[THE WORK OF THE DISCIPLES.]
OUR heart is enlarged and our spirit is stirred within us, when we look at the great opening before us. The Lord has not raised us up, put into our hands such immense power, and made us such a great people, without an object. He has a great work for the Reformers of the nineteenth century. We, as a people, are set for the defence of the gospel. We occupy the only ground upon which man can stand and successfully do battle with unbelievers, with schismatics of every sort, and maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. We are the only people who occupy the proper ground for the evangelization and salvation of the world. We have cut ourselves loose from every thing but Christ. We present him to the world and defend him, both in his divinity and humanity, as the ineffably glorious person in whom dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. We believe in him, in all he ever said or did, in his religion, beginning, middle and ending, and nothing else. We will defend him and all he ever said and did. We will defend his word, his doctrine, the whole of it. Our work is not to defend our views, our doctrines, or ourselves, but to defend our Master and his doctrine. Our work is pre-eminently the following:
First. To convert the world to Christ, put men under him as their Leader, Savior and everlasting trust, to follow him for evermore.
Second. To collect from Babylon—spiritual Babylon—the wandering, bewildered and confused children of God, bring them back to their one shepherd, one fold, and unite them in one body under Christ, their only living head, that their name may be one, that they may be one, as he and his Father are one.
Third. To defend the faith once delivered to the saints, maintain it and spread it throughout the world.
Fourth. To inculcate piety, humanity, works of righteousness—in one word, implicit submission to Jesus the Lord in all things.
This is our work, and this, the Lord being our helper, we will do. We are pledged to Jesus, the Christ, to do this, for his glory and our good, and, by the grace of God, we will do it. We are not our own; we are the Lord’s. The work we are in is not our own; it is the Lord’s. The Lord our Righteousness is our King. It is his will—his bidding that we do this work. He has commanded and the work must be done. Brethren, see to it that the armor is in order, that it is on, properly adjusted, and every man at his post. Keep your eyes upon our Commander-in-Chief. Whatever he requires do it. No matter where he calls you to go, go at his bidding. He will bring us off conquerors, and more than conquerors. Go not in your own strength, nor in your own name, and rely not upon your own wisdom. Go in the strength, in the name and wisdom of the Lord. “O, Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee!”