SERMONS. SERMON I. True Dignity of Man. "Show thyself a man."— 1 Kings ii. 2. THESE words were spoken under circumstances the most solemn and interesting in which man can ever be placed. They form a part of the last dying advice of a fond father to a tender and beloved son. We are informed, in the context, that "the days of king David drew nigh, that he should die." His career of regal splendor, of honor and glory, was about to close. He had been borne on by prosperity, and had contended with adversity. He had met with sunshine and storms. He had conquered with his sling and smooth stone, when in contest with the mighty Philistine, and had won the most splendid victories upon the field of battle. He had sat upon a throne of power, and had swayed the sceptre of a great and prosperous nation. But now his days were numbered, and the sun of his existence was about to go down, a man." amid the darkness of death. His mantle was to fall upon his son. The kingdom was to be placed in the hands of Solomon. He was to rule over Israel and by him schemes were to be effected, and plans accomplished, which, for magnitude and importance, had never yet been thought of. And, knowing the weighty trust which was to be committed to his charge, and the responsibilities which would rest upon him, David could not but feel a deep and abiding interest in the welfare and success of his son. He therefore calls Solomon to his dying bed, and, with the fond affection of a father, commences thus: "I go the way of all the earth; be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself To be impressed with the deep importance of this command, we must picture to our imagination a scene like that which gave occasion for the utterance of the text. A venerable father is about to recline upon the pillow of death. The ties that have bound him to earth are about to be sundered forever. He has a beloved son, into whose hands he is to commit the mighty destinies of that powerful nation, over which he himself had been governor and king. He calls that son to his dying bed, and gives him his charge, as the last precious legacy of an affectionate father. "My son, I am about to die I must soon bid farewell to all that I hold dear upon the shores of time. The fluctuating scenes of this mortal existence, I am about to leave for a world where change can never Soon these faltering limbs will be motion come. less, these eyes will be closed, and this voice silent; and soon will it be said, Thy father sleeps in death. To you, my son, I resign my trust-to you I commit the government of this people, and upon you duties will devolve, a faithful performance of which will reflect honor upon you, and confer blessings upon thousands. Be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself a man." These, then, are the circumstances under which our text was spoken ; making it a part of the dying advice of an affectionate father. The inquiry now presents itself, What did David mean to be understood by the command, "Show thyself a man?” I may remark, as I pass along, that it is not always age that makes the man. You often find those in young life, who manifest more dignity of character more stability of purpose, and more real worth, than many men of forty. You often see men advanced in life, surrounded with families, and making high pretensions, who manifest more fickleness of mind and of character, than the frolicsome youth of the school-room. They are self-conceited, and will talk about their independence of mind, when they are the veriest slaves of popularity. They have a peculiar faculty of talking when they have nothing to say and of using large words and expressions. They are like a barrel, the less it has in it, the more noise it makes in letting it off. Such men, however old in years, they may be but "children of a larger growth." It is not always age, then, that makes the man. Were this the case, Solomon could not have obeyed the exhortation in the text; for he was yet quite young, when the command was given him, "Show thyself a man." How then did David mean to be understood? I answer, in exhorting Solomon to show himself a man, he evidently desired that he should exhibit that firmness, independence and faithfulness, becoming a man of wisdom and experience. He meant that Solomon in all things should have an eye single to the glory of God, and the promotion of human happiness. This is evident from what follows the text. He exhorts Solomon to "keep the charge of the Lord his God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes and his judgments, his commandments and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself." We see, then, that cne thing which Solomon was to do, in order to show himself a man, was to manifest a firm devotion to virtue and to God. And this is a most reasonable requisition. What is man? I mean in his native loveliness, as he sprung from the plastic hand of his Creator. Ere he had become polluted and enervated by vice before his moral faculties had become debased or even he had strayed from that narrow path which Heaven had marked out for him to follow; when the angel of innocence was his companion, and his soul was unstained by the dark waters of sin; what, then, was man? In the garden of Eden among the flowers of paradise, he first walked. There he stood in the majesty of a thinking, rational being, endowed with the most lofty and ennobling powers-possessing faculties the most holy and divine! What, then, was man? You all know. He was the image of God. It was then that he stood forth in the likeness and purity of his Maker; it was then that those principles of his nature were developed which assimilate him to God. What, then, was first necessary on the part of Solomon in order for him to show himself a man a rational, immortal being a creature of the most exalted capacities the image of God? Why, plainly this, that the powers of his soul, all the moral principles of his nature should be exercised in accordance with the will of that God whose image he was. And this is necessary It is the beauty and dignity of virtue alone that will make man, what man should be. It is this that will govern his passions that will control his appetite that will chasten and elevate his affections that will form him for happiness and heaven, and that will throw a lustre upon his character which will fade not through eternity. The truth is, man was formed for virtue. This is his element, the only atmosphere in which he can live and be happy, and the sphere in which Heaven designed he should move. I know it has long been thought that man is totally depraved, that he is incapable of thinking one good thought, now. |