be no moral life where there is no religion. Both vegetable and animal life are absolutely dependent upon water. The reeds by the flowing river, the algae in the sea, the snow-plant whose home is among the tiny crystals of the snowflake, the grey lichen on the rock whose brow is often beaten by tempest and scorched by the heat of the sun, as well as the clover in the meadow, the violet in the shade, and the oak and cedar in the forest-in fact all-live by water. The influence of this discovery on a heathen mind was strange. Thales, the sage of Miletus, found water in the sea which washed the skirts of Greece giving life to fish, porifers, and corals. He found water on the Parnassus, supplying the rustic poet with the inspiration of his song. Life and beauty followed in the track of water, and death and desolation reigned where water was not found. The Grecian sage was so surprised with this discovery that he came to the conclusion that water was God-was the origin of all things-ʼn ȧpxǹ. But apart from the influence of water as solvent of the inorganic food of plants, and the organic nutriment of animals, and as the general conveyer of all building material to the living frame, the discoveries of the last few years have shown that water as an obstacle to terrestrial radiation saves our world daily from universal death. Warm objects cool sooner in dry than in damp air, because the heat rays are reflected back to the object by every drop of floating vapour in the latter. If all the moisture in the atmosphere were precipitated at the moment of sunset, the air, being free from vapour, would allow the heat absorbed by the earth during the day to fly off to space, and, before sunrise, the whole hemisphere would become so cold as to be fatal to every form of life. The sun, which set upon a world of life and beauty, would rise upon one mighty grave. The idea of the illustration then is this,-that in every way, true life of soul depends upon those powers which reach the human heart from the life and death of Jesus. 2. As there can be no physical cleanliness without water, so there can be no moral purity apart from Christ. Notice II. THE BLESSINGS OF THE GOSPEL IN THEIR CONDITION of profit. "Whosoever drinketh of the Water." God's mercy is for all, and for all on condition, and for all on the same condition-personal appropriation, "Drinketh." Notice III. THE BLESSINGS OF THE GOSPEL IN THE MEDIUM OF THEIR COMMUNICATION. "That I shall give him." Bearing in mind the simile used by our Lord to represent spiritual energies, we naturally inquire-who or what gives us water? remembering that, that which is, to us, the cause of water, is a type of Christ, the cause of spiritual life. We are indebted to the sun for all water-all water fit for use. VOL. XX. N The sun lifts up the water from the sea in the form of vapour, and, by its unequal heat on different sections and divisions of the air, causes the vapour to descend in the form of rain and dew. All our rills and rivulets, lakes and rivers, owe their origin to this. The sun takes the impure compound of the sea, and, having passed it through its own laboratory in high heaven—the air—it gives it pure, and beautiful, and fit for use in the form of rain, &c. Our Lord is such to all the powers of the spirit's life. All its energies come from Him, and He can take all kinds of powers, and by passing them beneath his magic touch, make "all things work together for our good;" make all things help our salvation. Notice IV. THE BLESSINGS OF THE GOSPEL IN THEIR PRACTICAL INFLUENCE, "Shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." The leading idea of the figure is, that the man whose soul is full of sympathies with Christ, becomes a conductor of spiritual influence, and a generator of such vital energies in some form. As the mountain is to water, so is a heart full of Christian sympathies to spiritual energies. The water, in dew and rain, falls upon the mountain. Its flocks, forests, and other living beings, are refreshed. The land is made more fertile. The heath-flower is painted with greater delicacy of beauty. The wings of butterflies, and the elytra of beetles, shine more brightly in the sunlight; the lambs skip with lighter feet, and the shepherd gives more spirit to his homely song. But this is not all. The hill absorbs the excess of moisture, the water percolates through the rock to inner caverns; and when the clouds give no rain; when the grass is tree of dew; when the heat is great, and the land is thirsty, then that glorious mountain pours forth, through its wounded side, in a stream like flowing silver the clear cool water it has treasured up from days of yore, to satisfy the wants of thirsty comers. Such is every child of God represented by our Lord in the text. He receives, and is blessed; he receives, and blesses others. If a man, whose soul is full of Christian energies-not dogmas, forms, or creeds-but is full of the loving, holy, living sympathies of Jesus, comes to your home or neighbourhood, his refreshing and life-giving power must be felt; for as the water becomes a well in the mountain, and flows out as the life of many, so do Christian energies become a well in the nature of their possessor; and its constant flow tends to the production of that state of repose in God which our Saviour mentions as everlasting life. Is religion within us such a life-giving energy? EVAN LEWIS, B.A., F.R.G.S., F.E.S. Seeds of Sermons on the Book of (No. LXXXII.) RETRIBUTIONS Proverbs. OF THE LIP AND LIFE. "A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth; and the recompense of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him."-Prov. xii. 14. It I. THE RETRIBUTIONS OF THE LIP. "A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth." The man here must of course be supposed to be a good man for he speaks good. Speech, to be good must be (1) Sincere. It must correspond exactly with what is in the mind, all other speech is hollow and hypocritical. It must be (2) Truthful. must correspond with the facts or realities to which it refers. Speech may be sincere and yet not truthful; it may correspond with what is in the mind, but what is in the mind may not correspond with the facts. It must be (3) Benevolent. It must be used for the purpose of usefulness, not to injure, delude, or pain. Now the speech of such a man will satisfy him with "good." If any man offend, not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body. (James iii. 13.) How will such speech satisfy a man? First: In its action upon his own mind. There is a pleasure in the act of speaking a true thing, and there is a higher pleasure in the reflection of having done so. "Speech is the light, the morning of the mind; It spreads the beauteous images abroad Which else lie furled and shrouded in the soul." DRYDEN. Secondly: In the effect he sees produced upon others. He will see in the circle in which he moves, intelligence, goodness, spring up around as he speaks. Thirdly: In the conscious approbation of God. "They that feared the Lord spake often one to another and the Lord hearkened, and heard it: and a book of remembrance was written for them," &c. (Malachi iii. 16, 17.) II. THE RETRIBUTIONS OF THE LIFE. "And the recompense of the man's hand shall be rendered unto him." The hand here stands for the whole conduct of life. It means that man should receive the rewards of his works. And this is inevitable. First: From the law of causation. We are to-day the result of our conduct yesterday, and the cause of our conduct to-morrow, and thus ever must we reap the work of our hands. Secondly: From the law of conscience. The past works of our hands are not lost; memory brings them up to the conscience. And the conscience stings or smiles according to their character. Thirdly: From the law of righteousness. There is justice in the universe; and justice will ever punish the wicked and reward the good. "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he reap. (No. LXXXIII.) THE OPINIATED AND THE DOCILE. "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise."-Prov. xii. 15. I. THE OPINIATED. He is a "fool," and his way is always "right in his own eyes." He has such a high estimate of himself that he ignores the opinions of others, adopts his own notions, as the infallible criterion and rule. Such a man, Solomon says, is a "fool." Why? First: Because he deprives himself of the advantages of other men's intelligence. It is the law of Providence that men should learn by the intelligence which others have reached by observation, study, and experience. The past should be regarded as the schoolmaster of the present. But the conceited man shuts out all this light. He is too clever to learn. He is so inflated with his own opinions, that he cannot admit the opinions of others. Secondly: Because he exposes himself to the scorn of society. Vanity or conceit is the most contemptible of attributes, all men despising them in others. A vain man is a social offence. II. THE DOCILE. "He that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise." First: Because he enriches his mental resources. His ear is ever open to the voice of intelligence, and that voice drops priceless sentences of truth every hour. He consults books, men, and nature, and "he increaseth knowledge.' Secondly: Because he increases his power of influence. Knowledge is power. The more intelligence a man has, the wider and higher his dominion over others; and "the man that hearkeneth unto the counsel of the wise" is constantly adding to his stock of knowledge. Thirdly: Because he increases his securities of safety. "In the multitude of counsellors there is safety." Young men avoid as you would avoid a fiend the spirit and the manners of opiniators. "There are a sort of men whose visages Do cream and mantle, like a standing pond; And do a wilful stillness entertain, As who should say, I am Sir Oracle, And, when I ope my lips, let no dog bark! . I do know of these, That therefore only are reputed wise For saying nothing." SHAKESPEARE. (No. LXXXIV.) SPEECH. "A fool's wrath is presently known: but a prudent man covereth shame. He that speaketh truth sheweth forth righteousness: but a false witness deceit. There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health. The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment. Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil; but to the counsellors of peace is joy. There shall no evil happen to the just: but the wicked shall be filled with mischief. Lying lips are abomination to the Lord: but they that deal truly are his delight. A prudent man concealeth knowledge; but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness."- Prov. xii. 16 -23. Speech is again the subject of these verses. Thomas Carlyle has said many strong and striking things about speech and silence. But his finest utterance on the subject will scarcely bear comparison in pith, point, and profundity with those of Solomon. In these verses he draws a contrast between different kinds of speech. I. HERE ARE THE RASH AND THE PRUDENT. "The fool's wrath is presently known." Anger fires the man's soul, thoughts are forged in flame, and he speaks them out at once. His wrath is presently known. "A fool uttereth all his mind." Such rash speech as this is very foolish, because (1) Anger is scarcely worthy of speech. (2) Anger in rash speech may accomplish immense mischief. In contrast with this is the prudent man, "who covereth shame." An angry passion may blaze up in his nature, but he covereth it; II. HERE IS THE TRUE THE FALSE. "He that speaketh truth, showeth forth righteousness. What is it to speak "truth?" Not merely to speak our conceptions of truth, for our conceptions may be false. But to speak those conceptions of truth that agree with the nature of things. Speaking such conceptions is a manifestation of righteThe words are radia ousness. tions of right. "But a false witness deceit." The man who speaks falsehood, instead of showing forth righteousness, shows forth the dishonest "deceit." He cheats with his tongue. III. HERE IS THE WOUNDING AND THE HEALING. "There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword." There is a spiteful, malignant speech, that acts as a javelin, or a sword-it "pierces' -it is designed to wound-and it does wound. There are those in society, whose "teeth are spears and arrows, and whose tongues are sharp swords." (Ps. lxii. 4.) The Psalmist was frequently wounded by such speech. "As with a sword in my bones mine enemies reproach me." (Ps. xxxii. 10.) How many there are who cannot speak a kind word: "the poison of asps is under their lips." In contrast with this is the healing tongue. "The tongue of the wise is health." There is a speech that is calming, succouring, strengthening-a tonic to the heart. IV. HERE IS THE PERMANENT AND THE TRANSIENT. "The lip of truth shall be established for ever." Truth is an imperishable thing. He that speaks it drops that into the world that will outlive all human institutions, and grow through the ages. It is the incorruptible seed, "that liveth and abideth for ever." In contrast with this is the transient: a lying tongue "is but for a moment." Falsehood cannot live long, the laws of the universe are against it. It is a bubble that floats on the stream, but breaks with one puff of air, and is lost in the great current of being. V. HERE IS THE MISCHIEVOUS AND THE PACIFIC. "Deceit is in the heart of them that imagine evil, but to the counsellors of peace is joy. There shall no evil happen to the just, but the wicked shall be filled with mischief." There is a speech that is mischievous; it comes from the heart of him who is unrighteous, and who imagines evil. It disturbs social peace, it generates strife, it creates wars. In contrast with this is the pacific to the counsellors of peace is joy. "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God." 66 VI. HERE IS THE CONDEMNED AND THE APPROVED. The false are condemned. Lying lips are an abomination unto the Lord." God is a God of truth, and falsehood is an abomination unto Him. On the other hand, they that deal truly are "his delight.' A man of truth is a man of God. VII. HERE IS THE RECKLESS AND THE THOUGHTFUL. "A pru dent man concealeth knowledge; but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness." The language does not mean that a prudent man never speaks out his knowledge, but that he is not hasty in speech. He reflects and deliberates; whereas the fool speaks out everything at once that comes into his mind; all the absurd and filthy things of his heart. "The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright, but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness." (Prov. xv. 2.) We are told that the prudent man should keep silence. "Let us be silent," says Emerson, "that we may hear the whisper of the gods." |