The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent: A Complete Course of 66 Short Sermons, or Full Sermon Outlines for Each Sunday, and Some Chief Holy Days of the Christian YearBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Religion
The Village Pulpit, Volume II. Trinity to Advent: A Complete Course of 66 Short Sermons, or Full Sermon Outlines for Each Sunday, and Some Chief Holy Days of the Christian Year
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Anglican Communion -- England -- Sermons; Church of England -- Sermons; Church year sermons; Sermons, English
In the Book of Judges we read that Samson caught three hundred foxes and
tied them together by their tails, and put burning brands between them,
where their tails were tied. What was the consequence? The wretched
creatures dashed in opposite directions, each wanted to get away from the
brand that scorched his tail, and so each wanted to go exactly in a
different direction from the fox to which he was tied, and so the whole
lot went dashing in a mad, disorderly manner among the standing corn, and
destroyed a whole harvest.
That is something like a great number of people I know. They will tear
off in their own direction, and drag others after them who wish to go in
another direction, and the fire of discord is between them.
Look at the Blessed Trinity. Christ said, "I came not to do mine own
will, but the will of Him that sent me."
"Let us make man," was said at the Creation. God the Father did not say
"I will make man," nor God the Son "I will make man in My image," nor God
the Holy Ghost "I will make man, and breathe My spirit into him," but all
united in one work, and that work was very good.
CONCLUSION.--When Julian the Apostate was Emperor, three Christian
soldiers were brought before him. Their names were Emmanuel, Sabael, and
Ismael. He ordered them to be examined apart, lest they should encourage
one another in their faith and endurance under torture. Emmanuel, seeing
his object, said, "Tyrant! we Three are one in one Trinity."
Now, listen to our Lord's prayer, "I pray not for these alone, but for
those also which shall believe on Me through their word, that they all
may be one; as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee."
XXXVIII.
_GREAT SURPRISES._
1st Sunday after Trinity.
S. Luke xvi. 23.
"In hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments."
INTRODUCTION.--What a great surprise for Dives! So utterly unawaited!
Dives, who had lived so comfortably, clothed in purple and fine linen,
and had had such a good coat, and such excellent dinners, and such a
cellar of wine, and such good friends at his dinners, goes to sleep one
night after a banquet, and wakes up, and lo!--he is in hell. Surprise
number one.
He feels the flames, he perceives himself surrounded by demons, his
tongue is burning with thirst, and he lifts up his eyes and
sees!--surprise number two!--Lazarus, the poor dirty wretch who had
lain full of sores at his door. He did not know that the fellow was
dead. And--surprise number three!--this wretched fellow is in Paradise.
There is another story of a great surprise in the Gospels. That is of
the man who laid up for himself great possessions, and said to himself,
"Soul! thou hast much goods laid up for many years,--I will pull down
my barns and build greater--take thy ease, eat, drink and be merry."
That night he died, and when his soul came to realise the fact that he
had nothing left of all he had laid by--that was a great surprise, and
a very unpleasant one.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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