How perfectly was this office sustained by Jesus Christ, the servant of God in the redemption of sinners. He himself is Lord of all; the Maker and the Monarch of the universe. “He was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God; but he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant.” And how perfectly this “form” was indicative of the reality. “The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.” “I am among you, said he to his disciples, as one that serveth;” and when, on one occasion, he had girded himself with a towel, and washed his disciples’ feet, he said, “I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his Lord; neither is he that is sent greater than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.” Happy indeed! for both happiness and honour are derived, not from exalting, but from humbling ourselves; not from self-indulgence, but from self-denial; and from a cordial and practical imitation of Him, who was meek and lowly in heart, and who went about doing good. How peculiarly and prominently was this the character of our departed friend. How much he had received of his Master’s spirit, and how willing he was to walk in his Master’s steps. Many of you, my brethren, I trust have so received, and are so inclined. Let us therefore follow him as he followed Christ. And as we profess to sustain the office of Christian servants, let us now give the more earnest heed to the apostolic injunction, “Let every one of us please his neighbour, for his good, to edification.”
II. Such being the office, which the Christian servant sustains, let us consider, in the second place, The manner in which it is to be discharged. “He is to Serve his own generation by the will of God.” Here, you perceive, is a course of conduct regulated by an important principle; both of which are to be included in our consideration of the manner in which this office is to be discharged. On an ordinary occasion, I would have described and illustrated this conduct, and this principle, by an express reference to scripture doctrine, precept, and example. But it is our privilege to have had among us an individual, well and publicly known, who sustained this office, and whose life and character afford an impressive illustration of the manner in which it should be discharged; and therefore, as Peter “freely” spake to the people, of the patriarch David, who served his own generation by the will of God, I shall now freely speak to you of our departed friend and brother, as an example of the same religious service.
In the first place then, A CHRISTIAN IS TO SERVE HIS OWN GENERATION. He may indeed be the means of serving future generations also. While David was serving the men and the institutions of his own time, his prayer was, “Now also when I am old and grey headed, O God, forsake me not, until I have shewed thy strength to this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.” And the God to whom this prayer was addressed, enabled him to accomplish his desire, by the preparations which he made for the erection of the future temple, and by the Psalms which he composed, and which have contributed so richly to the instruction and comfort of our own and of preceding generations. Martyrs and Reformers of old, who, as servants of Christ, were faithful even unto death, and sealed their service with their blood, were also thereby the means of securing benefits to the church and the world, which have come down from their days to our own, and by which we ourselves are established and blessed. And our beloved friend too, who has served the present generation, will serve the future also. “He, being dead, yet speaketh,” and he will continue to speak, not only by the remembrance of his holy example, but also by the vigour which he has imparted to many of our benevolent and religious institutions, and by the books which he has published, and which future generations will read. Of every truly Christian servant it may therefore be said, even when he rests from his labours, that his works do follow him. His years are thereby prolonged to many generations. He lives on earth, and in heaven, at the same time. And blessed is that servant, who, amidst the repose and joy of his celestial home, is crowned by the benedictions of men of generations subsequent to his own, to whose salvation he was the means of contributing. But let no one aim at the future, to the neglect of the present. Let no one withhold time, and self-denial, and personal effort, from the present, with the intention of making an atonement by levying a tax on his property for the future. Let no one accumulate, and hoard up now, with the intention of letting a portion go when he can no longer retain it. But let every man be his own executor, as far as he is able, and let him endeavour to serve future generations by generously and religiously serving his own.
The present generation is emphatically “our own;” and, therefore, it has upon us peculiar claims. Every good man has been converted and sanctified by the grace of God, in order that he may be qualified and disposed to serve it. The objects which have the first claim upon our service, are our own families; nor are we to undertake the service of a philanthropist, of a Sunday school teacher, or even of a preacher of the gospel, to their neglect and injury; “for if any man provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.” Those among whom we are placed as neighbours, demand our service next; and so on, according to our means and opportunities, till the circle of our service is as wide as the family of man. Our charity, which may thus begin at home, is therefore not to end there; but must resemble the service rendered by the sun, who sheds his light and sweet influences, first on the planets which are nearest to his centre, and then extends them to those which lie at the remote circumference.
Our Christian brother, now departed, so faithfully served his own generation, that his conduct in this respect may furnish an influential rule and encouragement to ourselves; and though we may not have the means and capacities which he possessed, yet from his extensive service, we may learn how to conduct our own, according to the ability which God hath given us. He, then, served his own generation, by a public profession of the gospel of Christ. In early life he was placed in circumstances where he was free to choose whom he would serve; and he had wealth, and talents, and attractive influences, which would have gained him a cordial welcome among the men of the world, who have their portion in this life. But he came out from among them, and was separate. He determined to become a disciple of Christ, not secretly, for fear of the frown or ridicule of the world, but publicly, declaring himself to society and to the church, as a Christian man, bound to act on Christian principles, and to exhibit them publicly and practically in all his religious and his secular affairs. This was a most appropriate act of Christian service; and the moral courage which he manifested in thus following out his convictions, by confessing Christ before men, is a noble example to the men of his own class, and of his own generation. “Vain,” says he, “will be our belief in the glad tidings of salvation through the crucified Immanuel, unless it be followed by a holy decision of mind, in giving up ourselves to God. The want of this holy decision, may be regarded as the second grand cause of the imperfections which so often interrupt our conformity to the divine will. When Saul was arrested in his career of violence, by a light and voice from above, he ‘was not disobedient to the heavenly vision;’ he surrendered at discretion to the all-conquering Saviour; forsook, at once, his self righteousness and self will, and became, without reserve, what every Christian ought to be, a servant of the Lord. The die was cast, which for ever determined his adherence to the cause of Jesus Christ and him crucified.” [11]
He served his own generation by a consistent and influential character. He not only began well in his Christian course, but having obtained help of God, he continued in it, even to the end. Suppose it had been otherwise. Suppose that, after he had made a public profession of the gospel, he had renounced it; or, by some act or course of immorality, had profaned it. What a frightful supposition! Can you estimate the evil and the disservice of such an apostacy? How would the church have mourned, not as she did at his death, with sorrow softened with hope, but with bitter tears, and a broken heart; and how would the enemies of truth and purity have rejoiced and blasphemed! Can you then estimate the service which he rendered to Christ and to his church, by that long course of holy and consistent conduct which, by the grace of God, he was enabled to pursue; and during which he was neither ashamed of the gospel nor a shame unto it. Brethren, let us watch and pray, that we may thus serve God ourselves, and let us devoutly listen to the charge which our divine Master is ever addressing to his servants, “Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”
He served his own generation by his liberal contributions, which he rendered to the cause of humanity and religion. Giving money, in due proportion, and to proper objects, was placed by him among the duties inculcated by religion and benevolence; and his giving was distinguished, not only by the largeness of its amount, but by the manner in which it was conducted. He gave cheerfully, constantly, and religiously. If you have ever been refused money, when you have asked it for a really deserving case, the refusal was not from Mr. Gurney. If, after long and beseeching entreaty, you have received a donation grudgingly, it was not from Mr. Gurney. There were sometimes cases when he might have excused himself, by pleading the amount he had already given to similar objects, or the claims and the peculiarities of his own religious denomination; but, though he would not give against the convictions of his conscience, yet his giving was evidently limited only by those convictions, and by the range of his own means. “I only wish to keep my head fairly above water,” was the remark which he made to a friend, who had received a donation from him for a religious purpose, just after he had been giving some large sums of money; and when an effort was being made, some time ago, to induce persons to become collectors for a charitable institution in this city, to which he had given liberally, he said, “It sometimes requires more self-denial to ask for contributions than it does to give them, and the most liberal people are often those who beg, not those who give.” You know how he remembered the poor; and I shall never forget the gratification which he expressed when the District Visiting Society was established, because, as he then said, he had the means of sending money to the poor, in a way that would secure its proper distribution. I have said that he gave religiously. He regarded his possessions as a sacred trust, committed to him by his divine Master, for the supply of the wants of others as well as of his own; and he felt his responsibility as a steward who would soon be called to give an account of himself unto God. What he gave, therefore, was given unto the Lord; and many a cup of water has he given to his disciples, because they belonged to Christ. How many lessons of wisdom and religion, relative to the principle and mode of giving, may thus be learned from the example of our departed brother, who never saw an object of necessity or distress and then “passed by on the other side,” but whose oil, and wine, and purse, were always ready for the necessities of his neighbour.
He served his own generation by personal efforts. His gifts were not merely pecuniary. It was his own maxim, that a man may give much money, and yet exercise very little of benevolence or of self-denial. He gave what, to a man in his circumstances, was often more valuable than gold—he gave time, and personal attention, and laborious effort, to assist in the working of many of the public institutions with which he was connected; and till circumstances rendered it needful that he should in some measure withdraw his personal attendance, he was one of our most punctual and regular committee men; and sometimes undertook service which others preferred to decline. Many of our public institutions are really conducted by comparatively few individuals; and it will be a great advantage to the societies themselves, and to the public at large, when we have a greater number of men who, like Joseph John Gurney, will be seen in our committee rooms, and on our platforms, giving their presence and influence, as well as their silver and gold.
I need not say that, among his personal efforts, he served his own generation by his writings. In the many volumes which he has published, there are of course the expression and the advocacy of his peculiar opinions as a Dissenter, and as a Friend; but his writings are characterized, not by these peculiarities, but by what is common to the church of God. They are full of the truth as it is in Jesus. Some of them are eminently critical, argumentative, and learned; all of them are eminently excellent in their sentiments and influence; containing no words which, “when dying, he need wish to blot,” but only such as were serviceable to the interests of sobriety, righteousness, and godliness.
But he also served his own generation by seizing present opportunities of usefulness, and by acting in accordance with the requirements of the times. He was greatly impressed with the importance of thus acting; and during the eventful period in which he lived, he had many opportunities of manifesting it. When such opportunities presented themselves, he never lingered till they were lost, but whatsoever his hand found to do, he did it with all his might. He was a servant, who not only “knew his Lord’s will,” but also “prepared himself.” He was one of those “who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” When therefore he was appealed to by the cause of Education, of Prison Discipline, of Slave Emancipation, of the Bible Society, of the Poor, or by any department of service which occurred to him as a Christian minister, he promptly responded to the call; and by his persevering labours, imparted strength and courage to his coadjutors. In such cases he sometimes manifested a degree of tact and holy wisdom, which showed how heartily he was devoted to his object. This appears very much in his writings; and in some of his letters, inserted in the unpublished life of the late Lord Suffield; and the anxious desire which he felt that his Lordship’s mind might be brought under the influence of religion, as the only right principle of action, and as the only spring of joy, is truly beautiful and affecting. For instance, when referring to the subject of Prison Discipline, he says, “I truly rejoice in thy thus being enabled to employ thy time, talents, and influence, in the cause of humanity; and may I not say, Christianity? Most heartily do I wish thee well on thy way, and may the preserving power of the Lord be with thee, to protect, bless, and sanctify all thy proceedings, and thy whole self, in body, soul, and spirit.” In another letter he says, “So much for politics; with regard to my last subject—religion—I was a little afraid lest thy silence might indicate dissent, and I am truly rejoiced to find it otherwise. To salute thee as a brother, in ‘him who died for us and rose again,’ is a pleasure indeed! I cannot consent to keep silence on this subject, though I feel with thee how much it requires all our reverence; but I remember what a certain prophet said, ‘they that feared the Lord spake often one to another.’ I am however quite aware that there are right times and seasons; that the temple must not be polluted by unhallowed feet; and that our feet are too apt to be unhallowed, unless they are first ‘shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.’” “I cannot express,” says he in another place, “what I think of the value of those religious convictions which are hinted at in thy letter. I consider them to be beyond all price, because the work, not of man, but of God. I should conceive that it must have been through much mental conflict that thou hast come at them, for I have long found occasion to believe that we must be made in some measure partakers of the sufferings of Christ, before we can enjoy the privileges of true religion. ‘Are ye willing to drink of the cup that I drink of?’ ‘After what is past, it is impossible not to feel a warm personal interest in thee.’ ‘Such a heart and mind are talents to be employed in thy Master’s service.’” Can you conceive of any thing more spiritually beautiful than these extracts are? And who can hear them without thanking God on the writer’s behalf?