Two Sermons Preached in the Parish Church of Nonington, Kent, January 17, 1864 - being the Sunday following the Funeral of John Pemberton Plumptre, Esq.

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Title: Two Sermons Preached in the Parish Church of Nonington, Kent, January 17, 1864 - being the Sunday following the Funeral of John Pemberton Plumptre, Esq.
Author: Hoare, Edward N.
Language: English
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CHURCH OF NONINGTON, KENT, JANUARY 17, 1864***

Transcribed from the [1864] edition by David Price, email
ccx074@pglaf.org

TWO SERMONS
PREACHED IN THE
PARISH CHURCH OF NONINGTON, KENT,

JANUARY 17, 1864,

Being the Sunday following the Funeral of

JOHN PEMBERTON PLUMPTRE, ESQ.,
_OF FREDVILLE, IN THE SAME PARISH_.

* * * * *

BY THE
REV. HERBERT JAMES,
_Perpetual Curate of Goodnestone_, _Kent_,

AND THE

REV. EDWARD HOARE,
_Incumbent of Trinity Church_, _Tunbridge Wells_.

* * * * *

DOVER: BATCHELLER.
LONDON: NISBET, BERNERS STREET.

* * * * *

SERMON,
BY THE REV. HERBERT JAMES.

“Remember them which have the rule over you (are the guides), who
have spoken unto you the Word of God: whose faith follow, considering
the end of their conversation.”—Heb. xiii. 7.

God’s gifts to His Church are manifold. He has given Christ and eternal
life in Him. He has given the Word of Christ, the precious casket which
enshrines Him and His salvation. He has given the Holy Ghost to lead us
by the Word Inspired to the Word Incarnate. And He has given Christians
indeed—men and women saved by Christ—living embodiments of a living
Saviour and a living Word, through the living Spirit.

In all these gifts He has a special purpose in view. They are not thrown
at random into the world. God does nothing aimlessly.

When He called this world of ours into being, and gave it its proper
place in the universe as the habitation for man,—when He gathered up the
light into the light-bearers, and commanded them to be for signs, and for
seasons, for days, and years,—when He put the topstone to creation, and
set man upon the earth to be His representative,—in all this there was
nothing without design. “He hath made His wonderful works to be
remembered.”

And so, brethren, has He dealt in things of higher moment. When He gave
His Son, His Word, His Spirit, His people, there was a meaning in each of
these gifts. They are no accidents. His choosing is for our using. His
mercies are for our minding. His gifts are for our gain, as well as for
the glory of His own grace.

Now, this is specially true of that great, but often little-regarded,
gift—_a Christian indeed_. It is a mistake to suppose that such an one
is here merely to work out his own salvation, and heap up treasure for
himself in the world to come.

He is _not_ here _for himself_. As an unconverted man an end is to be
served by his being. As a converted man a far higher end is to be served
by his being in Christ. He is God’s workmanship, God’s appointment _for
others_;—a privilege for those amongst whom he is placed; a light to see
by; salt to be savoured by; a leader to be marked; a guide to be
followed.

The apostle recognises this truth in the scripture before us. He is
writing to a people whom he wishes to establish in the faith. For this
he plies them with motives, and suggests means. In so doing he comes to
set before them those who were their guides in the faith. He urges them
to follow their example whilst living, to treasure their memory when
dead. They would find this a mighty help towards standing fast.

Brethren, _we_ are called to a like duty this day. We are met together,
the poorer, most of us, by a friend; the richer, all of us, by a memory
and an example. We have had—we still have—a gift of God, in the person
of His sainted servant. We have had a real Christian to look upon and
live by.

Let us listen, then, to these words of earnest exhortation, and “remember
those who are the guides—following their faith, and considering the end
(the termination), of their conversation.” Will you not pray that God
the Holy Ghost may clothe His Word with new power, and enable me to speak
so as to glorify God—to quicken, to comfort, to edify souls?

I propose more especially to take up the latter half of the verse, and to
mark—

I. What God would have us _to follow_;

II. What God would have us to _consider_.

I. _What is it_, _then_, _which God would have us to follow_? The faith
of those who are “guides.”

This leads me to observe _one view which every Christian ought to take of
his position_. He is called to be a guide in the faith—by his life, if
not by his words.

Now, brethren, I am aware that this is held to be almost exclusively the
duty of ministers. The text is usually so applied. I have no wish to
shift off the responsibility from them. They, if any, ought to go before
the flock. Nor do I wish to put young Christians out of their proper
place.

But I do hold very strongly that this responsibility of ministers is
shared by all the servants of Christ. Whatever their position—whatever
their measure of grace or gifts, they are called of God to lead on others
in the faith, _in some measure_. One star may differ from another star
in glory, or degree of brightness. One member of the body may differ
from another in size and shape. But the least star has its place and
power, and the least member its work and fitness for that work (1 Cor.
xii. 21, 22). And so of each Christian. “As every man hath received the
gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the
manifold grace of God.” Your standing as a Christian may not be
advanced. Your measure of grace, to your own thinking, may be somewhat
scant—but your working and example _up to the extent of that grace_, are
necessary for the well-being of the whole body. To you, as well as to
others, is this word spoken “Ye are my witnesses,” and by you, as well as
by others, may comfort be afforded to some soul not yet gathered, some
sheep yet straying upon the dark mountains. None are too small in God’s
sight to be useful. None are so low down but they may help to lift up
others. Every atom has a shadow. Every Christian has an influence.
Believe me there is no such thing as an idle life—you are either a blight
or a blessing.

This, then, I say, is one view which every Christian ought to take of his
position. If he has faith, he has a faith to be followed. And this,
too, is the view which others are to take of every such Christian.
Wherever any such have realised their high calling, and risen to it,
there would God have us remember them, and follow, or imitate, their
faith.

But whilst I say this of all, it is emphatically true with respect to
those who, by the grace of God, were, _in faith_, what they were.

Need I say that, until very lately, we had one in our midst who _did_
take a right view of his position, and who has left a pattern of faith
which we should be only too glad to follow.

Looking at him as a Christian, I might justly use the words in which his
spiritual helper of former days (Bishop Wilson) described Mr. Cecil: “All
the finer materials which distinguished him as a man, were wrought up, if
I may so say, and sanctified by the Holy Ghost.” But as it was more
especially as a _man of faith_ that he stood out before the world, it is
in this character that I would ask you to look at him.

And, here let me say once for all, that in speaking of him to-day, I
desire to speak of him as _God’s handywork_.

I have no wish to exalt the creature. You know how he would have loathed
any approach to that. But I do wish, however faintly, to set forth what
God’s grace did for a poor, weak, sinful, erring man, of like passions
with us. To that grace he owed all, and to the honour of that grace
alone, I ascribe all his eminence as a guide in the faith.

_He believed through grace_. I am not aware of the exact time, or of the
exact circumstances of his conversion, but I have reason to believe that
for fifty years he had believed, and known Him in whom he believed.

The _ground_ and warrant of his faith was the sure Word of God.

The _object_ of it was _God in Christ_—a reconciling Father, a sufficient
Saviour, an ever-present Counsellor and Comforter. He received that
which was delivered to him—as it is also to us—that “Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures.” This all-perfect, all-satisfying
substitution and atonement of the Lord Jesus was from the first, and to
the last, the one foundation of his trust, the one source of his life and
strength. He felt this, and nothing less than this, to be necessary. He
found this, and this alone, to be sufficient. He realised it. He rested
on it. He rejoiced in it.

For among the more leading features of his faith, these two stand
out:—its _fixedness_, and its _joyousness_.

_It was a fixed faith_. Having received the Word of God, he dealt with
it as the Word of God. He submitted himself to its declarations with the
simplicity of a little child. Where it warned, he took heed. Where it
led, he followed. Where it promised, he took hold. And so having found
it written therein that “they who believe are justified,” he believed,
and was justified.

His faith grew into a full assurance, for assurance is but faith
intensified. As such it wrought wondrously. By it he became what he
was. It helped him to choose for God, and to be decided for the right.
It enabled him to confess Christ before man, and to be steadfast when
others were wavering. By this he overcame the world when it bid fair and
high for his service, and by this he attempted not a few things for God,
in a day when there were but few to stand by him. From this came his
calmness in the midst of trouble, and from this his confidence in the
hour of death. For thus he could say whilst passing into eternity:—“Were
it not for mercy I should be lost; but by the mercy of God in Christ _I
am saved_. Wonderful!” And again, “What _should_ I do without Christ.
Such a poor sinner! but complete and accepted in the Beloved! Such a
sure foundation. Such a great salvation!” “He will never leave me nor
forsake me.” “I am complete in Him!”

_It was a joyous faith_. He did not barely know and assent, and rely—he
_delighted_. Christ was the joy of his soul as well as the soul of his
joys. His heart ran over with gladness as he thought of the freeness and
sufficiency of the great Salvation. The grace that brought it—the power
that wrought it—the blood which bought him for it—and the love which
taught him how to use it—were the subjects of his unceasing thankfulness
and praise.

The result of all this was a very sunny Christianity. He was not without
his trials—what Christian is? But, with all, he seemed to have real
enjoyment of his religion. The good news was good news to him, and he
shewed it. “He joyed in God.”

O for a few more Christians of the same sort—men and women who believe,
and live as if they believed! What a reproach would be rolled from the
faith if we could but hold up our heads a little more! We do not want
any alteration of doctrine to make Christian truth more attractive, but
we do want more attractive cheerfulness in those who believe and know
that truth.

Such, then, brethren in outline at least, is the faith which you and I
are to follow. God would have us remember this guide, who thus spoke to
us His word, and imitate, or copy, his faith.

_Are you_, _at this present speaking_, _an unbeliever_? Solemnly and
personally, God calls upon you to believe. Do not say that it is out of
the question for such an one as you are. Here was one who, like
yourself, was once a stranger to God. But he obtained mercy. “The grace
of our Lord was exceeding abundant toward him in faith.” That grace is
offered to you—can work in you. Go to God for it as he went. You are
invited to come. He is waiting to be gracious. He cannot deny you.
Tell Him that you have come in Christ’s name, for the blessedness of
those who know the joyful sound, and you will go forth walking in the
light of His countenance.

_Are you weak in faith_? Be encouraged by this example, to believe more
fixedly, more confidently. You have the same warrant, the same ground
for your faith to rest upon—the word of truth, the Gospel of your
Salvation. That assures you that all is done for you,—that a double
punishment has been laid for you upon the Surety,—a double satisfaction
rendered on your behalf by Him (Isaiah xl., 2), “Look at Christ set
before you in the Gospel, and faith will come into exercise.” Then you
will come to rest where our departed friend rested. It is no impossible
attainment, no act of presumption. When the Lord is saying “Eat, O
friends, yea drink—drink abundantly, O beloved,” surely we ought not to
reply to His large-hearted offers with any other response than a
large-hearted confidence.

And you, brethren, _who are walking in the steps of this faith_, set it
still before you. Be not slothful. Follow on. Carry out this principle
of foundation-faith which I have been illustrating.

_You have still much to gain_. You can never sit down like the conqueror
in old day who wept because there were no more worlds to conquer. There
remaineth yet much land to be possessed. There are many enemies to be
overcome. There is much grace to be attained to. There is a closer
intimacy and fellowship with the Lord Jesus to be won. For all this
faith must be in action.

_You have still much to meet_.
Duties—decisions—disappointments—cares—troubles. The pressure will be
great both from within and from without. You have to learn better how to
refer all things to a spiritual standard—how to commit everything to the
guidance of a faithful and present God—how to endure as seeing Him who is
invisible. For all this faith must be increased. It is the only secret
of power.

If you aim at this, suffer me to remind you of that in our departed
friend which tended to make his faith what it was.

No plant of righteousness can grow without being nourished in secret. No
Christian soul can thrive unless it be fed from hidden sources. Our
friend knew this, and therefore largely used those “nether springs” of
the Word of God and prayer. He loved both. With both his hand was
diligent, and by this diligence he was made rich.

But it is of his _habit of prayer_ that I would more particularly speak.
The flame of his faith was fed by the oil of prayer. He had “the gift of
the knees.”

Of him it might be truly said that he gave himself unto prayer. Late at
night and early in the morning was he known to be pleading before the
Throne. His voice was indeed that of Jacob, and so the faith and the
walk were those of Enoch.

Oh, brethren—one great spring of sure and successful believing lies in
sustained secret prayer. When the one wanes, the other withers. When
the hands droop Amalek prevails. Many a lost jewel of assurance—of
comfort—of usefulness, must be looked for in the place where you dropped
it—your place of prayer. If, then, you would believe more, pray more.
Gird yourselves afresh to His work. Open your mouth wide and God will
fill it. Why remain poor with a boundless treasury to draw upon?

II. I pass now from what God would have us follow, to _what He would
have us to consider_, viz.:—

I. _The conversation_ of those who are guides.

II. _The end of that conversation_.

If the faith of God’s people is to be marked, so also is the fruit of it.
We have seen the principle. We have now to see the practice which
followed from it.

I. Let me notice however that the word “conversation” does not mean
merely “speech” or “talk.” It refers to the whole character, life, and
walk: to the ‘ins’ and ‘outs;’ the turnings and windings of the life. So
that in these words we are called upon to act as if we had to survey a
country from a height—to trace a line of coast, and to mark it until it
passes off, and is lost to sight in the distance.

Now I am bold to say that, through God’s abounding grace and power, the
conversation we are this day called to consider is a fair prospect
indeed.

Taking a rapid general view of his character, I would say, that _to him
to live was Christ_. Christ was the principle, the power, the pattern,
of his life.

Entering more into detail, I would say that the character has been
sketched out for us by a master-hand. If you look at the epistle for the
day (Romans xii., 6–16) you will see what I mean.

Look where you will, you can but say that God did all things well in
him—the Holy Ghost filled him with His fruit.

You know full well what his purpose and manner of life was. As a
representative—a magistrate—a landlord—a master—a neighbour—there was
always the same Christian consistency—the same unworldliness of spirit.
Well did he carry out the injunction of a dying father—“See, my son, that
you render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and unto God the
things that are God’s.”

Of his more private life I will only say that he was taught of God to
fill up every relationship, and in each one to show whose beauty and
comeliness were put upon him.

If however, I am still to select those features of character which were
most prominently marked—the jutting headlands (so to speak) of that fair
line of coast, his life—I would name these two: 1, _Meekness of
humility_; 2, _Tenderness __of unselfish love_. As to both of these, he
had drunk deeply into the spirit of his Master.

1. Well was the mind of the meek and lowly Jesus reflected in the life
of His meekly humble servant.

Humility was his clothing—no mere ornament on him—he was clothed with it,
and oh how real and deep it was! To the eye of others there was much in
which he might have gloried. Glory he did, but only as a Christian—only
in the Lord—only in the Lord’s Cross.

Throughout life there was the most utter self-abasement. Never was he
unwilling to be nothing that Christ might be all. Never was he unmindful
of the Rock from which he had been hewn. Never could any complain of him
that they could not see Christ over his head.

But most strikingly did his deep self-abasement come out at the close of
life.

When asked if prayer should be offered for him, his words were: “Say
nothing in my praise, all to the grace of God.” “People may say that I
have been a good man. I have been but a poor sinner. I have left undone
much that I ought to have done. O Lord! my goodness extendeth not to
Thee. Even if I could say, ‘I have walked in my integrity,’ nothing but
free redemption _has_ saved me, and _could_ save me.” “I’m a poor
sinner, and nothing at all; Jesus Christ is my all in all.” “A poor
sinner in myself, but pardoned and accepted in the Beloved Son of God.
Amen. Amen.”

Truly brethren, here was the humility which, whilst it disowns and
discrowns self, puts the crown fully on the head which is worthy to wear
it. There is no affection. Nothing but the outpouring of the sincerest
convictions of the soul, telling us on the one hand that no flesh shall
glory in His presence—on the other that the soul shall make her boast in
the Lord.

2. Nor was the _tender unselfish love_ less remarkable than the
humility.

He realised in an uncommon degree the love shown in the coming and death
of the Lord Jesus. The thought of it would often melt his soul and
overpower him for the time.

Now, _such_ love, _so_ realised, will always produce the reality of love.
No doubt there was much of tender feeling and deep affection in the
natural character. But these were increased a thousand fold by Grace.
You could not look at him without being struck by this. His heart looked
out at his eyes, and that look was a whole sermon upon love.

Nor was it a mere sentiment. Love, to be love, must act, and you know
the forms which that action took in his case.

He loved and cared much for the bodies of men. Many of you now present
can testify to this. Many hereafter will rise up and call him blessed.

But he loved and cared for _souls_ more. Nothing could exceed the
affectionate desirousness or the overflowing tenderness of his love for
sinners. By every means in his power he would labour to bring Christ to
them, or them to Christ. I cannot dwell upon all the means he used. His
care to appoint godly ministers over the churches for which he was a
trustee—his open-handed support of every society which put Christ in His
right place—these are as well known to you as to me.

I would rather recall his personal efforts to make known the Gospel which
was his own life.

Many of you, brethren, can bear me witness that by the space of many
years he did not shun to declare by lip and life, by word and walk, the
whole counsel of God.

He was emphatically one of that class who, to use the words of a poor man
in London, “carry their religion to other people’s houses.” You know how
he exhorted, and comforted, and taught; and that nothing made him an
happy as the telling out the story of the Cross, or seeing the change
which it could work upon the soul.

What a striking instance of the activity of his love was given in one of
his dying testimonies:—“Whilst I have power to speak it must be of
Salvation for ever and ever!”

And this life was as unselfish as it was active. As Christ pleaded not
Himself, so did His servant strive to act. There was no living to self.
As Jesus was the spring, so Jesus was the aim of the whole life. It was
ever, “Lord, what wilt _thou_ have me to do?”—ever—“Lord, not my will but
_thine_ be done!”

Brethren, _consider this conversation_—so humble, so loving, to
unselfish. Look at it. Lay your own lives down by the side of it. Test
them—not by what there was of the man, but by what there was of the
Master. See what the testing says; and then rise up, sadder possibly by
the comparison, yet wiser—humbled, but yet hopeful. For He who wrought
here, works still, and loves to work, for all who seek it at His hand.

II. Yet one point remains. “_Consider the end of their conversation_.”

I know it has been said—“Don’t tell me how men died, tell me how they
lived.” But where the death is but the proper fruiting-out of the life
it is right that we should mark it. “Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his saints,” and precious should they be in our sight.

The ‘end’ of our departed friend’s conversation was one to be considered.
It was just what might have been expected. It _was_ perfect peace; it
_is_ present rest; it _will be_ perfect glory.

The Lord was faithful and loving to His servant, and sustained him to the
last. “Grace” and “Christ” were the two words oftenest on his
lips—testifying at once to the source of his hope, and the security of
his standing.

It was an end which left nothing to be desired, as the end of a saint of
God.

Calm, settled, unbroken confidence; devout prayerfulness; holy
self-abasement; loving consideration for and remembrance of others;
loving messages to you, his poorer brethren, loving words for you the
children in the school—of whom he said, “I love them all”—these things
and more than these marked that end.

“He was happy,” he said, “happy, but only in Christ; not in myself, nor
from myself, but only in _Jesus Christ_.”

And so he passed away. “Being (to use the descriptive words of a writer
of old day) high in his communion with God, holy and unblameable in his
walkings with God—it was still day with his soul. He lived and died in
the joys and comforts of the Holy Ghost. And now that his sun is set,
his glass out, his work, done, his race over, he rests in the everlasting
arms of Divine love.”

And now, brethren, what remains for us? What for me but to speak home to
your consciences? What for you but to act upon what may be spoken to the
point?

I say then—Remember the charge here given, and consider the life of God’s
servant and its end.

He has been God’s gift to His church—God’s gift to us in this
neighbourhood, that through him our souls might be helped on to
salvation—God’s name become more abundantly honoured.

Shall we not take this view of him? Consider this, _you that are
Christless_—consciously without Christ—without a well-grounded hope—what
effect should this life and death have on you?

You have watched the one, you have heard of the other. You know in your
heart of hearts that there has been no sham, not a shadow of unreality.
If ever a real Christian was to be seen, you have seen one in him. There
is no doubt in your minds that he believed no lie, followed no shadow.
You _know_ that he has found all, and more than all, that he expected to
find in Christ.

You feel convinced that he chose wisely when he chose for God—because he
chose a _certainty_. With some here this is no new conviction. As
friend, or neighbour, or tenant, or servant, or labourer, you have felt
him to be in the right, and have wished to be as he was.

I would to God, brethren, that you felt equally convinced that hitherto
all has been _uncertainty_ with you. Think for one moment. Are not your
fears more than your hopes? Do you not feel sometimes that the end of
your mirth may be heaviness, the end of your pleasure pain? Does your
name to live give you any real satisfaction? Will a gained world
outweigh a lost soul? Have you any real settled peace? Is not all
vague, dark, cheerless, uncertain.

O that these convictions might sink down deeply into your hearts, and
bring you to the desire to be found of God in peace, and to put aside
everything that now stands in your way.

Only begin where he began—where he, if he were now in my place, would
urge me to begin—_with Christ_. Go to the Lord Jesus this very day. He
who received and taught his servant, will receive and teach you, for He
is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. “This man receiveth
sinners. None teacheth like him.”

Consider, _you that are in Christ_. You have in this bright example a
solemn but very helpful reminder. You are called to aim at a higher
style of Christianity—do not despise the summons. You are offered the
power of the Holy Ghost—do not despond.

Take your stand where he took his. Learn to see things as he saw them,
and to hold what he held.

Believe more. Cultivate a more vigorous faith. Add to your faith
courage. Be less ashamed of Christ.

Be satisfied with nothing short of the manifestation of God to your soul,
and the manifestation of God by you to the world. This makes life
happiness, and death a joy.

Live so as to be missed. Seek to have behind you that good name which is
better than precious ointment. Hold forth the word of life. Try to lay
aside every hindrance of selfishness, indolence, love of ease,
half-heartedness.

Let it be said of you, as it may fitly be said of him:—He _was_ what God
made him. He _worked_ where God placed him. He _went_ where God called
him. He _is_ where God in Christ is with him—a sinner, saved by grace,
through faith, in the Lord, with an everlasting salvation.

SERMON,
BY THE REV. EDWARD HOARE.

“These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are
virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb withersoever he goeth.
These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God
and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile; for they are
without fault before the throne of God.”—Rev. xiv. 4, 5.

* * * * *

It must have been a wonderful moment to Stephen, when he suddenly saw the
Heavens opened, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and it must
be equally wonderful to any departing child of God, when the veil is
drawn aside, and he finds himself suddenly in the visible presence of
that blessed Saviour whom, though unseen, he has long since loved and
trusted. What a moment must it have been to our dearly beloved friend
when his eyes opened in the presence of God! I can imagine the profound
humiliation at the sight of Jehovah; the fervent utterances of
overpowering love, when he suddenly beheld the Lord Jesus, as the Lamb
that had been slain; and the joyful fulness of heart in the three loved
and loving brethren, when they found themselves once more together, all
brought safe home, by the rich grace of their blessed Saviour, there to
wait together for his kingdom, and while waiting, to rejoice together in
the fulness of his love. Happy, indeed, are those brotherhoods on earth,
that prepare they way for such a brotherhood as, there is I am persuaded,
is in Heaven.

But we have no account in the Scriptures of the first entrance of the
individual believer, and therefore we must forbear from giving too much
liberty to the imagination. We have however in this passage a
description of something in many respects corresponding to it. In the
7th chapter, we read of the servants of God as represented by the 144,000
scaled ones. The seal was placed on their foreheads just before the four
angels loosed the winds that were to desolate the earth. Storm and
tempest were about to burst upon the world; and this little company were
sealed beforehand by their God in order that, as marked men, they might
be kept safe throughout the danger. Accordingly in the desolation
produced by the locust woe, when men were hurt all around them, the
sealed ones remained untouched. There was woe on every side, but in the
midst of it all they were kept safe by their seal. But in this chapter
the whole scene is changed. They are no longer in the midst of a world
swept by a succession of desolating woes; no longer a bidden people
struggling with difficulties on earth; they are now taken up to Mount
Zion, and this Mount Zion must be the Heavenly Jerusalem, for, in verse 2
their voice is said to come from Heaven, and in verse 3 they are
described as before the throne of God. The Saviour whom, though unseen,
they have loved and followed, is now standing conspicuous in the midst of
them. The seal is no longer a secret thing, but its true character is
brought to light, and the Father’s name is seen written on their
foreheads. So they come before God no longer with strong crying and
tears, in the midst of strong temptations and overwhelming woes, but now
they burst forth in the new song of the new Jerusalem. Nor are they
alone in singing it, for the twenty-four elders and four living ones are
described as their companions; for when the time comes for this prophecy
to be fulfilled, the family on earth will be united to that in Heaven.
The separation will be over. There will be a blessed meeting between the
sealed on earth and the living ones in Heaven. Their new song will be
quickened by the joys of reunion, for, according to verse 3, “they sang
the new song not merely before the throne, but before the four living
ones and the elders.” Ye, therefore, that mourn your separation from
those you dearly love, picture to yourself that joyful gathering. Look
on from the parting day to the meeting day: when your wilderness journey
will be over, when you shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air,
when those that are gone will have the joy of welcoming those that
remain, and when those that remain are taken up to enjoy their welcome,
that so both they and we may rejoice together before the throne of the
Lamb.

But my object to-day is not so much to dwell on the meeting, as to study
the character of the sealed servants of our God. We all desire, I trust,
to be amongst them on the meeting day, and I see not, for my own part,
how any wise man can rest till he has a well grounded hope given him by
God, that he is one of the number now. It is most important then that we
study well their character, and may God grant that the seal may be on our
foreheads during our struggle upon earth, and the Father’s name clearly
seen there when the Lord comes to take the kingdom!

The character is given in the four descriptions of these two verses, and
I have been led to them now, because they seem to give so faithful and
true a portrait of our beloved and honoured friend—may I not say of the
three dear brothers, for in Christian character they were one?

I. In the 1st clause there is some difficulty, because it seems at first
sight to disparage the holy tie of matrimony—that sacred union which is a
Scriptural type of the mystical oneness which is between Christ and His
Church. But I am persuaded this is not the meaning of it. The whole of
the Book of Revelation is full of symbol; and alliance with sin,
worldliness, and popery is described in it, as in other Scriptures, under
the figure of spiritual fornication. Thus the Church, the Bride of the
Lord, is to be kept free from all such alliances and presented at last as
a chaste virgin to Christ. But I will not dwell on this point any
further than to remark how wonderfully it was illustrated in the case of
our friend. There was no such thing as unhallowed alliance in his
conduct; no pandering to the world; no dallying with popery; no attempt
to win his objects by unfaithful compromises; no mixing up with that
which he disapproved. He held on his way as one that was set apart unto
God, as one betrothed wholly to the Lord. There was a wonderful
consistency about his whole character, and he uniformly acted on the
Apostolic maxim, “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of
darkness.” He delighted in his fellowship with God, and he could have no
alliance with anything contrary to God’s will.

II. But, whatever we may think of the first description, there can be no
doubt about the second. “These are they that follow the Lamb,
whithersoever he goeth.” There is no symbolical language here, but a
plain, clear, unmistakeable, description of Christian character. Our
Lord describes his own sheep by this invariable test, “They follow me.”
“I know them (He says) and _they follow me_.” He knows them. He knows
each one by name, by disposition, by circumstance; knows who we are,
where we are, what we are; knows all our wants, our cares, our joys, our
sorrows, our temptations; and if we be His, _we follow Him_, seeking to
know His will, watching for His beckoning hand, listening for His
directing voice, and tracing His sacred footsteps.

But this text goes a step further than the words of our Lord, for it adds
the words “whithersoever he goeth,” shewing that there is no reserve and
no qualification. Wherever the Lord leads the way, there the sealed
servants are prepared to follow. They do not want to pick and choose for
themselves, or merely to follow in pleasant paths; still less do they
wish to be led by the leaders of the world, or guided by the motives of
the world. To follow the Lord Jesus Christ is the great object of their
life, to walk in His steps, to do His will, and to live to His glory.
Now, perhaps, some might be disposed to say “Have you ever known any one
that has thus followed Christ? Can you point to an example of such a
character?” And, I believe I may safely say that I _can_. I point to
our honoured friend (I might add, to all the brothers) and say, “These
are they that followed the Lamb, whithersoever He led the way.” I am not
afraid of appealing to all that knew him, to all that were connected with
him as servants in his house, or as dependants on his estate, to all that
were acquainted with him as a magistrate and country gentleman, to all
that observed him in that most difficult and testing place of character
the House of Commons; I can appeal to all, and I am sure that when you
look back on all your intercourse with him you must admit that you never
found bye ends governing the character; but you saw a man who, with a
single and simple aim desired in everything, without reserve, to follow
Christ. This was the secret of his whole life. Many look back on his
gentleness and kind affections, many on his princely liberality so often
and so generously helping in secret those whose wants were known only to
himself, many on his holy fidelity to the truth of God; but all sprang
from one principle, and that was “Follow me.” Whatever he had to do as a
father, as a master, as a friend, as steward of an ample fortune, as a
trustee for Church patronage, or as a member of Parliament, there was one
single end before him, and that was to follow Christ. He could truly say
as Standfast did in “Pilgrim’s Progress,” “I have loved to hear my Lord
spoken of, and wherever I have seen the print of His shoe in the earth,
there have I coveted to set my foot too.” And this I believe to be the
secret of his perfectly peaceful end. He had not lived for the world, so
he was not disturbed when called to leave it. During _life_ he had
walked with God, so in death he was not afraid of meeting Him. For
nearly fifty years he had followed the Lamb, and no wonder that there was
not a shadow of fear when the message of love was sent to call him
through the veil to see that Saviour face to face. And so, dear
brethren, I am persuaded it must be with us. If we would die as he did,
in perfect peace, we should seek to follow Christ as he did,
whithersoever He goeth. God forbid that I should lead any one to suppose
that peace either in living or dying is from any source but the free gift
of God’s grace; but as one that has witnessed hundreds of Christian
death-beds, I bear my testimony that, as a general rule, inconsistent
Christians very frequently have anxious death-beds: while, on the other
hand, those who have walked nearest to the Lord in their life are the
people who have found Him nearest to them in their death; and those who,
like our dear friend, have set the Lord always before them, find, as he
did, the Psalmist’s words invariably true “Because he is on my right hand
I shall never be moved.”

Are we to suppose, then, that our dear and honoured friend saved his soul
by his consistency in following the Lord? God forbid! I venture to say
that there is nothing from which his whole soul would have recoiled more
than from any such a thought, for he knew well enough that he could never
save his soul by following Christ nor by any other act of his own. He
never had the slightest hope of doing so, for he knew too much of the
deep corruption of his own sinful heart. But to redemption and
redemption alone he owed his life, as he said himself in his last illness
“Even if I _could_ say I have walked in my integrity nothing but _free
redemption_ saved me.”

“I’m a poor sinner, and nothing at all
But Jesus Christ is my all in all.”

The salvation came first, and faithful following was the fruit of it. No
one will ever really follow Christ, till he is first saved through His
free grace. Thus in the text all is traced to Redeeming love, for
observe the next clause:—

III. “These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto
God and the Lamb.”

Now let us carefully observe the language of this text. It clearly
traces everything to atonement. They were redeemed by the blood of the
Lamb. “Not with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot.”
There is no explanation of such language except by atonement through the
blood of the Lord Jesus, or the substitution, or vicarious sacrifice of
the love of God. If any meaning is to be attached to words, it is
impossible to believe that our Lord’s death was nothing more than a noble
example of devoted self sacrifice. It must have been the satisfaction of
the law of God by the actual infliction on the Lord Jesus Christ of the
whole penalty due to sin. So the great fact that our sin has been
already fully punished in his person is the one fact on which we rest for
present and everlasting acceptance with God. But there is more than that
taught here, for redemption goes far beyond atonement, and includes the
actual deliverance which is the result of that atonement, when applied to
the heart by the Holy Spirit. It is not merely the payment of the
ransom, but the liberation of the ransomed slave. Thus the sealed
servants are said to have been “redeemed _from among men_.” Not merely
was an atonement made for them, but, through the power of that atonement,
they were delivered from the bondage of corruption unto the glorious
liberty of the children of God. An atonement was made on their behalf;
but that was not all, for it was applied to their hearts by the Holy
Ghost, and the result was that they were saved and separated unto God.
Thus they became first-fruits to God and the Lamb. The first-fruits are
a small portion set apart unto God, the remainder being left in the
possession of the original owner. So, God’s people are separated and
dedicated at the first-fruits onto Him, while the mass of men remain
under the power of the god of this world. They are mixed up with other
men in all the relationships of life; but in the midst of all they are
distinct, for God has redeemed them, and put His seal on them, thereby to
mark them as his own. Oh! holy calling of the child of God. Oh! sacred
privilege, to be thus set apart unto the Lamb! How is it that any one
thus sealed can be ashamed of it? How is it that any child of God can
shrink from the confession of it? Of one thing I am sure, and that is,
our dear friend did not. He was not ashamed of being a marked man for
Christ! God had called him. God had saved him. God had settled him!
God had placed him among the first-fruits of the harvest, and he was not
ashamed of it. But, when we look at the character, let us never forget
the ground work of all. I said a short time ago that the secret of his
consistency was that he followed Christ; but there was a deeper secret
still. There was the secret that lay at the foundation of his following
Christ, and that was redemption. His own language was, “Oh, to grace how
great a debtor. It was free redemption then, and is so now. Wonderful!
It is so wonderful, such a poor sinner saved and loved!” He was one
redeemed, delivered, set free, brought out, and for ever accepted through
the blood-shedding of the Son of God. And so, brethren, must we be, if
we are among the first-fruits unto God. Nothing, nothing, nothing but
the atoning blood can ever blot out your guilt. As long as you are a
stranger to atonement, so long you are a stranger to God. If any man
ever felt this, it was our friend, our father I would rather say. He was
a happy man, because he was an accepted man. “Happy, quite happy,” he
said, “but only in Christ, not by works of righteousness which I have
done, but saved by the mercy of God in Christ. Such a great and blessed
salvation—so glorious to the Giver, so gracious to the receiver.” God
had made atonement for him through the precious blood of the Son of His
love, and called him out to enjoy a fellowship with Himself. So now, if
you desire to walk with God during life, and meet Him in peace when He
summons you; or to welcome the Lord Jesus with joy, should he come before
you die; remember, and let your affectionate recollections of our dear
friend stamp it for ever on your memory, that you must first know what it
is to be reconciled to God through the blood of atonement before you can
live near to Him, or be found among the first-fruits of His kingdom. Our
Lord’s own words are decisive on this point, “I am the way, the truth,
and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.”

IV. But we must hasten to the last clause of the description. “In their
mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of
God.” Here are two things mentioned—A guileless corruption before men,
and a faultless standing before God.

On the first I need say but little. You have been so familiar with the
practice, and beautiful exhibition of it in the character of the dear
brothers that you do not require a description of it from me. Most truly
we may say of them all “In their mouth was found no guile.” There was a
guileless transparency of character pervading them all. But we must not
pass thus hastily by the remaining clause, “For they are without fault
before the throne of God.” Strictly speaking these words refer
exclusively to the 144,000, when taking their place before the throne of
God. But surely they give us an insight into the present standing of all
those already there. They seem to teach us that spotless faultlessness
is like the atmosphere of Heaven, and that all before that throne are
faultless. We may think, then, of those we dearly love as now standing
before yonder Throne, quite faultless. There is no sin reckoned to them,
for it is all blotted out for ever; and no sin cleaving to them, for they
are free from its corruption, being “made perfect” “as the spirits of the
just.” There is no sin there, for there are no tears; and where sin is
there is always sorrow. Let us be cheered, then, by the happy thought
that they are now without fault before the Throne of God. But must we
wait till we reach the Throne before we can be without fault before it?
Are we to toil on through the wilderness, and wait till the pilgrimage is
over before we can go faultless into his presence? If so, the
Christian’s life would be indeed a dreary one. But, believers, ye are
without fault before the Throne now, even now! I verily believe that
when you saw our dear friend in the midst of you, in his farm, in his
garden, in your cottages, he was at those very times without fault before
God. How so? you may say. Did he not perpetually confess that he was a
sinner? Did he not acknowledge his sin, and weep for it? How, then,
could he be without fault? How could he be a guilty sinner, and yet
faultless before God? Hear his own words in answer to it—“A poor sinner
in myself, but pardoned and accepted in the beloved Son of God, and only
so, only so, Amen, only so, only so, Amen, Amen.” And, again, “What
should I do without Christ? such a poor sinner, but complete and accepted
in the Beloved. Such a good foundation! such a blessed salvation!” If
all his faults were cast into the depth of the sea, and God’s promises
fulfilled which said “The iniquities of Israel shall be sought for and
shall not be found;” then before that Throne he was faultless. And so,
if we stand in the righteousness of God, nay! if in Christ we are made
the righteousness of God, then in Him we are faultless, faultless even
now, because Christ is faultless, and we stand in Him. In this
connection observe the allusion to the 32nd Psalm. The Revelation is
full of allusions to the Old Testament, and I cannot help thinking that
here is one. The same two things are mentioned in this passage and in
that psalm; the absence of guile, and the absence of all fault. Of the
guile the Psalmist says, “In whose spirit there is no guile” and of the
fault he says, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, and whose
sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not
iniquity,” &c. Here, then, is the secret of being without fault before
the Throne. Their transgression is forgiven, their sin covered, and
their iniquity not imputed by God. Thus it is, that at the same time in
the same person there may be the two apparent opposites; in yourself deep
corruption, in the Lord Jesus Christ unblemished spotlessness. Before
your own conscience you may be full of sin, and at the same time before
the Throne of God perfectly faultless: in yourself humbled to the dust;
in Christ Jesus reconciled, accepted, and beloved, and regarded as though
you were absolutely spotless; for you are without fault in the
righteousness of Christ.

What, then, is the conclusion of the whole matter? What is the lesson to
be learnt from the text? and what from the whole history of our honoured
friend? What is the lesson that he would have drawn from it himself had
he been here to speak to us this day? I believe he would have summed it
all up in one word, _i.e._, CHRIST. This is what he taught in his
family, and made the unceasing subject of his family worship. This is
what he taught in the Sunday school, and pressed with a holy perseverance
on the hearts and consciences of his class. This was the subject of his
addresses in the schoolroom, as well as of all his visits in the
cottages. In these visits he carried many a kind gift for the body, but
he always remembered his one message, and was never silent on the free
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And do you think he would speak less of
Him now? Now that he sees that blessed Saviour whom he so long believed,
and has himself experienced the actual joy of his presence? No, if he
now were to speak to us I am persuaded it would be all of Christ. If he
could give one more lesson to his class it would be to assure them that
the half had never yet been told them, and that there is a joy in Christ
of which he had known here only just the small beginning. If he were to
speak to you young men he would tell you there is nothing that can ever
satisfy your soul but Christ. Life may now seem very bright to you; but
there are days of mourning before you as well as days of rejoicing, and
there is nothing but Christ then can either save or satisfy your soul.
And so, if He were to speak to you mourners it would still be the same
thing to you. How would he tell of the balm of Gilead for the wounded
heart, and of the great purpose of God, surely doing all things well for
the eternal life of His chosen people! and once more, if he were to speak
to those amongst us who are still unchanged, still unconverted, still
without the new birth, still without Christ, how would he press upon you
the great atonement made on the Cross for every guilty sinner; and how
would he weep over the hard impenitent hearts that remain unmoved,
unsoftened, unsaved by His grace! But we cannot hear his voice: it is
now silent upon earth, and must remain so till the Lord comes. His
thanksgivings are now heard only in Heaven. But the unmistakeable
testimony remains, and may God so write it on our hearts, that when we
are called, as he has been, to give up our great account, we may be
found, as I am persuaded he is, without fault before the Throne of God.

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Two Sermons Preached in the Parish Church of Nonington, Kent, January 17, 1864 - being the Sunday following the Funeral of John Pemberton Plumptre, Esq." ***

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