Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

66

3RD REASON. He that oppresseth the poor acts as if God who made them had no regard for the work of his own hand."-1 Sam. ii. 7.

4TH REASON.-God hath an especial regard for the poor, "whom he has chosen on the earth;" and to oppress God's chosen ones is to insult God's choice.

5TH REASON. To oppress the poor is cowardly as well as cruel; and cowards have their lot in the lake of fire, where only the enemies of God are congregated. -Rev. xxi. 8.

6TH REASON. To oppress a man because he is poor, is to exalt Mammon above God; to make wealth the standard of merit, and the honours of the present world the "golden calf which men ought to worship."

SIMILES.

HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS.

QUOTATIONS.-Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker.-Prov. xvii. 5.

Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.-Matt. xxv. 34-45.

Saul! Saul! why persecutest thou Me?-Acts, ix. 4. Go-to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you: behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.-James, v. 1–4.

Make not an hungry soul sorrowful, neither provoke a man in his distress: . . . for if he curse thee in the bitterness of his soul, his prayer shall be heard of Him that made him.-Eccles. iv. 2-6.

The cries of orphans and the oppressor's rage
Doth reach the stars.-Dryden.

CONCLUSION

THEME XCIII. A fault confessed is half redressed.

INTRODUCTION.

1ST REASON.-Because the mind has become conscious of its delinquency.

2ND REASON.-The heart is sorry for having committed it.

3RD REASON.-A man's pride must have been broken down, before he will stoop to acknowledge his error.

4TH REASON.-Confession is one mark of repentance, and repentance is the beginning of amendment.

5TH REASON.-If the heart is so grieved and broken as to confess its faults, it will wish to avoid them in future; and those who desire to avoid error, make error "flee from them."

6TH REASON.-He who confesses his error makes an atonement for it, and is willing, if needful, to give further redress.

SIMILES.

HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS.

QUOTATIONS. He that confesseth his fault shall be preserved from hurt.-Eccles. xx. 2.

If a man acknowledge not his sin, he maketh a double offence.-Eccles. xxiii. 11.

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, "I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord," and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.-Ps. xxxii. 5.

If we confess our sins (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.-1 John, i. 9.

He that covereth his sin shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.—Prov. xxviii. 13.

He who by repentance is not satisfied,

Is not of heaven nor earth.-Shakspeare.

He who confesses his fault resolves to amend, and he who resolves to amend has God on his side.-Maunder. A fault denied is twice committed.—Maunder's proverbs.

Alitur vitium, crescitque tegendo.- Virgil.

CONCLUSION.

THEME XCIV. Charity hopeth all things, and is

INTRODUCTION.

kind.

1ST REASON.-Because it is "not puffed up," and has no desire to aggrandise itself by another's fall.

2ND REASON.-Charity is love to God, "And he that loveth God will love his neighbour also.”

3RD REASON. It is free from envy or malignity; and, therefore, "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour.”—Rom. xiii. 10.

4TH REASON.-It always looks at every action in the best light, and puts the best construction on every motive.

5TH REASON.-Charity knows the "riches of God's grace," and feels that none are too bad to repent, and none too vile to become "chosen vessels of honour."

6TH REASON. The heart where Christian charity abides, feels that though it has become "a bright and burning light," it is only "a brand plucked from the burning" and is, therefore, modest, merciful, humble, and "not easily provoked."

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

QUOTATIONS.-Love covereth all sins.—Prov. x. 12. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour.-Rom. xiii. 10. Charity shall cover the multitude of sins.-1 Pet. iv. 8.

Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity, but . . . beareth all things... hopeth all things, endureth all things.-1 Cor. xiii. 6, 7.

Pure in her aim, and in her temper mild,

Her wisdom seems the weakness of a child:
She makes excuses where she might condemn,
Reviled by those that hate her, prays for them;
Suspicion lurks not in her artless breast,
The worst suggested, she believes the best;
Not soon provoked, however stung and teased,
And, if perhaps made angry, soon appeased;
She rather waives than will dispute her right;
And, injured, makes forgiveness her delight.

Couper. Charity is the scope of all God's commands.-St. Chrysostom.

Be you to others kind and truc,
As you'd have others be to you ;
And neither do nor say to men
Whate'er you would not take again.

This, of all virtues and dignities of the mind, is the greatest, being the character of the Deity; and without it man is a busy, mischievous, wretched thing, no better than a kind of vermin.-Lord Bacon.

The desire of power in excess, caused the angels to fall; the desire of knowledge in excess, caused man to fall; but in charity there is no excess; neither angel nor man can come in danger of it.-Lord Bacon.

St. Austin says, that charity is the most comprehensive of all virtue; for charity suffers long, and then it is meekness; it is kind, and then it is courtesy; it envies not, and then it is peaceableness; it vaunteth not itself, and so it is modesty; it is not puffed up, and does not

behave itself unseemly, and then it is decency; it seeketh not her own, and is therefore public-spirited; beareth all things, and so is Christian fortitude; believeth all things, and so is Christian faith; hopeth all things, and so it is assurance; endureth all things, and becomes thus true magnanimity; and as it never fails, it is perseverance. In a word, it is all philosophy, all ethics, and all wisdom. Ut quisque est vir optimus, ita difficillime esse alios improbos suspicatur.-Cicero.

Quo nihil majus meliusve terris

Fata donavere, bonique divi;

Nec dabunt, quamvis redeant in aurum
Tempora priscum.-Horace.

CONCLUSION.

THEME XCV. Necessity has no Law.

INTRODUCTION.

1ST REASON.-Because no legislator would be so foolish as to subject necessary actions to penal enactments.

2ND REASON. Even if a law were made, yet necessity would be a superior law; and an inferior statute is abrogated by a superior.

3RD REASON." An act which I am compelled to do is not my act;"* but law professes to punish a criminal only for his own acts and deeds.

4TH REASON. "The law is the dictate of reason;"† and where it militates against reason is null and void.

5TH REASON."The mind, not the act, makes a man guilty," and, therefore, when a man acts from necessity he is not guilty, even if he violates an established law.

* Actus me invito factus, non est meus actus.

+ Lex est dictamen rationis.

Actus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea.

« ZurückWeiter »