Sermon 984. The Church As She Should Be

(No. 984)

Delivered by

C. H. SPURGEON,

At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington

"Thou art beautiful, O my love as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners."-Song of Solomon 6:4.

THERE are various estimates of the Christian church. Some think everything of her; some think nothing of her; and probablyneither opinion is worth the breath which utters it. Neither Ritualists, who idolise their church, nor sceptics, who vilifyall churches, have any such knowledge of the true spiritual church of Jesus Christ as to be entitled to give an opinion. Theking's daughter is all glorious within, with a beauty which they are quite unable to appreciate. What isusually the most correct character which is obtainable of a woman? Shall we be guided by the praises of those neighborswho are on good terms with her, or by the scandal of those who make her the subject of ill-natured gossip? No; the most accuratejudgment we are likely to get is that of her husband. Solomon saith in the Proverbs concerning the virtuous woman, "Her husbandalso riseth up, and he praiseth her." Of that fairest among women, the church of Christ, the same observation may be made.It is to her of small consequence to be judged of man's judgment, but it is her honor and joy to stand well in the loveand esteem of her royal spouse, the Prince Emmanuel. Though the words before us are allegorical, and the whole song is crowdedwith metaphor and parable, yet the teaching is plain enough in this instance; it is evident that the Divine Bridegroom giveshis bride a high place in his heart, and to him, whatever she may be to others, she is fair, lovely, comely, beautiful, andinthe eyes of his love without a spot. Moreover, even to him there is not only a beauty of a soft and gentle kind in her,but a majesty, a dignity in her holiness, in her earnestness, in her consecration, which makes even him say of her that sheis "terrible as an army with banners," "awful as a bannered army." She is every inch a queen: her aspect in the sight of herbeloved is majestic. Take, then, the words of our text as an encomium upon Christ's church, pronounced by him who knows herbest,and is best able to judge concerning her, and you learn that to his discerning eye she is not weak, dishonorable, anddespicable, but bears herself as one of highest rank, consciously, joyously strong in her Lord's strength.

On this occasion let us note, first of all, WHY IT IS THAT THE CHURCH OF GOD IS SAID TO BE AN ARMY WITH BANNERS. That sheis an army is true enough, for the church is one, but many; and consists of men who march in order under a common leader, with one designin view and that design a conflict and a victory. She is the church militant here below, and both in suffering and in serviceshe is made to prove that she is in an enemy's country. She is contending for thetruth against error, for the light against darkness: till the day break and the shadows flee away, she must maintain hersentinels and kindle her watch fires; for all around her there is cause to guard against the enemy, and to descend the royaltreasure of gospel truth against its deadly foes. But why an army with banners? Is not this, first of all, for distinction? How shall we know to which king an army belongs unless we can see the royal standard? In times of war thenationality of troops is often declared by their distinguishing regimentals. The grey coats of the Russians were wellknown in the Crimea; the white livery of the Austrians was a constant eyesore in bygone days to the natives of Lombardy. Noone mistook the Black Brunswickers for French Guards, or our own Hussars for Garibaldians. Quite as effectively armies havebeen distinguished by the banners which they carried. As the old knights of old were recognised by their plume and helmet,andescutcheon, so an army is known by its standard and the national colors. The tricolor of the French readily marked theirtroops as they fled before the terrible black and white of the German army. The church of Christ displays its banners fordistinction's sake. It desires not to be associated with other armies, or to be mistaken for them, for it is not of this world,and its weapons and its warfare are far other than those of the nations. God forbid that followers of Jesus should be mistakenfor political partisans or ambitious adventurers. The church unfurls her ensign to the breeze that all may know whoseshe is and whom she serves. This is of the utmost importance at this present, when crafty men are endeavoring to palm offtheir inventions. Every Christian church should know what it believes, and publicly avow what it maintains. It is our dutyto make a clear and distinct declaration of our principles, that our members may know to what intent they have come together,and thatthe world also may know what we mean. Far be it from us to join with the Broad Church cry, and furl the banners upon whichour distinctive colors are displaced. We hear on all sides great outcries against creeds. Are these clamours justifiable?It seems to me that when properly analysed most of the protests are not against creeds, but against truth, for every man whobelieves anything must have a creed, whether he write it down and print it or no; or if there be a man who believes nothing,oranything, or everything by turns, he is not a fit man to be set up as a model. Attacks are often made against creeds becausethey are a short, handy form by which the Christian mind gives expression to its belief, and those who hate creeds do so becausethey find them to be weapons as inconvenient, as bayonets in the hands of British soldiers have been to our enemies. Theyare weapons so destructive to theology that it protests against them. For this reason let us be slow to part with them. Letus day hold of God's truth with iron grip, and never let it go. After all, there is a Protestantism still worth contendingfor; there is a Calvinism still worth proclaiming, and a gospel worth dying for. There is a Christianity distinctive and distinguishedfrom Ritualism, Rationalism, and Legalism, and let us make it known that we believe in it. Up with your banners, soldiersof the cross! This is not the time to be frightened by the cries against conscientious convictions, which are nowadaysnicknamed sectarianism and bigotry. Believe in your hearts what you profess to believe; proclaim openly and zealouslywhat you know to be the truth. Be not ashamed to say such-and-such things are true, and let men draw the inference that theopposite is false. Whatever the doctrines of the gospel may be to the rest of mankind, let them be your glory and boast. Displayyour banners, and let those banners be such as the church of old carried. Unfurl the old primitive standard, the all-victoriousstandard of the cross of Christ. In very deed and truth-in hoc signo vinces-the atonement is the conquering truth. Let others believe as they may, or deny as they will, for you the truth as it is inJesus is the one thing that has won your heart and made you a soldier of the cross.

Banners were carried, not merely for distinctiveness, but also to serve the purposes of discipline. Hence an army with banners had one banner as a central standard, and then each regiment or battalion displayed its own particularflag. The hosts of God, which so gloriously marched through the wilderness, had their central standard. I suppose it was thevery pole upon which Moses lifted up the brazen serpent (at any rate, our brazen serpent is the central ensign ofthe church); and then, besides that, each tribe of the twelve had its own particular banners, and with these upliftedin the front, the tribes marched in order, so that there was no confusion on the march, and in time of battle there was nodifficulty in marshalling the armed men. It was believed by the later Jews that "the standard of the camp of Judah representeda lion; that of Reuben, a man; that of Joseph, an ox; and that of Dan, an eagle. The Targumists, however, believe that thebannerswere distinguished by their colors, the color for each tribe being analogous to that of the precious stone for that tribe,in the breastplate of the high priest; and that the great standard of each of the four camps combined the three colors ofthe tribes which composed it." So, brethren, in the church of God there must be discipline-the discipline not only of admissionand of dismission in receiving the converts and rejecting the hypocrites, but the discipline of marshalling the troops tothe service of Christ in the holy war in which we are engaged. Every soldier should have his orders, every officer histroop, every troop its fixed place in the army, and the whole army a regularity such as is prescribed in the rule, "Let allthings be done decently and in order." As in the ranks each man has his place, and each rank has its particular phase in thebattalion, so in every rightly constituted church each may, each woman, will have, for himself or herself, his or her ownparticular form of service, and each form of service will link in with every other, and the whole combined will constitutea force which cannot be broken. A church is not a load of bricks, remember: it is a house builded together. A church is nota bundle of cuttings in the gardener's hand: it is a vine, of which we are the branches. The true church is an organised whole;and life, true spiritual life, wherever it is paramount in the church, without rules and rubrics, is quite sure to createorder and arrangement. Order without life reminds us of the rows of graves in a cemetery, all numbered and entered inthe register: order with life reminds us of the long lines of fruit trees in Italy, festooned with fruitful vines. Sunday-schoolteachers, bear ye the banner of the folded lamb; sick visitors, follow the ensign of the open hand; preachers, rally to thetoken of the uplifted brazen serpent; and all of you, according to your sacred calling, gather to the name of Jesus, armedforthe war.

An army with banners may be also taken to represent activity. When an army holds up its colors the fight is over. Little is being done in military, circles when the banners are put away;the troops are on furlough, or are resting in barracks. An army with banners is exercising, or marching, or fighting; probablyit is in the middle of a campaign, it is marshalled for offense and defense, and there will be rough work before long. Itis to be feared that some churcheshave hung up their flags to rot in state, or have encased them in dull propriety. They do not fool; to do great things,or to see great things. They do not expect many conversions; if many did happen, they would be alarmed and suspicious. Theydo not expect their pastor's ministry to be with power; and if it were attended with manifest effect they would be greatlydisturbed, and perhaps would complain that he created too much excitement. The worst of it is, that do-nothing churches areusuallyvery jealous lest any should encroach on their domain. Our churches sometime ago appeared to imagine that a whole districtof this teeming city belonged to them to cultivate or neglect, as their monopolising decree might be. If anybody attemptedto raise a new interest, or even to build a preaching station, within half a mile of them, they resented it as a most perniciouspoachings upon their manor. They did nothing themselves, and were very much afraid lest anybody should supplant them. Likethe lawyers of old, who took away the key of knowledge, they entered not in themselves, and them that were entering inthey hindered. That day, it is to be hoped, has gone once for all; yet too much of the old spirit lingers in certain quarters.It is high time that each church should feel that if it does not work, the sole reason for its existence is gone. The reasonfor a church being a church dies its mutual edification and in the conversion of sinners; and if these two ends are not reallyanswered by a church, it is a mere name, a hindrance, an evil, a nuisance; like the salt which has lost its savor, itis neither fit for the land nor yet for the dunghill. May we all in our church fellowship be active in the energy of the Spiritof God. May none of us be dead members of the living body, mere impediments to the royal host, baggage to be dragged ratherthan warriors pushing on the war. May we, every one of us, be soldiers filled with vigor to the fullness of our manhood, bytheeternal power of the Holy Spirit; and may we be resolved that any portion of the church which does not uplift its bannerof service shall not long number us among its adherents. Be it ours to determine that whether others will or will not serveGod and extend the kingdom of his dear Son, we will, in his name and strength, contend even to the death. Unsheath our swords,ye soldiers of the cross; arise from your slumbers, ye careless ones, gird on your swords and prepare for the war. The Lordhasredeemed you by his blood, not that you might sleep, but that you might fight for the glory of his name.

Does not the description, "an army with banners," imply a degree of confidence? It is not an army retiring from the foe, and willing enough to hide its colors to complete its escape. An army that is afraidto venture out into the open, keeps its banners out of the gleam of the sun. Banners uplifted are the sign of a fearlessnesswhich rather courts than declines the conflict. Ho! warriors of the cross, unfurl the gospel's ancient standard to the breeze;we willteach the foeman what strength there is in hands and hearts that rally to the Christ of God. Up with the standard, yebrave men at arms; let all eyes see it; and it the foemen glare like lions on it, we "will call upon the Lion of the tribeof Judah to lead the van, and we will follow with his word like a two-edged sword in our hands:-

"Stand up! stand up for Jesus!

Ye soldiers of the cross!

Lift high hits royal banner;

It must not suffer loss:

From victory unto victory

His army shall he lead

Till every foe is vanquished

And Christ is Lord indeed."

We cannot place too much reliance in the gospel; our weakness is that we are so diffident and so apt to look somewhere elsefor strength. We do not believe in the gospel as to its power over the sons of men as we should believe in it. Too often wepreach it with a coward's voice. Have I not heard sermons commencing with abject apologies for the preacher's daring to openhis mouth; apologies for his youth, for his assertions, for his venturing to intrude upon men'sconsciences, and I know not what else? Can God own ambassadors of this cowardly cringing breed, who mistake fear of menfor humility! Will our Captain honor such carpet-knights, who apologise for bearing arms? I have heard that of old the ambassadorsof Holland, and some other states, when introduced to his celestial majesty, the brother of the son and cousin of the moon,the Emperor of China, were expected to come crawling on their hands and knees up to the throne; but when our ambassadorswent to that flowery land, they declined to pay such humiliating homage to his impertinent majesty, and informed him thatthey would stand upright in his presence, as free men should do, or else they would decline all dealings with him, and inall probability his majesty would hear from a cannon's mouth far less gentle notes than he would care for. Even thus, thoughwe may well humble ourselves as men, yet as ambassadors of God we cannot crouch to the sons of men, to ask them what messagewouldsuite them best. It must not, shall not, be that we shall smoothe our tongues and tone our doctrines to the taste of theage. The gospel that we preach, although the worldly wise man despises it, in God's gospel for all that. "Ah," says he, "thereis nothing in it: science has overthrown it." "And," says another, "this gospel is but so much platitude; we have heard itover and over again." Ah, sir, and though it be platitude to you, and you decree it to be contemptible, you shall hear itornothing else from us; "for it is the power of God, and the wisdom of God." In its simplicity lies its majesty and itspower. "We are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. "God forbid that we should glory, save in the cross of our Lord JesusChrist." We will proclaim it again with confidence; We will bring forth once more the selfsame truth as of old; and as thebarley loaf smote the tent of Midian, so that it lay along, so shall the gospel overturn its adversaries. The broken pitcher,and theflaming torches, and the old war cry, "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon" shall yet fill the foeman with dismay. Letus but be bold for Jesus, and we shall see what his arm can do. The gospel is the voice of the eternal God, and has in itthe same power as that which brought the world out of nothing, and which shall raise the dead from their graves at the comingof the Son of Man. The gospel, the word of God, can no more return to him void than can the snow go back to heaven, or therain-drops climb again the path by which they descended from the clouds. Have faith in God's word, faith in the presenceof the Holy Ghost, faith in the reigning Savior, faith in the fulfillment of the everlasting purposes, and you will be fullof confidence, and like an army with banners.

Once more, an army with banners may signify the constancy and perseverance in holding the truth. We see before us not an army that has lost its banners, that has suffered its colorsto be rent away from it, but an army which bears aloft its ancient standard and swears by it still. Let us be very earnestto maintain the faith once delivered to the saints. Let us not give up this doctrine or that, at the dictates of policy orfashion; but whatsoever Jesus saith untous, let us receive it as the word of life. Great injury may be done to a church ere it knows it, if it shall tolerateerror here and there; for false doctrine, like the little leaven, soon leavens the whole lump. If the church be taught ofthe Spirit to know the voice of the Good Shepherd, a stranger it will not follow; for it knows not the voice of strangers.This is part of the education which Christ gives to his people: "All thy people shall be taught of the Lord." They shall knowthe truth,and the truth shall make them free. May we, as a church, hold fast the things which we have learned and have been taughtof God; and may we be preserved from the philosophies and refinings of these last days. If we give up the things which areverily believed among us we shall lose our pourer, and the enemy alone will be pleased; but if we maintain them, the maintenanceof the old faith, by the Spirit of God, shall make us strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Wrap the colors roundyou, ye standard bearers, in the day of danger, and die sooner than give them up. Life is little compared with God's lovingkindness,and that is the sure heritage of the brave defender of the faith. Thus resolute for truth, the church becomes an army withbanners.

II. Secondly, the church is said to be TERRIBLE. To whom is she terrible? She should be amiable, and she is. May God grantthat our church may never be terrible to young converts by moroseness and uncharitableness. Whenever I hear of candidatesbeing alarmed at coming before our elders, or seeing the pastor, or making confession of faith before the church, I wish Icould say to them: "Dismiss your fears, beloved ones; we shall be glad to see you, and you will find yourintercourse with us a pleasure rather than a trial." So far from wishing to repel you, if you really do love the Savior,we shall be glad enough to welcome you. If we cannot see in you the evidence of a great change, we shall kindly point outto you our fears, and shall be thrice happy to point you to the Savior; but be sure of this, if you have really believed inJesus, you shall not find the church terrible to you. Harsh judgments are contrary to the spirit of Christ and the natureof thegospel; where they are the rule, the church is despicable rather than terrible. Bigotry and uncharitableness are indicationsof weakness, not of strength.

To what and to whom is the church terrible? I answer, first, in a certain sense she is terrible to all ungodly men. A true church in her holiness and testimony is very terrible to sinners. The ungodly care not a rush about a mock church,nor about sham Christians; but a really earnest Christian makes the ungodly abashed. We have known some who could not usethe foul language which they were accustomed to when they were in the presence of godly men and women, thoughthese persons had no authority or position or rank. Even in the most ribald company, when a Christian of known consistencyof character has wisely spoken the word of reproof, a solemn abashment comes over the majority of those present; their conscienceshave borne witness against them, and they have felt how awful goodness is. Not that we are ever to try and impress otherswith any dread of us; such an attempt would be ridiculed, and end in deserved failure; but the influence which we woulddescribe flows naturally out of a godly light. Majesty of character never lies in affectation of demeanor, but in solidityof virtue. If there be real goodness in us-if we really, fervently, zealously love the right, and hate the evil-the outflowof our life almost without a word will judge the ungodly-and condemn them in their heart of hearts. Holy living is the weightiestcondemnation of sin. We have heard of an ungodly son who could not bear to dive in the house where his departedfather had in his lifetime so devoutly prayed; every room, and every piece of furniture reproved him for forsaking hisfather's God. We have read of others who were wont to dread the sight of certain godly men whose holy lives held them morein check than the laws of the land. The bad part of this is that the terror of the ungodly suggests to them an unhallowedretort upon their reprovers, and becomes the root out of which springs persecution. Those whom the ungodly fear because theycondemnthem by their character, they try to put out of the world if they can, or to bespatter them with slander if they cannotsmite them with the hand of cruelty. The martyrdom of saints is the result of the darkness hating the light, because the lightmakes manifest its evil deeds. There will be always in proportion to the real holiness, earnestness, and Christ likeness ofa church something terrible in it to the perverse generation in which it is placed; it will dread it as it does theall-revealing day of judgment.

So is there something terrible in a living church to all errorists. Just now two armies have encamped against the host of God, opposed to each other, but confederates against the church ofGod. Ritualism, with its superstition, its priestcraft, its sacramental efficacy, its hatred of the doctrines of grace; andon the other side Rationalism, with its sneering unbelief and absurd speculations. These, like Herod and Pilate, agree innothing but in opposition toChrist; they have one common dread, although they may not confess it. They do not dread those platform speeches in whichthey are so furiously denounced at public meetings, nor those philosophical discussions in which they are overthrown by argument;but they hate, but they fear, and therefore abuse and pretend to despise, the prayerful, zealous, plain simple preaching ofthe truth as it is in Jesus. This is a weapon against which they cannot stand-the weapon of the odd gospel. In the days ofLuther it did marvels; it wrought wonders in the days of Whitfield and Wesley: it has often restored the ark of the Lordto our land, and it will again. It has lost none of its ancient power, and therefore is it the terror of the adversaries ofChrist.

"Thine aspect's awful majesty

Doth strike thy foes with fear;

As armies do when banners fly,

And martial flags appear.

How does thine armor, glitt'ring bright,

Their frighted spirits quell!

The weapons of thy warlike might

Defy the gates of hell."

Even to Satan himself the church of God is terrible. He might, he thinks, deal with individuals, but when these individuals strengthen each otherby mutual converse and prayer, when they are bound to each other in holy love, and make a temple in which Christ dwells, thenis Satan hard put to it. O brethren and sisters, it is not every church that is terrible thus, tent it is a church of Godin which there is the life of God, and the love of God; a church in whichthere is the uplifted banner, the banner of the cross, high-held amid those various banners of truthful doctrine and spiritualgrace, of which I have just now spoken.

III. We will take a third point; and that is, WHY IS THE CHURCH OF CHRIST TERRIBLE AS AN ARMY WITH BANNERS? Why is it terriblebecause of its banners? The whole passage seems to say that the church is terrible as an army, but that to the fullest degreeshe owes her terribleness to her banners. "Terrible as an army with banners." I believe the great banner of the Christianchurch to be the uplifted Savior. "I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me."Around him then we gather. "Unto him shall the gathering of the people be." As the brazen serpent in the midst of thecamp in the wilderness, so is the Savior lifted high, our banner. The atoning, sacrifice of Christ is the great central standardof all really regenerate men, and this is the main source of dismay to Israel's foes.

But we shall take the thoughts in order. The church herself is terrible, and then terrible because of her banners. Brethren,the army itself is terrible. Why? First, because it consists of elect people. Remember how Haman's wife enquired concerningMordecai whether he belonged to the seed of the Jews; for if he did, then she foretold that her husband's scheme would provea failure. "If Mordecai be of the Seed of the Jews, before whom thou hast begun to fall, thou shalt notprevail against him, but shalt surely fall before him." Now, the church of God as made up of men and women is nothingmore than any other organisation. Look at its exterior, and you see in it few persons of great education and a great manyof no education; here and there a wealthy and powerful person, but hundreds who are poor and despised. It does not possessin itself, naturally, the elements of strength, according to ordinary reckoning. Indeed, its own confession is that in itselfit isperfect weakness, a flock of sheep among wolves; but here lies its strength, that each of the true members of the churchare of the seed royal; they are God's chosen ones, the seed of the woman ordained of old to break the head of Satan and allhis serpent seed. They are the weakness of God, but they are stronger than men; he has determined with the things that arenot to bring to nought the things that are. As the Canaanites feared the chosen race of Israel because the rumor of them hadgoneforth among the people, and the terror of Jehovah was upon them; so is it with the hosts of evil. They have dreamed theirdreams, as the Midianite did, and valiant men like Gideon can hear them telling it; the barley cake shall fall upon the royaltent of Gideon and smite it till it lies along; the sword of the Lord, and of Gideon, shall rout the foe. The elect shallovercome through the blood of the Lamb, and none shall say them nay. Ye are a royal priesthood, a peculiar people, a chosengeneration; and in you the living God will gloriously declare his sovereign grace.

The church, again, consists of a praying people. Now prayer is that which links weakness with infinite strength. A people who can pray can never be overcome, because theirreserve forces can never be exhausted. Go into battle, my brother; and if you be vanquished with the strength you have, prayershall call up another legion. Yea, twenty legions of angels, and the foe shall marvel to see undefeated adversaries stillholding the field. If ten thousand saints wereburned to-morrow, their dying prayers would make the church rise like a phoenix from her ashes. Who, therefore, can standagainst a people whose prayers enlist God in their quarrel? "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge."We cry unto the Lord, and he heareth us; he breaketh through the ranks of the foe; he giveth us triumph in the day of battle:therefore, terrible as an army with banners are those who wield the weapon of all-prayer.

Again, a true church is based upon eternal truth. I need not quote to you the old Latin proverb which says that truth is mighty and must prevail. Truth is, and truth shallbe. It alone is substance, and must outlast the lapse of ages. Falsehoods are soon swollen to their perfection of development,like the bubbles with rainbow hues which children blow, but they are dispersed as easily as they are fashioned; they are childrenof the hour, while truth is the offspringand heir of eternity. Falsehood dies, pierced through the heart by the arrows of time, but truth, in her impenetrablemail bids defiance to all foes. Men who love the truth are building gold and silver, and precious stones; and though theirarchitecture may progress but slowly, it is built for eternity. Ramparts of truth may often be assailed, but they will neverbe carried by the foe. Establish a power among men of the most ostentatious and apparently stable kind, but rest assured thatifuntruth be at the root of it, it must perish, sooner or later; only truth is invincible, eternal, supreme. The fear ofthe true church and the dread thereof falls upon the enemy, because they have wit enough left to know that truth has an abidingand indestructible power. I was very much amused, the other day, to read a criticism by an eminent infidel, whose name wouldbe well known if I were to mention it, in which he speaks very highly of the exceeding great skill and wisdom, and commonsense, always exhibited in the arrangements of the Roman Catholic Church in opposition to Infidelity, and of the imbecilityand childishness manifested by Christian ministers in assailing Rationalism with their dogmatism, etc. I was very glad toreceive information so valuable, and I thought: "I see, my friend, what kind of warfare you like best. You admire the RomanCatholic kind of fighting, but you do not admire that which evangelical ministers have adopted. It is no aim of ours to pleaseour enemies in our mode of warfare, but the reverse; and if we have discovered a weapon which galls you, we will use thatsame arm more freely than ever." There is a story of an officer who was rather awkward in his manners, and, upon some greatoccasion, almost fell over his sword in his haste. His majesty remarked, "Your sword seems to be very much in the way." "Soyour majesty's enemies have very often felt," was the reply. So, when the enemies of the truth are finding fault with ourprocedure, we accept their verdict when we have turned it the other way upwards. If they do not admire our mode of warfare,we think; it is in all probability about the best method we could adopt. We would still, God granting us help, continue preachingthe "foolishness" of the gospel, and deliver again and again the old truth, that God was in Christ reconciling the world untohimself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. Instead of lifting up a new banner (which would better please ouradversaries) it shall be the old banner still-"None but Christ." "By grace are ye saved through faith; and that out ofyourselves: it is the gift of God." Salvation is by free favor, through the expiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord.

We are now to observe, that the chief glory and majesty of the church lies mainly in the banner which she carries. What causefor terror is there in the banner? We reply, the enemies of Christ dread the cross, because they know what the cross has done.Wherever the crucified Jesus has been preached, false systems have tottered to their fall. Dagou has always fallen beforethe ark of the Lord. Rage the most violent is excited by the doctrine of the atonement, a rage inwhich the first cause for wrath is fear.

The terribleness of the church lies in her banners, because those banners put strength into her. Drawing near to the standardof the cross the weakest soldier becomes strong: he who might have played the coward becomes a hero when the precious bloodof Jesus is felt with power in his soul. Martyrs are born and nurtured at the cross. It is the blood of Jesus which is thelife-blood of self-denial; we can die because our Savior died. The presence of Alexander made the Greeksmore than giants: the presence of our Redeemer makes believers swifter than eagles, and stronger than lions.

Moreover, the powers of evil tremble at the old standard, because they have a presentiment of its future complete triumph.It is decreed of God, and fixed by his predestinating purpose, that all flesh shall see the salvation of God. Jesus must reign;the crucified One must conquer. The hands nailed to the wood must sway the scepter of all kingdoms. Like potters' vesselsdashed to pieces, must all the might and majesty of men be, that shall oppose the crown and scepter ofChrist's kingdom. In Christ preached lies the battle-axe and weapons of war, with which the Lord will work out his everlastingdecrees. The church with the name of Immanuel emblazoned on her banner, which it is her duty to keep well displayed, and liftedhigh, is sure to be terrible to all the powers of darkness.

We will close with one or two reflections. Will each one here say to himself: "An army, a company of warriors, am I one ofthem? Am I a soldier? I have entered the church; I make a profession; but am I really a soldier? Do I fight? Do I endure hardness?Am I a mere carpet-knight, a mere lie-a-bed soldier, one of those who are pleased to put on regimentals in order to adornmyself with a profession without ever going to the war?"

"Am I a soldier of the cross-a follower of the Lamb?"

Pass the question round, my dear brethren and sisters: Are you soldiers who engage in actual fighting for Jesus, under hisbanner? Do you rally round it? Do you know the standard? Do you love it? Could you die in defense of it? Is the person ofJesus dearest of all things to you? Do you value the doctrine of the atoning substitution? Do you feel your own energy andpower awakened in the defense of that, and for the love of that? Let not one go away without making thesearching question.

And then "terrible." Am I in any way terrible through being Christian? Is there any power in my life that would condemn asinner? my holiness about me that would make a wicked man feel ill at ease in my company? Is there enough of Christ aboutmy life to make me like a light in the midst of the darkness? or is it very likely that if I were to live in a house the inhabitantswould never see any difference between me and the ungodly? Oh, how many Christians there are whoneed to wear a label round their necks: you would never know that they were Christians without it! They make long prayersand great pretences, but they are Christians in nothing but the name. May your life and mine never be thus despicable, butmay we convince gainsayers that there is a power in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and make them confess, that they, not havingit, are losing a great blessing.

One other thought. If I am not a soldier, if I am not a servant of Christ in very truth, and yet I come to the place of worshipwhere Christians meet, and where Christ is preached, the day will be when the church of God will be very terrible to me. Iwill suppose that there is a person listening to this sermon who has been hearing the preaching of the word in this placenow for many years. Imagine that the last day is come. You are brought before the great judgment-seat,and this is the question:-"Did this sinner hear the gospel faithfully preached? He is ungodly, he has rejected Christ:does he deserve to be cast away? Did he really bear the gospel, and did he reject it?" If I am asked to give my witness, Imust say, "To the best of my ability, I tried to tell him the gospel of Jesus Christ." "Was this sinner prayed for by thechurch?" There are many of the members of this church who would feel bound to declare "Yes, Lord, we did pray for him." Yes,and allof us should say, "If we did not pray for him by name, we included him in the general company of those who attended uponthe means of grace, for whom we made a constant intercession." Is there any member of the church who would be able to makean apology for the rejector of Christ? He has willfully rejected the Savior, he knowingly continued in sin. Will anybody bean advocate for him? Not one tongue would be able to excuse you at the judgment, or to argue against the righteous sentenceof God.When the great Judge condemns the sinner to be taken away to execution, the whole church with whom that sinner has worshipped,and in whose presence that sinner has rejected Christ, will become "terrible as an army with banners;" for all its voiceswill say, "Amen, Amen, Amen! Thou art righteous, O Lord."

This is no picture drawn from fancy. Know ye not that the saints shall judge the world? They shall sit as co-assessors withthe Son of God at the last great assize, and shall say, "Amen!" to every verdict which proceedeth from his mouth. O that thethought of this might be blessed of God's Spirit, so as to lead many of you to be reconciled to God. Jesus is still the lovingMediator, and a full surrender of yourselves to him will assuredly save you. Whosoever believeth onhim is not condemned; and this is to believe on him-that ye trust in him, and know that God hath given unto us eternallife-and this life is in his Son who suffered in the stead of sinners, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, buthave everlasting life. The Lord bless you, for the Lord Jesus' sake. Amen.

MR. SPURGEON has been laid aside by sickness for two Sabbaths, but is now recovering and hopes to be again in the pulpit nextLord's-day. He earnestly beg the prayers of loving friends that his frequent infirmities may be sanctified to the glory ofGod and the profit of the church; and then, if it were the Lord's will, eventually removed.