To stand against the apostacy of the latter days, they must be drawing truth from God himself, and deriving life from Christ himself. They must listen to God himself, as speaking to them in his own inspired word, they must be kept by Christ himself while they believe on him as their only Lord. Their strength lies in this, that there is no curtain, no veil, no cloud between the soul and God—no second Mediator to convey the truth to them, or to convey them to Christ. They go straight into the presence of the Father: they learn his own word from his own lips, and they are ushered into his presence by his own well-beloved Son. So it is that they “overcome by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony.”
This is their safety against error. In the doubts, and dangers, and delusions of the latter days, they rest on that which is infallible. Holy writers may mislead; human guides may fail; the most attractive ministers may become spellbound by the seductions of the day; but the Word of God remains unaltered and unalterable; and the saints of God must stand secure, being taught by the Spirit to depend on it alone for truth.
This is their security against a fall. They bear their testimony to the glories of Christ’s grace, and meanwhile they rest secure in it. As witnesses for Christ, they are believers in Christ. The foundation on which they build is Christ himself. They lean on his atonement, his all-sufficient sacrifice, his perfect and complete redemption, nor can all the storms of hell prevail to shake their safety. The anchor of their soul entereth into that within the veil; and though they may here be tossed and troubled, no trouble, no turmoil, no distraction can tear them from the anchor that is fixed fast in the sanctuary of God. They derive their strength from Christ himself, as seated at the right hand of God; they live with him in the enjoyment of a direct and immediate union with himself; “Their life is hid with Christ in God:” and no man can rend the bond; no distractions can burst the union; nor can all the devils in hell combined prevail to pluck one single saint out of the faithful hand of his redeeming Lord. “I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
And now, dear brethren, to conclude. I have preached these sermons under the deep conviction that clouds are gathering around us, and that our great sifting time is near. Eighteen hundred years have nearly passed since the Saviour said, “I come quickly.” Nor are there signs wanting of his approach. There is to be seen throughout the world a breaking down of fixed principles of religious belief, a spirit of un-settlement brooding over the minds of men, and a loose indifference to the unscriptural claims of Rome. All this is predicted as a sign of his approach. Let us then stand fast in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone. As pardoned sinners, let us cling to the cross; as justified believers, let us go boldly to the throne of grace; as God’s elect, let us rally round the banner of the Lamb. Then men of expediency may forsake the truth in the hour of its need; men ignorant of their bibles may be carried off by the seducing spirits of the latter days: men of unbelief may scoff alike at our fears and hopes; but Christ will hold us fast in his own right hand till the day of his coming. Clouds may gather, black as hell; storms may burst, terrific in their crash; but we shall be kept safe in the pavilion of our God, till we join the one, vast, harmonious hymn of praise, which will swell up from the whole company of God’s elect, to welcome Christ as he comes forth in his kingdom, the Redeemer, the Advocate, the Strength, the Salvation of his saints.
APPENDIX.
A.
The 4th Rule of the Council of Trent respecting Prohibited Books:—
“Since it has been found by experience that if the Sacred Scriptures are allowed everywhere without distinction in the vulgar tongue, more harm than good arises in consequence of the rashness of man; let this be left to the judgment of the Bishop or Inquisitor; so that with the advice of the parish priest or confessor he may allow the use of the Bible in the vulgar tongue, when translated by Catholic authors, to such persons as they may consider capable of receiving not injury, but an increase of their faith and piety, from this kind of reading: which permission they must receive in writing. But any one who shall presume without such permission either to read or to possess them, shall be forbidden the absolution of his sins, unless he first restore the Bible to the ordinary. Booksellers also, who shall sell the Bible in the vulgar tongue to any one without the aforesaid permission, or shall in any other way provide it, shall forfeit the price of the books, to be employed in pious uses by the Bishop, and shall be subject to such other penalties as the Bishop may think it right to inflict, according to the character of the offence. Regulars may neither read nor purchase them without receiving permission from their prelates.”
N.B.—It is very important to observe that this rule refers to Roman Catholic versions, i.e., to their own authorized translations, and forbids even the regulars to possess a copy without permission from the Bishop.