Twenty-Five Village Sermons | Page 6

him, fall at his feet
and give yourself up to him body and soul? I am afraid that I, for one,
should not--I am afraid that too many of us here would not. That comes
of thinking more of religion than we do of godliness--in plain words,
more of our own souls than we do of Jesus Christ. But you will want to
know what is, after all, the difference between religion and godliness?
Just the difference, my friends, that there is between always thinking of
self and always forgetting self--between the terror of a slave and the
affection of a child--between the fear of hell and the love of God. For,
tell me, what you mean by being religious? Do you not mean thinking a
great deal about your own souls, and praying and reading about your
own souls, and trying by all possible means to get your own souls
saved? Is not that the meaning of religion? And yet I have never
mentioned God's name in describing it! This sort of religion must have
very little to do with God. You may be surprised at my words, and say
in your hearts almost angrily, 'Why who saves our souls but God?
therefore religion must have to do with God.' But, my friends, for your
souls' sake, and for God's sake, ask yourselves this question on your
knees this day:--If you could get your souls saved without God's help,
would it make much difference to you? Suppose an angel from heaven,
as they say, was to come down and prove to you clearly that there was
no God, no blessed Jesus in heaven, that the world made itself, and
went on of itself, and that the Bible was all a mistake, but that you need
not mind, for your gardens and crops would grow just as well, and your
souls be saved just as well when you died.
To how many of you would it make any difference? To some of you,
thank God, I believe it would make a difference. Here are some here, I
believe, who would feel that news the worst news they ever
heard,--worse than if they were told that their souls were lost for ever;
there are some here, I do believe, who, at that news, would cry aloud in
agony, like little children who had lost their father, and say, 'No Father
in heaven to love? No blessed Jesus in heaven to work for, and die for,
and glory and delight in? No God to rule and manage this poor,
miserable, quarrelsome world, bringing good out of evil, blessing and
guiding all things and people on earth? What do I care what becomes of
my soul if there is no God for my soul to glory in? What is heaven

worth without God? God is Heaven!'
Yes, indeed, what would heaven be worth without God? But how many
people feel that the curse of this day is, that most people have forgotten
THAT? They are selfishly anxious enough about their own souls, but
they have forgotten God. They are religious, for fear of hell; but they
are not godly, for they do not love God, or see God's hand in every
thing. They forget that they have a Father in heaven; that He sends rain,
and sunshine, and fruitful seasons; that He gives them all things richly
to enjoy in spite of all their sins. His mercies are far above, out of their
sight, and therefore His judgments are far away out of their sight too;
and so they talk of the "Visitation of God," as if it was something that
was very extraordinary, and happened very seldom; and when it came,
only brought evil, harm, and sorrow. If a man lives on in health, they
say he lives by the strength of his own constitution; if he drops down
dead, they say he died by "the visitation of God." If the corn-crops go
on all right and safe, they think THAT quite natural-- the effect of the
soil, and the weather, and their own skill in farming and gardening. But
if there comes a hailstorm or a blight, and spoils it all, and brings on a
famine, they call it at once "a visitation of God." My friends! do you
think God "visits" the earth or you only to harm you? I tell you that
every blade of grass grows by "the visitation of God." I tell you that
every healthy breath you ever drew, every cheerful hour you ever spent,
every good crop you ever housed safely, came to you by "the visitation
of God." I tell you that every sensible thought or plan that ever came
into your heads,--every loving, honest, manly, womanly feeling that
ever rose in your hearts, God