SERMON XXXVI.
THE SECRET OF THE LORD.

TRINITY SUNDAY.

Ps. xxv. 13.

"The secret of the Lord is among them that fear Him: and He will shew them His covenant."

To tell a person our secrets, is generally considered to be the greatest token of entire friendship towards him. It shews that we have entire dependence upon him, and that we quite reckon on his feeling for us, and doing as we would wish him. It is the particular mark of friendship, the difference between servants and friends: as our Lord Himself pointed out to His disciples. "Henceforth," said He, "I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father, I have made known unto you." And we know how naturally pleased we are, to be entrusted with the secrets of those above us; to have our elders and betters explaining to us what they mean to do, and why. It is a silent sort of praise, which almost every person feels glad to receive. We naturally think, that when people do so, they have confidence in us, both in our wisdom and in our honesty: and this of course pleases all men.

All too are gratified with finding or imagining that they know something which others do not know; that they can explain what others cannot, that they are trusted while others are kept at a distance.

Now, we may reverently say, Almighty God has His secrets. Wonderful and mysterious truths and doings, the full and deep meaning of which not even the highest of His creatures can entirely understand, For S. Peter says, concerning the great truths of the Gospel, that even the "Angels desire to stoop down and look into them." Even those glorious spirits know less than they desire to know, of the great love of God in creating, redeeming, regenerating us. Much more of course must fallen man, here in his weak and low condition, be distant from the full knowledge of God's ways. But as He in His mercy reveals to those blessed ones continually more and more of what He is about, so there are certain persons among men whom He favours in the same way, trusting them, and telling them His secrets. Who, it may be asked, are those honoured and happy persons? We may judge a little who are likely to be so, by considering what sort of people among our fellow-creatures we are most apt to entrust with our own secrets. The great thing of all is Love. If we see any one deeply attached to us, if we have no doubt that he feels for us in every thing, we are presently inclined to trust him. We know then that he will feel for us, that he will attend earnestly to what we tell him, and will think earnestly of it afterwards; that he will put himself in our place, and really endeavour to judge the best he can for us, not being carried away by any interest or passion of his own. This is what we know a person will feel if he truly loves us, and therefore to such an one we willingly tell our secrets; hoping, if we get nothing more by doing so, at least to obtain that relief, which goes along with a mere opening of a full heart.

But then is love the only thing we look for in a person, fit to be told of our secrets? Clearly not: for we do not trust children with them, nor other people who are as simple as children, though they love us never so well. Besides love, there must be, in a trustworthy person, a respect and reverence for ourselves, and for what we tell him, which will prevent his dealing lightly with it, or speaking of it rashly where he ought not. When people neglect this, and speak carelessly of all matters to any body who seems good-natured and friendly, they can hardly expect their secrets to be kept, and no one pities them, when trouble comes on them by those secrets being known. Thus you see that a mixture of love and something like fear is the temper which best prepares a man to be trusted with his neighbour's secrets. And the Scripture every where seems to teach, that it is much the same kind of character which makes a man fit to be entrusted with heavenly mysteries, with the secrets of God Almighty. "The secret of the Lord is among them that fear Him." "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word." "Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." Those who approach God with a deep reverence, with an earnest desire to please Him, and with a dread of offending Him; those are the persons, to whom He will, by degrees, reveal Himself more and more. He will open their eyes, that they may understand "wondrous things out of His law." It is not much learning nor cleverness, nor being quick and ready to recollect the words of Scripture, which enables men to think rightly of such aweful mysteries as this of to-day: but it is devotion and seriousness of heart. The Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, Three Persons, One God, reveals Himself in ways of His own, ways which no tongue can tell, no heart imagine, to the humble and meek, the contented and self-denying. Just such in the Old Testament are those, whom we find the Almighty favouring with especial knowledge of His will and purposes.

They were such as Noah, just and perfect, and walking with God: to whom accordingly God declared His purpose of sending a flood upon the earth. Or they were such as Abraham, walking by faith not by sight, counting not his own son too dear to offer up when God commanded; commanding his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord: whom consequently God honoured with the title of His friend, and concerning whom He said, "Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do?" Or again, those to whom God loves to reveal Himself are, like Moses, very tender spirited and afraid of sin: with whom "God spake face to face, as a man talketh with his friend:" or they are like the Apostles, who in faith and fear followed Christ, giving up all that they had, and so by degrees He shewed them all the hidden and wonderful things of His kingdom.

All these are witnesses, how our Lord from the beginning kept to the rule which He afterwards laid down in the Gospel: "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself." "He that hath ears to hear,'; ears opened by sincere obedience and love, of him only, Christ said, "let him hear." The rest may answer well, and seem to know much, but they cannot really understand, they cannot really have the mind of Christ.

So again, you may observe, the Gospel tells us more of the heavenly secrets than the law does, for this very reason, because it brings men nearer to Christ. Grace and Truth go together: where God requires most entire love and fear of Himself, there He offers to shew Himself most openly. Hear our Saviour's own words. "Henceforth, I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: but I have called you friends: for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you." The offer is most gracious: to reveal to us the whole counsel of God: to keep back nothing; but to make known whatsoever the Son had heard of the Father. But see on what it depends. To have the benefit of it, we must be friends of our Saviour: He speaks the word Himself: "Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." To know our Lord's secrets we must be His friends, and to be His friends, we must keep His commandments. His secret "is with them that fear Him."

We may see how it is with children when they say the catechism. Without doubt they answer at once on points, which the wisest men of old, heathen and Jews, knew nothing about. They acknowledge the Most Holy Trinity, the Incarnation of Christ, the creation and fall of man, the Redemption of the world by the Death of the Son of God, the sanctification of the souls of Christians by His Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts, the regenerating power of Holy Baptism, the Presence of Christ's Body and Blood in the Holy Communion. All these mysteries Christian children acknowledge, as often as they repeat the catechism: and who shall deny that if they be good children, they acknowledge them in true faith, however little they may seem to understand them?

At all events, we are quite sure of this, that if any such child be taken away, by God's merciful providence, without having broken God's seal and forfeited His baptismal blessing, it will presently know great things, greater than the wisest and most enlightened on earth. Such a child will depart and be with Christ in paradise. Such a child will know what the death of a Christian is, and what power in the Cross of Christ to support His little ones through that dark valley. Such will know, and will not only imagine, what such promises as these mean, "He shall feed His flock like a shepherd, He shall gather the lambs with His arms, and carry them in his bosom:" and again, "Suffer the little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." These, and many more sweet and aweful secrets are doubtless made known to the little ones of Jesus Christ, as soon as they are taken out of this world. Being absent from the body and present with the Lord, they see His face with joy: and they know for certain, what it should seem the holiest can hardly know on earth, till near his end, that they personally shall be saved for ever; that they cannot possibly fall away. While parents and friends perhaps are mourning round their graves, and missing their innocent and happy looks, they are admitted in a moment, at once (we may believe), to such a knowledge of God's secrets as shall wipe away all tears from their eyes for ever. Thus it is with children: and so too with all who live humble and child-like before God, and do not cast away the treasure of their Baptism. However simple and ignorant they might seem here, how much soever they might want words or clear ways of thinking on what they believed, "the secret of the Lord is with them," all the while, and will be with them after death in a yet more blessed and unspeakable way.

One token of this great mercy, to be shewn after death to such as fear God, is the wonderful way, in which even now He guides them to understand His providence, and their own duty. It is astonishing how much even very simple persons, who have gone on steadily in the way of goodness, seem to know of the secret meaning of what happens to themselves and others. Circumstances which ordinary people see nothing at all in, they lay up like the blessed Virgin Mary; they keep and ponder them in their hearts: and so they come to be silently prepared, no one knows how, for trials and changes, which otherwise might be far too severe for them.

More especially with regard to their own duty, God's Holy Spirit will never forsake any exact conscientious humble Christian, who seeks Him heartily in prayer and obedience, but He will always be secretly at hand to guide such a one in the most difficult cases, so that he shall not fall into sinful error, " If any man will do His will," if he have made up his mind in all things, little and great, to do and suffer, as he knows God would have him, God will in time reveal to him the matters, of which as yet he may seem doubtful; or if not, he may have reasonable hope that the doubt is of no great consequence. This is the kind of anchor, sure and stedfast, for well-meaning people in times of doubt and perplexity. As e.g. in the case of the greatest of the perplexities of these latter times, not knowing for certain which is God's true Church. It was the case in our Lord's own time: there must have been a doubt among good Jews, when they first heard of the Blessed Jesus and His Apostles, how far they could join with Him, without forsaking the temple and the law of Moses. He therefore tells them the way out of this doubt. "Do His will, and you shall know of My teaching:" Serve Him truly, with a good mind and heart, in all things, and you will soon find that you are not far from the kingdom of God. Thus was fulfilled in our Lord's time the latter part of the promise in the text: they that fear the Lord; "He will shew them His covenant." He will not only "lead them in the right way" in matters concerning their daily conduct, but will also silently instruct them in matters of belief and rules of Church communion, so that errors, even deadly in themselves, shall not prove deadly to them: the sting of them shall be taken out by His overflowing grace: and bye and bye, when the darkness of earth is past, He will bring them to the full light, and they shall behold His righteousness.

Let no person's heart fail, because he does not see all this with his eyes. Let us not say, how should this be? Good people are not always knowing even in religious matters; and certainly knowing people are very far from being always good. This indeed is too true: but we must bear in mind that the knowledge promised in the Scriptures is an inward, secret, silent knowledge, and that to which it is promised is an inward, secret, silent disposition of the heart; neither are such as men can positively take notice of. They that are good, shall know of the doctrine, but we cannot say quite for certain who are good: we know not what secret unrepented sin may be yet lurking in a man's conscience, and causing his inward sight of holy truth to be false and dim, perhaps without his at all suspecting it himself: or his own heart may justly smite him, without others at all knowing of it; and so, for all his good report, he may be a very insufficient judge of divine things.

Again, they that are really good shall "know indeed of the doctrine." That is promised: but it is not promised that they shall be able to give an account of their knowledge; it is not promised that they shall have plenty of words, and a clear way of putting them together: they may truly know, yet not as yet be distinctly aware of their own knowledge: just as any little child knows that its parents are its best friends, and turns to them as a matter of course in its troubles: yet it never did nor could say to itself, "my parents are my best friends." So, whoever receives from the Church, the Creed, the Lord's prayer, and the ten commandments; and believes the Creed heartily, says the Lord's prayer devoutly, and practises the commandments diligently; that man has in him a great deal more knowledge than he himself is aware of: the whole "law of his God is in his heart, and his goings shall not slide." Such persons have that in them, which by God's mercy will teach them the right way, when new difficulties come on, when they are called on to do anything, or to give advice to any one, suddenly. The Spirit which Christ promised is in them, to teach them and guide them into all truth. He will never leave them nor forsake them. They will never be left destitute of His aid, be the call never so sudden.

Would we then have a quiet heart, and be at rest in our faith and practice? Would we be free from distressing doubt? Would we have the best security, that can be had in this life, against false and wrong notions of holy Truth? Let us keep steadily, in thought, word and action, to that which we already know to be truth: humbly commit beforehand all we say and think about holy things to Him Who came down at Pentecost to sanctify God's chosen people: be very careful what we say about the things of God, and to whom we say it. Let us not think that what we say is of course right, because it sounds serious, and relates to some sacred subject. "Set a watch before your mouth, and keep the door of your lips:" "be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter anything before God." Above all things, let us beware of getting into a way of saying what we do not mean, of uttering devout words as a matter of course, saying, "Lord, Lord," while we do not the things which He commands. "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is" the whole comfort, as well as "the whole duty of man."

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