Town and Country Sermons | Page 6

God and Christ live in thee, and work in thee
to will and to do of their own good pleasure, that shall be enough for
thee, and thou shall be satisfied.

And just so, again, with that same thirst after truth. That, too, can only
be satisfied by God, and in God. Not by the reading of books, however
true; not by listening to sermons, however clever; can we see light: but
only in the light of God. Know God. Know that he is justice itself,
order itself, love itself, patience itself, pity itself. In the light of that, all
things will become light and bright to thee. Matters which seemed to
have nothing to do with God, the thought of God will explain to thee, if
thou thinkest aright concerning God; and the true knowledge of him
will be the key to all other true knowledge in heaven and earth. For the
fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and a good understanding
have all they that do thereafter. Must it not be so? How can it be
otherwise? For in God all live and move and have their being; and all
things which he has made are rays from off his glory, and patterns of
his perfect mind. As the Maker is, so is his work; if, therefore, thou
wouldest judge rightly of the work, acquaint thyself with the Maker of
it, and know first, and know for ever, that his name is Love.
Thus, sooner or later, in God the Father's good time, will thy thirst for
truth be satisfied, and thou shalt see the light of God. He may keep thee
long waiting for full truth. He may send thee by strange and crooked
paths. He may exercise and strain thy reason by doubts, mistakes, and
failures; but sooner or later, if thou dost not faint and grow weary, he
will show to thee the thing which thou knewest not; for he is thy Father,
and wills that all his children, each according to their powers, should
share not only in his goodness, but in his wisdom also.
Do any of you say, 'These are words too deep for us; they are for
learned people, clever, great saints?' I think not.
I have seen poor people, ignorant people, sick people, poor old souls on
parish pay, satisfied with the plenteousness of God's house, and
drinking so freely of God's pleasure, that they knew no thirst, fretted
not, never were discontented. All vain longings after this and that were
gone from their hearts. They had very little; but it seemed to be enough.
They had nothing indeed, which we could call pleasure in this world;
but somehow what they had satisfied them, because it came from God.
They had a hidden pleasure, joy, content, and peace.

They had found out that with God was the well of life; that in God they
lived and moved, and had their being. And as long as their souls lived
in God, full of the eternal life and goodness, obeying his laws, loving
the thing which he commanded, and desiring what he promised, they
could trust him for their poor worn-out dying bodies, that he would not
let them perish, but raise them up again at the last day. They knew very
little; but what they did know was full of light. Cheerful and hopeful
they were always; for they saw all things in the light of God. They
knew that God was light, and God was love; that his love was shining
down on them and on all around them, warming, cheering, quickening
into life all things which he had made; so that when the world should
have looked most dark to them, it looked most bright, because they saw
it lightened up by the smile of their Father in heaven.
O may God bring us all to such an old age, that, as our mortal bodies
decay, our souls may be renewed day by day; that as the life of our
bodies grows cold and feeble, the life of our souls may grow richer,
warmer, stronger, more useful to all around us, for ever and ever; that
as the light of this life fades, the light of our souls may grow brighter,
fuller, deeper; till all is clear to us in the everlasting light of God, in
that perfect day for which St. Paul thirsted through so many weary
years; when he should no more see through a glass darkly, or prophesy
in part, and talk as a child, but see face to face, and know even as he
was known.

SERMON III. THE TRANSFIGURATION

(Preached before the Queen.)
Matthew xvii. 2 and 9. And he was transfigured before them. . . . And
he charged them,