Church of England -- Sermons; Sermons, English -- 19th century
seen?' But they cannot deceive themselves long. You will see, if
you watch such people, and still more if you watch yourselves, that
if you do not love your neighbours in spirit and in truth, then
those tormenting fears soon come back again, worse than ever. Ay,
whenever we indulge ourselves in hard words and cruel judgments, the
thought of God seems darkened to us there and then; the face of God
seems turned from us; and peace of mind and brightness of spirit,
and lightness of soul, do not come back to us, till we have
confessed our sins, and have let the kindly, the charitable, the
merciful thoughts rise up in us once more, as, by the grace of
Christ, they will rise up.
Yes, my friends, as far as I can see, people are filled with the
peace of God just in as far as they are at peace with their fellow-
men. They are bright, calm, and content, looking forward with
cheerfulness to death, and with a humble and holy boldness to
judgment, just in as far as their hearts are filled with love,
gentleness, kindness, to all that God has made. They dwell in God,
and God in them, and perfect love has cast out fear.
But if a man does not live in love, then sooner or later he will
hear a voice within him, which whispers, Thou art going wrong; and,
if thou art going wrong, how canst thou end at the right place?
None but the right road can end there. The wrong road must lead to
the wrong place.
Then the man gets disturbed and terrified in his mind, and tormented
with fears, as the text says. He knows that the day of judgment is
coming, and he has no boldness to meet it. He shrinks from the
thought of death, of judgment, of God. He thinks--How shall I meet
my God? I do not love my neighbour. I do not love God; and God
does not love me. The truth is, that the man cannot love God even
if he will. He looks on God as his enemy, whom he has offended, who
is coming to take vengeance on him. And, as long as we are afraid
of any one, and fancy that they hate us, and are going to hurt us,
we cannot love them. So the man is tormented with fear; fear of
death, fear of judgment, fear of meeting God.
Then he takes to superstition; he runs from preacher to preacher;
and what not?--There is no folly men have not committed, and do not
commit still, to rid themselves of that tormenting fear. But they
do not rid themselves of it. Sermons, church-goings, almsgivings;
leaving the Church and turning Dissenters or Roman Catholics;
joining this sect and that sect; nothing will rid a man of his
superstitious fear: nothing but believing the blessed message of
the text.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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