MDCCCXC.

Printed by Hazell, Watson, & Viney, Ld., London and Aylesbury.

ADVERTISEMENT.

MY share in this book has been the writing of the brief introductory Memoir, with the exception of the pages relating to Regent Square and Willesden. These have been contributed by Mr. A. N. Macnicoll, who has also given me the benefit of his advice throughout. I have also to acknowledge the kindness of Principal Dykes, who has read the proofs, and of the friends who have, amid pressing engagements, enriched the volume with their reminiscences. The many correspondents who sent help of various kinds are warmly thanked. There was abundant material for a larger biography, and some of it will be utilised in another way. But it was thought desirable that the memorial volume should be issued at a moderate price, and that it should, so far as possible, consist of Professor Elmslie's own work.

W. R. N.

For the selections from Dr. Elmslie's sermons which are contained in this volume I am entirely responsible. These sermons were seldom fully written out, and some of them required considerable amplification. In every case the thought of the writer has been rigidly preserved, and the wording has been left, as far as possible, untouched. In cases where I have had the benefit of short-hand reports I have, with the slightest alteration, printed the sermons as they were delivered. Two "Sunday Readings" are reprinted from Good Words, and an article on Genesis from the Contemporary Review.

A. N. M.

CONTENTS.

PAGE
MEMOIR[1]

SERMONS
I.
CHRIST AT THE DOOR[81]
"Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me."—Rev. iii. 20.
II.
THE DARK ENIGMA OF DEATH[92]
St. John xi.
III.
THE STORY OF DORCAS[108]
Acts ix. 36-43.
IV.
UNFULFILLED CHRISTIAN WORK[118]
"And unto the angel of the Church in Sardis write; These things saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. Be watchful and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die: for I have not found thy works perfect before God."—Rev. iii. 1, 2.
Reading the last clause a little more literally will more fully bring out the meaning: "For I have found no works of thine fulfilled before my God."—R.V.
V.
A LESSON IN CHRISTIAN HELP[133]
"Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the [en]feeble[d] knees; and make straight [smooth] paths for [with] your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed [or, in order that that which is lame may not be caused to go astray, but may rather be healed]."—Heb. xii. 12, 13.
VI.
JOSEPH'S FAITH[149]
(Preached on Sunday Evening, October 20th, 1889, in
St. John's Wood Presbyterian Church.)
"By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones."—Heb. xi. 22.
VII.
THE BRAZEN SERPENT[162]
"He [Hezekiah] removed the high places, and brake the images, and cut down the groves, and brake in pieces the brasen serpent that Moses had made: for unto those days the children of Israel did burn incense to it: and he called it Nehushtan."—2 Kings xviii. 4.
VIII.
THE GRADATIONS OF DOUBT[175]
Psalm lxxiii.
IX.
THE STORY OF QUEEN ESTHER[192]
(Preached in Balham Congregational Church, on Sunday
Evening, August 11th, 1889.)
Esther iv. 13-17.
X.
THE EXAMPLE OF THE PROPHETS[205]
"Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example."—James v. 10.
XI.
THE MAKING OF A PROPHET[220]
(Preached at Nottingham, before the Congregational
Union of England and Wales, on Monday Evening,
October 8th, 1888.)
"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train overspreading the temple floor. Seraphs were poised above, each with six wings, with twain veiling his face, with twain veiling his feet, and with twain hovering. And those on one side sang in responsive chorus with those on the other side, saying, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The fulness of the whole earth is His glory.' And the foundations of the threshold trembled at the sound of that singing, and the house was filled with incense smoke. Then cried I, 'Woe is me! for I am a dead man; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.' Then flew one of the seraphs unto me, having in his hand a burning ember, which with a tongs he had taken from off the incense altar; and he touched my mouth with it, and said, 'Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.' Thereupon I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then I cried, 'See me; send me.'"—Isaiah vi. 1-8 (annotated).
XII.
FOR AND AGAINST CHRIST[230]
"He that is not with Me is against Me: and he that gathereth not with Me scattereth."—Luke xi. 23.
"He that is not against us is on our part."—Mark ix. 40.
XIII.
THE PROPHECY OF NATURE[240]
"When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which Thou hast ordained; what is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet."—Psalm viii. 3-6.
"But now we see not yet all things put under Him."—Heb. ii. 8.
XIV.
CHRISTIAN GIVING[248]
(Preached in Willesden Presbyterian Church, September 24th, 1882.)
"O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord."—1 Cor. xv. 55-8.
"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem."—1 Cor. xvi. 1-3.
XV.
OUR LORD'S TREATMENT OF ERRING FRIENDS[267]
Sunday Readings.
I.Read Ps. cxxxviii., and John xiii. 1-17.
The Self-asserting.—John xiii. 4, 5.
II.Read Job xvi., and Matt. xxvi. 31-46.
The Unsympathetic.—John xiii. 1-3.
III.Read 2 Sam. xxiv., and John xxi. 15-23. The Wilful.—John xiii. 6-10.
IV.Read 1 Sam. xxiv., and Luke xxii. 47-62.
The Faithless.—John xiii. 11.
V.Read Isa. xl., and 1 Cor. xiii.
The Secret of Magnanimity.—John xiii. 12-17.
XVI.
A HYMN OF HEART'S EASE[284]
Sunday Readings.
"Lord, my heart is not haughty,
Nor mine eyes lofty:
Neither do I exercise myself in great matters,
Or in things too high for me.
Surely I have behaved
And quieted myself;
As a child that is weaned of its mother,
My soul is even as a weaned child.
Let Israel hope in the Lord
From henceforth and for ever."—Ps. cxxxi.
I.Read Job xxvi., and 1 Cor. xiii.
The Source of Unrest.
"Things too high for me."
II.Read Ps. xxxvii., and Matt. xi.
The Secret of Rest.
"Lord my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty."
III.Read Ps. lxxiii. and Heb. xii.
Calm after Storm.
"Surely I have behaved and quieted myself."
IV.Read Ps. xlvii. and Phil. ii.
Victory by Surrender.
"As a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child."
V.Read Gen. xxxii. and Rev. vii.
The Recompense of Faith.
"Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and for ever."
XVII.
THE FIRST CHAPTER OF GENESIS[302]