So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? and will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and SERMON VII. Page 147. WHO ARE CHRIST'S. ROMANS viii. 9. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he SERMON I. THE BLESSEDNESS OF THE PEACE OF GOD. An Ordination Sermon, preached at Christ Church, Trinity Sunday, 1835. JOHN Xvi. 33. These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace: in the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. IN the argument for natural religion, the opposite tendencies of virtue and vice have been advanced to prove that there is a moral government carried on in the world: that men are rewarded or punished, if not in exact proportion, yet at least in accordance with their works. Among other ways in which these ten B dencies have been illustrated, the inward satisfaction has been noticed, which follows upon perseverance in well doing; and it has been argued, that the Author of nature must be "a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him"," because he has annexed satisfaction and delight to conduct in harmony with his moral law. This union of happiness with obedience is more directly made known in the page of Revelation, which in this respect evinces its adaptation to our moral nature; for we are sensible that we pursue with energy the line of conduct in which we feel delight and that the taste for spiritual things overpowers, and at length destroys, the attractions of the world. Had obedience to the will of God been rested SOLELY on the basis of duty, had no assurance been given of " joy and peace in believing," perhaps human nature would have failed to attain even its present measure of holiness. But in the work of sanctification the Gospel does not discard the instrumentality of our hopes and desires. If it calls upon us a Heb. xi. 6. to suffer, it speaks of satisfactions which shall more than compensate; if it would subdue the flesh to the Spirit, it promises in return joys far surpassing the pleasures of sense. "These things have I spoken. unto you, that in me ye might have peace : in the world ye shall have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." There is then a spiritual happiness to be looked for in spite of outward circumstances, even in this world; the reward of faithful obedience: to which in turn it gives increased strength, and a wider sphere of action. This it is by which the Holy Spirit enables men to bear their cross and follow Christ; which cheered the martyrs of old " in their great fight of afflictions;" which at the present hour smooths the bed of sickness, and supports the drooping heart under bereavement and solitude. This fruit and gift of the Spirit of God also explains the contrast, with which St. Paul concludes his touching description of the conduct and demeanour of the Christian minister; "sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; poor, but making many rich; as |