Hear David: he was none of those who boast of a holy nature and a pure disposition. Beloved, are ye brothers of Christ, and do ye think that ye owe him no love? Still, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.". The text speaks of "our infirmities," or as many translators put it in the singular of "our infirmity." Romans 8:3-4. You must endure persecution; but then, remember, he will be joint heir with you. So the Christian has a good Father, a blessed, eternal home, and groans to get to it; but, ah! Has not thine heart ever desired, since there is a God, that he were a little less holy, a little less pure, so that those things which are now great crimes might be regarded as venial offences, as peccadillos? God that cannot lie, in the person of the Holy Ghost, graciously condescendeth to say "Amen" to the testimony of our conscience. Is this true or not? Consider what you owe to his power; how he has raised you from your death in sin, and how he has preserved your spiritual life, how he has kept you from falling, and how, though a thousand enemies have beset your path, you have been able to hold on your way! For memory graspeth with an iron hand ill things, but the good she holdeth with feeble fingers. The firstborn of the divine family was more sorely chastened than any other of the household; he was smitten of God and afflicted till, as the climax of all, he cried Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani. Do you hate your mother, who nursed you on her knee? "Whom he did predestinate, them he also called; and whom he called, them he also justified; and whom he justified, them he also glorified," everyone of them. I trust that even while I am speaking this morning, Christ may speak with me, and some word that may fall from my lips, unpremeditated and almost without design, shall be sent of God as a message of life unto some dead and corrupt heart here, and some man who has lived in sin hitherto, shall now live to righteousness, and live to Christ. They never had any seats to sit on. Now, the apostle sets the whole matter before us when he said, "The whole creation groaneth," and you know what comes after that, "travaileth." It is true the world is always active, but it is with the activity of the battle-field, wherein hosts encounter hosts and the weaker are overcome." My God, thou art my all in all the circle where my passions move, the centre of my soul. We know that young lions, when tamed and domesticated, still will have the wild nature of their fellows of the forest, and were liberty given them, would prey as fiercely as others. being made bold to do so because we have believed in the Christ that died. Brethren, we have repentance, that gem of the first water. Who will garnish my back with purple and make my table groan with plenty?" Speak of pedigrees, the glories of heraldry thou hast more than heraldry could ever give thee, or all the pomp of ancestry could ever bestow. Now, in considering this solemn subject, let me remark that there are two kinds of callings mentioned in the Word of God. He puts it thus, they are not able to separate us. Even when ignorance and perplexity are removed, we know not what we should pray for "as we ought." But why is this? And let the idle and slothful remember that they are a great anomaly; they are blots in the great work-writing of God; they mean nothing; in all the book of letters with which God has written out the great word "work," they are nothing at all. In the next verse we are described as hoping. 10. But Solomon did not add, that things are not what they seem. Can those lips say, "Depart, ye cursed," to the man for whom they once did intercede? In Hebrews 1:2 ., we are told that God has appointed Christ heir of all things. O my hearer, art thou a believer in Christ? Our Lord was declared to be the Son of God by the actions which he performed, both towards God and towards man. What says the believer now? An adversary in the court might plead against him, and overthrow him, for he could not answer him. Let me show you that you have not been hearing strange doctrine. Now what has the resurrection of Christ from the dead to do with the justification of a believer? "He is faithful by whom ye were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." That old preacher Solomon once said as much as that. The world will, before long, understand what you mean by saying that Christ has made atonement for your sin; and, perhaps, here and there, a few of those who ridiculed you will be inclined to know more about this matter, and in private may come and ask you how the death of Christ has saved your soul. There are four things of which I shall speak this morning. But his reply was, "No, I trust they will always be at war with you, for Carthage must be destroyed if Rome is to prosper." We come and spend our time and our money upon our pleasures before we pay our just and fair debts. If we could say this morning, that all the stars belong to us; if we could turn the telescope to the most remote of the fixed stars, and then could say with the pride of possession, so natural to man, "That star, a thousand times bigger than the sun, is mine. Why some of you can do so by preaching the gospel to poor sinners in the streets. Let God call a man may resist, but he cannot resist effectually. I know this I believe God was at work with my heart for years before I knew anything about him. I have been astonished in looking though old Roman history at the wonderful prodigies of integrity and valour which were produced by idolatry, or rather, which were produced by patriotism, and that principle which ruled the Romans, namely, love of fame. Well, then, thou owest ten talents, and thy brother owes only one; why should you be proud that you owe more than he does? Ye would, I am sure, at once confess, did ye know what the race is, that the indictment is proven, and that the world must unreservedly and truthfully exclaim, "guilty. Happy shall you and I be if, though covered with sin, though guilty and unclean, we nevertheless shall have faith to believe in the Christ that dies, a faith so strong, and confident that we shall dare to stand both now, and at the judgment-seat of Christ, and say, "Who is he that condemneth?" He was consecrated to God; so are we to be. Have you been called, not of man but of God? No! II. Grant me that the child is carnal, and my text says, "the carnal mind is enmity against God." We are to be conformed to Christ Jesus as to character. Let us try to meet this question, "Why does Christ intercede to day in heaven?" IV. He has rendered more of good to men than you ever rendered of evil. There is a chain on this side of the river fixed into a staple, and the same chain is fixed into a staple at the other side, but the greater part of the chain is for the most part under water, and you cannot see it: you only see it as the boat moves on, and as the chain is drawn out of the water by the force that propels the boat. Let your faith and your imagination work together to portray the unutterable glories of Immanuel, God with us, as he sits at the right hand of the Father. Now this is the cause of our groaning and mourning, for the soul is so married to the body that when it is itself delivered from condemnation, it sighs to think that its poor friend, the body, should still be under the yoke. Again, I hear him cry, "Who shall lay anything to my charge?" And now we may rest assured, since we can see a sitting Christ in heaven, that the whole atonement is finished, the work is over, he hath made an end of sin. Romans 8:38-39. Yet, further, to illustrate the full meaning of the joint heirship suppose, after the via had been proved and acknowledged to be right, it shall be found in winding up the affairs of the testator, that nothing is left to distribute suppose, after all this boast and talk about being heirs, the property should be nil, or there should even be found a debt against the estate what then? ", Another says, "Yes, but then you have been specially guilty, there is great sin against a great God. 1. May he who comes from Jesus lead you to Jesus. They think that if they cry, "Lord, have mercy upon me," when they lay a-dying, they shall go to heaven directly. Just so, we are kings we are of the blood imperial; but we have not our proper state and becoming dignities we have not our royalties here. O thou that art high in spirits to-day, thou with the flashing eye and joyous countenance, ere the sun doth set some evil shall befal thee, and thou shalt be sad. Taking away this corner-stone, this fancy theory tumbles to the ground, and that theory which seemed to be as tall as Babel, and threatened to make as much confusion, may right soon be demolished, if you will batter it with the Word of God. for who hath resisted his will? As a shepherd loves his sheep, as a king loves his subjects, so Jesus loves to have his people around him; but deeper yet is the mystery, as it is not good for a man to be alone, and as for this cause doth a man leave his father and mother and is joined unto his wife, and they twain are one flesh, even so is it with Christ and his church. I am mainly indebted to these because I owe so much to my God. You are as bad as any one of us. were to be understood in its broadest and most unlimited sense. "The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup." Here I find it written in the Scriptures, "The carnal mind is enmity against God;" and that of itself is enough for me. He decrees that Christ Jesus, the Well-Beloved, even his own other self, who is one with him, should come into the world and bear the sin of man, make amends to the injured honour of God, and magnify the law before the eyes of the whole universe. "If children then heirs," says the apostle; therefore, whatever Christ has we have, and though we may be very poor and unknown, yet whatever belongs to Christ to us. Some do not believe in the personality of the devil; but I am as sure of it as I am of the personality of his children who deny their own father. 1. There is no terror to him like the terror of the cross. "It is Christ that died," becomes both his sword and his shield; and when the dread conflict is over, and even while it is raging, he sings, "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.". Wherefore, since it is only our Judge who can condemn us, and since he is the very Person who has paid our debt for us, and put our sin away, we dare to repeat again, with additional emphasis, our ringing challenge to all the universe, "Who is he that condemneth?". Those teachings which are commonly called Calvinistic doctrines are usually most beloved and best received by those who have had much conflict of soul, and so have learned the strength of corruption and the necessity of grace. Debts of honor, as we call them which are no debts in some men's eyes we can discharge; but the great and solemn debt we owe to God is ofttimes passed by, neglected and forgotten. I thought I saw you the other day looking amazingly great, because on such an occasion you really had done some little service to Christ's Church; and you looked astonishingly proud about it. Is it wisdom, O my fellow-creatures, is it wisdom to hate your Creator? When bowing before his throne we can boldly say "Abba Father." There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Does he challenge purity to convict him of guilt? And then suppose that, in winding up the estates, it should be found that, though there be something left, yet it be a mere trifle, scarcely worth an acknowledgment: enough to excite appetite but not sufficient to satisfy it what if it should come out at last, that heaven is not the infinite joy we have been taught to expect; suppose its bliss should be but inferior joy, such as might be found even in this world below suppose that the harps have no melody, the crowns but little glory, and heaven's streets but slight magnificence what then? Thine eternity, O God, is mine to keep me in existence, that I may ever be preserved. Note the expression, "Many brethren" not that he might be the firstborn among many, but among "many brethren," who should be like himself. We who are but babes cannot hold the great ocean of Godhead in our infantile palms. why needeth the Christian to have such firm, such massive foundations? Germany belongs not to the cloudy philosopher, but to Christ. C. H. Spurgeon At Exeter Hall, Strand. Do we say that he is love? The tail feathers of pride should be pulled out of our prayers, for they need only the wing feathers of faith; the peacock feathers of poetical expression are out of place before the throne of God. No. O Paul, the thunderbolt of God will smite thee! Some say that this doctrine would send us to sleep; it never does, it wakes us up. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: that, according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.". As long as we have half-a-dozen, we have half-a-dozen doubtful ones: but when it comes to only one, and that such a sufficient one as the truth that "It is Christ that died," we have a well-founded hope, in which we may rest with confidence. The co-heir is heir to the entire estate; and if he says, "No, not to that portion," then he is not heir to any; and if he makes exemption anywhere, he makes exemption to the whole. I do believe that there is a supernatural way in which apart from means, the Spirit of God communicates with the spirit of man. At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington. Believing in Jesus, we speak confidently, we have unspeakable blessings given to us by the Father of spirits. "It is Christ that died. But yonder is the Saviour,, and he is called Jesus, "For he shall save his people from their sins." Paul, a Christian! Speak we of his omniscience? And are there not times with you, my dear friends, when your hearts feel that they would be emptied and void, unless God were in them. Still the accuser continues reminding us of our past life: "you have trusted in others, and turned away from Christ; you went everywhere before you came to him." He felt within him affinities with all the blood-bought race, and loved them all. We remember to be grateful to all except our God. We must understand the word "together," also in another sense. but you have aforetime refused Christ. Ah! The joint heirship reaches from the gloomy patina of deep affliction up to the bright ineffable splendor of the throne of bliss, nor can any man reverse the record. I want to sit down, and suck all the sweetness out of this blessed truth: "It is Christ that died." God bless you, my beloved brethren, and may you feel the Spirit of the Lord thus working in you and with you. Some of them who were rather heavy and sad of spirit in their days of health have grown joyous and glad as they have neared the eternal kingdom. But there are some that always get well paid for what they do, and, therefore, I shall not mention them, since I am not aware that their claims need my advocacy. It is not the pain of death we feel, but the pain of life. I. As to our spirits, we have liberty to soar into the third heaven, and sit in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus; but as for our bodies, we can only roam about this narrow cell of earth, and feel that it is not the place for us.