many souls from death, and thus to secure that object to accomplish which Christ lived and died, and now sits in glory at the right hand of God.
Let us then consider—
I. This commandment itself.
II. The persons by whom Christ designed it to be obeyed.
First, the commandment itself is, “Preach the Gospel, in all the world, to every creature.”
The Gospel to which our Saviour referred, speaking generally, consisted of a series of joyful statements, which had become true in consequence of his death. For example, man had fallen, and been driven out from the paradise of God. It had been the eager inquiry of all the thoughtful in every age, how he might again be restored to happiness. Christ had come to set open the gates of Heaven, and to proclaim that every repenting sinner might freely enter in. The law of God had been broken, and the conscience of every man warned him that his Creator was offended by his iniquity and had in reserve for him a fearful punishment. Christ came to endure that punishment in his own person, and to proclaim that every man, to whom the word of salvation was sent, might everlastingly be set free from condemnation; and by the agency of the Eternal Spirit sent forth by the same Saviour, might be freed from every taint of depravity, and made meet to join the glorious Society of Heaven. A mighty spirit of darkness had been suffered to enter our world, and had gone abroad over all its inhabitants, leading them captive at his will. Christ came to bind this evil spirit with chains, and to set his prisoners free: “He spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in his cross.” Above all, every child of Adam was doomed to experience a fearful death—the sentence of Heaven had gone forth—the souls and bodies of men were to be rent violently asunder—the one sent away before the judgment seat of God, the other consigned to the cold and silent grave. The pale horse and his rider, who had marched into our world after sin, were to call at every dwelling, and their summons none might disobey; but Christ came to disarm this hideous enemy, and to make that gloomy doorway, if we may so speak, through which all men had to pass from off the stage of time—and from which they all shrunk back with horror, not knowing what might be beyond—the joyful entrance, through which the Christian pilgrim might pass with singing “into fulness of joy and pleasures for evermore.”
Such are some of the facts which constituted more peculiarly that Gospel, or those glad tidings, which the disciples of Christ were commanded to proclaim. But it is the greatest possible mistake to suppose that these glad tidings consisted of any one series of truths collected from the word of God. The whole truths of Scripture constitute the Gospel; and our Saviour was preaching it as certainly when he explained to his disciples the extent and purity of the Law of God upon the mount, as when he declared, “that as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.” He that would limit the truths which the messengers of Christ were appointed to teach to a few favourite statements, must imagine that it was unnecessary for the Almighty to reveal as much as he has done; “whilst all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, and instruction in righteousness,” etc. It is from the union of truths contained in the whole Scriptures that the happiness of a Christian arises; and as the apostles obeyed this command by declaring all the truths of the Old Testament, as well as those more peculiar to the New, so that man alone is to be regarded as preaching the Gospel still, who, laying aside his own favourite conceits—his chosen and approved of texts—takes up the whole word of God, and boldly proclaims to his brethren every truth which he finds there plainly stated—explaining whatever is difficult, clearing whatever is doubtful, making evident the truth, and harmony, and glorious suitableness of all. “To the law and to the testimony, if any man speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in him.”
Such are the truths themselves, which Christ commanded his disciples to proclaim. But we intended chiefly to call your attention to the places where, and the persons to whom, the apostles were to address them. They were to preach in all the world, and to every creature.
By long habit you have become familiar with this statement, and therefore it is of the more importance that you should be made to perceive that, when it was uttered originally, it formed an era in the history of Christianity, and must have been listened to with wonder by those to whom it was addressed.
Previously to this period, the Jews alone had been the favoured nation—the posterity of Faithful Abraham, to whom pertained the glory, and the adoption, and the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and all the promises. Judea had been the land of promise and of hope. All the prophets had lived and died there. In looking back from where we now stand over all the nations of antiquity, we behold a varied scene, multitudes sunk in grossest barbarism, others boasting of their civilization, and realizing, what some are now eagerly longing for, “an age of mere human reason,” without any light from on high to guide their feet into the way of peace; and, in the language of another, it was “an age of blasphemy and of madness,”—a thousand gods were worshipped, under the very garb of religion, men avowedly indulged in the most degrading iniquity—the dark spirit of pandemonium seemed to have breathed over the wretched population. Judea was the only fair spot on the moral surface of the world; there alone a race of men dwelt who worshipped the only Creator of heaven and earth. They possessed a law written by the finger of God—the Almighty answered their prayers in living voice from between the cherubims. In the midst of them, the lamp of sacred truth was placed, and its light shone into all their dwellings, as did that of heaven before into all the tents of Goshen, whilst all the other inhabitants of the world sat in the midst of a worse than Egyptian darkness, which made even a sinful prophet to exclaim, “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy dwellings, O Israel. As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river side, as trees of aloes, which the Lord hath planted.” Their city was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth; their temple was adorned by the collected wealth of nations; it was the object of universal wonder, and thither multitudes annually flocked from every nation under heaven. The earth itself seemed upheld in existence only for the sake of the Jews—its other inhabitants were only, as it were, servants and tributaries to them. Riches and honour, and length of days crowned the posterity of faithful Abraham. Their enemies feared them; their friends admired and envied their happiness. For “the Lord of Heaven had chosen Zion—he had desired it for an habitation—that was his rest—there did he stay—he abundantly blessed her provision—he satisfied her poor with bread—he clothed her priests with salvation—he made all her people to shout aloud for joy.”
And it is to be kept clearly in view, that even after Christ appeared to explain all the mysteries which were hid under this strange economy, he still confined his regards exclusively to this favoured nation. He was born of a daughter of Canaan. In the land of Judea, he wrought his heavenly miracles, and spake as never man spake. From the prayers of every other nation, he turned away with indifference, saying, “I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” and “for it is not meet to take the children’s bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.” And when he originally sent forth his seventy disciples, he straitly commanded them, saying, “Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” If such also had been this last commandment of Christ, what had become of us who were destined, in these latter days, to live in this distant island of the sea, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel—strangers to the covenant of promise? We must have all lived without comfort, and died without hope.
But it is a truth to be deeply impressed on your minds, and diligently taught to your children, that when Christ died, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. It was destined that the wall of separation should from that time forth be broken down. An era was now arrived, in which we were all deeply interested. The system of exclusion was at an end. From that city in which stood the temple of God, the monument of the Jews’ peculiar privileges, the word of God was to go forth to men of every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people—all were to flow into the church—every island, every continent, every inhabitant of the world was to hear the glad tidings of salvation—these were to be proclaimed from sea to sea, and from the river to the end of the earth. And therefore, our Saviour, standing at Jerusalem in the midst of his disciples, gives this command, which was to regulate their future exertions. They were not to remain in Judea, although there they were first to proclaim the truths of Christianity—not to tarry in any city after they had delivered their message to its inhabitants; they were to go onwards into all the world, bearing the lamp of sacred truth into all the dark recesses of heathenism, shaking to the dust all the temples of idolatry—converting, if possible, a whole world to the faith! Ethiopia was to stretch out her hands to God. The distant islands of the sea were to ring with gladness at the news of this salvation. Men were to be blessed in Jesus—all nations were to call him blessed.
It was not all at once that the disciples of our Saviour could perceive that such was his message. They were themselves the children of Abraham, and had always been taught to regard the Gentiles as inferior. And they stood amazed at the declaration, that all distinctions of nations had for ever vanished away, and “that Jew and Greek, Barbarian and Scythian, bond and free, were now all one in Christ Jesus.” And therefore, we find them lingering about Jerusalem, and labouring to convert the stubborn Pharisees, till by visions and statements their prejudices were dispelled, and they were induced to go forth from the limits of that favoured country, and become the heralds of salvation to the uttermost ends of the earth.
It was the intention of God, from the foundation of the world, to work out a great redemption, which would be available to all the children of men. And the Jews were only depositaries of the truth until the fulness of time was come. A whole world was in revolt against God, and all its inhabitants were exposed to punishment—all stood in need of forgiveness, all of comfort, all of salvation. And Christ made a propitiation, not for the sins of the Jews only, but “that he might gather together in one the children of God everywhere scattered abroad.” It was important that this fact should be universally proclaimed. The Gospel of Christ was interesting to every human being, every other religious creed, except the Mosaic, which was in substance the same, proceeding from human ignorance, had been uncertain, incomplete, perverse. This alone was glorious in evidence, universal in application, and destined to be stupendous in result; for it was to spread peace and joy throughout ten thousand families of Adam’s guilty posterity—to make earth again the habitation of purity, and to fill the courts of Heaven with unnumbered multitudes of blessed and adoring spirits, who should come out of every nation, and every trial, having washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Before leaving this part of the subject, it may be necessary to advert, for one instant, to a mistake into which some have lately fallen, of supposing that because the Gospel was commanded to be preached to every creature, all men’s sins must needs have been forgiven in consequence of the death of Christ; for, they say, “what other glad tidings could the apostles possibly address to every creature fitted to inspire with comfort? If something positive was not done for every one of the children of men by Christ, how could the apostles preach to each of them the Gospel?” To this, we reply, that a statement far short of that supposed necessary by these objectors might have been full of comfort to all the children of men, and therefore, deserve to be called glad tidings. It must be comforting to every man to know that he is not sealed over to hopeless condemnation—that it is possible for him to have his sins forgiven, and his nature sanctified, and to be admitted into the glorious inheritance of the saints in light—nay, that if certain conditions are fulfilled, such will, without any doubt whatever, be the blessed result. It would be cheering to all the prisoners throughout this land to know that by doing something within the power of each, they would all instantly feel their fetters drop off, and be set at full liberty. Now, a statement amounting to this, the commission of Christ warranted his disciples fully to make. They could go into all the world, and say unto every creature—not, “Your sins are forgiven, and ye shall be saved,” for secret things belonged only to God; but, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.” No matter of what colour, no matter of what age, no matter of what nature, their sins may have been, though the cry of them should have gone up to heaven, and disturbed the very peace of the Sanctuary above. To every human being, the apostles of Christ could say, “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” And such is still the privilege of all the ministers of the Gospel. He that would say more intrudes into those things which he hath not seen—preaches a different gospel from that proclaimed by Christ—requires his brethren to believe what may not be true, and ought evidently to be discouraged by all who wish well to the cause of truth. The Gospel is unalterable—it cannot be enlarged, and it ought not to be diminished. Like him from whom it sprung, it is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
We proceed, in the second place, to consider the persons by whom this commandment was designed to be obeyed. “Go ye into all the world,” etc.
The law of Moses had been given by the ministration of angels; but the Gospel was to be preached by human agency. The words of our text were originally addressed to the eleven apostles of Christ, and they left them not at will to dispose of after their existence, but assigned them this as their duty, to be His witnesses in Judea and in Samaria, and to the uttermost ends of the earth.
The task was undoubtedly highly honourable, for in accomplishing it, they were associated with angels and with prophets—nay, possessed the highest distinction to which mortal man could aspire, that of being “fellow-workers together with God.” And one would have imagined that it was no less honourable than pleasant; for they were sent to deliver a glorious message, and one in which all the children of men were deeply interested; and therefore, we would have imagined that as they passed from house to house, and from village to village, working miracles and proclaiming the Gospel of Peace, all would have poured out their wondering and admiring inhabitants to receive them with transport, as messengers from God; and that their progress throughout the earth would have been accompanied with a tide of joy, like that which filled all the land of Canaan when the silver trumpets of jubilee did sound. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that publisheth good tidings—that publisheth good tidings of good—that saith to Sion, Thy God reigneth!
But a nearer examination will convince us that, in the way of all this, there were many difficulties. If our Saviour had appeared in visible majesty, and in the face of day destroyed the god of this world, and set up his own throne at Jerusalem, from which he was to dispense blessings visibly, then the task of his disciples had been easy—to go into all the world, and call upon all its inhabitants to behold and rejoice in their God. But the Messiah of whom they had to speak had appeared only for a little time, and then vanished away. His life had been obscure, his death ignominious, and the objects which his disciples had to accomplish were directly in the face of the feelings and interests of worldly men. Prejudices the most powerful had to be overcome, ignorance dispelled, the might of enemies brought down to the dust. The palaces of haughty kings and the temples of idols were to be entered boldly by these fishermen of Galilee—men were to be called upon to abandon this world, with its pleasures and vanities, in exchange for a paradise of delights, the fame of which they had only heard with their ears; and by declaring truths, which to the wise, and the scribe, and the disputer of this world, were ever to appear foolishness, hundreds of thousands of the members of our race were by them to be brought to Heaven. Besides, the apostles themselves, at the time when thus addressed by our Saviour, were but ill qualified in every respect for the task assigned them. Besides being ignorant, one of them had thrice openly denied his master—the rest had all in the time of need forsaken him and fled, and “hid themselves in an upper room in Jerusalem, for fear of the Jews.” And were these the men who were to go forth and boldly endeavour to convert a world to the faith of a crucified Saviour, though in every city bonds and imprisonments awaited them? No doubt God thus designed to make the weak things of the world confound the mighty; but they must first tarry at Jerusalem, until they were endued with power from on high. It was only when the Holy Spirit descended in his majesty that their ignorance vanished, that they became bold and eloquent in defence of their Master’s cause, and that their weapons were felt to be mighty in pulling down the strongholds of sin and Satan. It was only when this divine Comforter accompanied them in all their journeying, and wherever the apostles preached, opened the hearts of many to listen to the things which were spoken, that multitudes were everywhere converted to the faith, and that the light of truth shone into many an understanding, which had remained dark even under our Saviour’s personal ministry, for the Spirit was not then given, because the Son of man was not then glorified. It was only when the Comforter descended that the plant, to use a Scripture figure, which the Lord’s right hand planted in Judea, sprung up to a glorious maturity, and became a great tree of universal renown, having its leaves for the healing of the nations, and shaking abroad its prosperous fruit, like the cedars on the top of Lebanon. In plain language, then it was that these twelve apostles overcame every opposition, and everywhere dispelled the darkness of idolatry, by spreading the healthful influence of Christian truth, making many commit to the flames the false gods they had worshipped, the books which they had admired—their line went through all the earth, their words to the end of the world, “so mightily grew the word of God, and prevailed.”
But the apostles were not always to exist, though the stream of time was to run on, and generations of men, one after another, were to rise up in ignorance of these great truths of Christianity. Death was gradually to snatch them all away; and therefore, we must conceive of our Lord, as in these words addressing those who, after the apostles, were to rise up in his name, as the instructors of their brethren. Christ had provided that there should be pastors and teachers in the church till the end of time. It would, indeed, have been fearful, if truths so precious, and in which all men were ever to be so deeply interested, should ever have been concealed. And therefore, the apostles committed them to faithful men, who should be able to teach others also; and thus it has continued, down to this hour—thus it will continue, till time is no more.
This admonition, therefore, is also addressed to every minister of the Gospel, and is to this effect: that he shall endeavour, above all things, to promote the knowledge of the truths of Scripture, the salvation of immortal souls; that he shall reckon every man’s salvation of infinite importance—rich or poor, learned or unlearned; and that, in season and out of season, he shall struggle to carry multitudes of his brethren to heaven. But it is not the express words of Christ, so much as his intention, that we are bound to consider; and we are anxious to impress upon your minds the truth, as we are not addressing, at present, ministers so much as private Christians, that the ministers of the Gospel were only designed to be leaders of the people, in this great endeavour to spread abroad amongst mankind the knowledge and the influence of Christian truth; and that you all are bound in your several situations to suppress ungodliness, and to endeavour to bring sinners to God. During the days of his flesh, our Saviour said to one, who was certainly not an apostle, “Go home, and tell thy friends what great things the Lord hath done for thee.” “And, saith the Apostle James, “brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know that he which converteth a sinner from the error of his way, shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” We ask you not to preach in public the Gospel, but friends may stir up each other, parents may influence their children, and the whole world is made up of families; and surely, when the politician is so zealous, travelling from city to city that he may spread abroad his favourite theories; when the emissaries of Satan are in every city, in every street, in almost every house, spreading wickedness and every evil in its train amongst our thoughtless population, it is not too much to expect that those who seat themselves at a communion table should do something to promote the glory of that Saviour, of whom they call themselves the disciples. In the whole course of your lives, what have you done to promote this great object? The Scriptures declare, that every Christian should be a fellow-worker together with God; and instead, therefore, of suffering your Christianity to evaporate in empty wishes, and still emptier forms, you should come boldly forth—make it evident to the world that you are in earnest—that you wish to banish sin from the earth, and secure the salvation of multitudes of your brethren.
Such truths as these are seldom recognised; and it is awful to behold in this the flagrant inconsistency of Christian men, who seem to dream that the whole zeal of the Christian church ought to be bound up in the ministers of religion, and exhibited by them alone. Surely, if a man is a Christian at all, he believes that those only who are renewed by the power of the Gospel in the Spirit of their minds, shall be saved hereafter, that all ungodly sinners must perish and that forever. Thousands of such are seen every day around us; and Christians know that they have the means of their safety within their reach, that time is flying swiftly away, and yet they will not put forth their hands to help. Nay, when others obey the Almighty’s plain commandment, we may often find these baptized Christians looking on with cold indifference, perhaps misrepresenting their motives, and endeavouring to ridicule their efforts. Oh, my friends! There is a fearful day of reckoning approaching, when God will separate forever his servants from those who served him not; and then it will appear, in the gaze of an intelligent universe, that these men, in the midst of all their professions, were only whited sepulchres, with a name to live, whilst they were dead. “Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof: because they came not to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty.”
It is awful to think of the unnumbered multitudes on the surface of the earth, who know not the Gospel of the Son of God. But it is more awful still to see around ourselves—in our very streets—our own brethren going on in thoughtless iniquity. Many thousands in the streets and lanes of this city never enter the house of God at all—are open heathens in this noonday of Christianity. Many thousands more have a name to live, whilst they are evidently dead. We maintain that no man can be a Christian at all who feels no interest in this great and growing evil—who never makes one effort to bring the one class within the sound of the Gospel, or to stir up the other to a sense of their fearful hypocrisy and danger. Let his pretensions be never so great—let him go the heartless rounds of Christian duty never so accurately—this is the grand touchstone of his sincerity; without it, he is but as sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal—a mere player on the stage of time, deceiving himself and his brethren, though Christ he cannot deceive; and it is dreadful to think of the time when he must be stript of disguise, and receive his fearful punishment in the presence of a surrounding awe-struck universe. “Bind ye the unprofitable servant, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The same object which Christ endeavoured to accomplish, viz., the salvation of human beings from perdition, should be aimed at by every minister—by every member of the Christian church. To bring it about, all their united influence should be employed—no cost, no efforts should be spared. And at such a time as this especially, when infidelity is so bold, and men seem almost to have forgotten that there is a God who judgeth in the earth; when men’s eyes are turned away from the things which belong to their eternal peace, and the voice of Christianity is well nigh drowned amidst the great clamour which has arisen in the land; when the very ministers of religion are seen deserting their altars, not that they may preach the Gospel more effectually to their thoughtless brethren, but that they may eagerly join in the fray; whilst, meantime, ignorance and open profligacy are prevailing rapidly at our very doors, and distress in a thousand forms is bearing down our wretched population, and pestilence is stalking in the midst of us, and death is carrying away its thousands to the judgment seat of God, we say it is surely at such a time as this that it especially becomes Christians to shake off their lethargy, and to rally round the standard of truth and holiness. It is when the armies of the enemy multiply and are bold, not merely that the chief captains and leaders should be active and intrepid, but that every individual Christian should do what in him lies to add multitudes to the ranks of the armies of the living God, all gathering together, as with one soul, to the contest, and fixing their eyes steadfastly on that glorious leader, who invisibly leads them on to war. Surely, if all the Christians who exist upon the earth, few and despised though they may seem, would only make our text their watchword, and unite in one determined effort to convert human beings, remembering that the Spirit of God is still as present and as omnipotent as of old, the dark ranks of Satan would fall back dismayed, and the powers of hell would be shaken in all their strongholds. If multitudes heard and obeyed the Gospel, iniquity, as ashamed, would stop its mouth, and all would do homage to Him who is Prince of all the kings of the earth. Then, and not till then, in spite of all the dreams of foolish and impious men, might we hope to see the day arrive when this earth shall cast off the curse under which it has groaned so long, and when we shall hear no more of the mustering of armies, the hurry and the mad onset of infuriated men, the garments rolled in blood, the fearful death struggle, and the breathless expectation of onlooking nations; for men shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks—they shall hang the trumpet in the hall, and study war no more. They shall be led out with joy and peace, the mountains and the hills shall break forth before them into singing, all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn, the emblem of strife, shall come up the fir tree; instead of the briar, shall come up the myrtle tree; unto the Lord it shall be for a name and an everlasting sign, which shall not be cut off.
And there are more glorious inducements than these. Do you desire to wear hereafter the crown of glory? The palm of victory? To enjoy the companionship of angels and glorified saints? Promote with all your might the enterprise of Christ. Swear at this altar, before you depart from this house of prayer, that you will be good soldiers of Him who sitteth at the right hand of God, labouring to strengthen the hands of the minister of truth, and to bring many souls to heaven. Time hastens to a close. Eternity opens—the end of all things is at hand—the Judge standeth before the door.
Be up and doing, whilst it is day; the night cometh in which no man can work. And who can tell what joy unspeakable shall be the result of your saving many souls from death, and presenting them all a shining throng before the throne of God, to swell the ranks of the redeemed, to swell the glorious anthem of eternity? “They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars, for ever and ever.” “Well done, thou good and faithful servant! Thou hast been faithful over a few things; I will make thee ruler over many things; enter ye into the joy of your Lord.” May God impress these truths upon your minds, and teach you to act under their influence, and to his name in Christ be the praise. Amen.
Footnotes
- 1ignominious –deserving or causing public disgrace or shame (Ed.) ↩︎
