The Project Gutenberg eBook, Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII (of 8), by John Henry Newman

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Title: Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VII (of 8)

Author: John Henry Newman

Release Date: January 11, 2008 [eBook #24256]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PAROCHIAL AND PLAIN SERMONS, VOL. VII (OF 8)***

E-text prepared by Al Haines

PAROCHIAL AND PLAIN SERMONS

by

JOHN HENRY NEWMAN, B.D.

Formerly Vicar of St. Mary's, Oxford

In Eight Volumes

VOL. VII.

New Edition

London Longmans, Green, and Co. and New York: 15 East 16th Street 1891

CONTENTS.

SERMON I.

The Lapse of Time.

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."—Eccles. ix. 10

SERMON II.

Religion a Weariness to the Natural Man.

"He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him."—Isaiah liii. 2

SERMON III.

The World our Enemy.

"We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness."—1 John v. 19

SERMON IV.

The Praise of Men

"They loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."—John xii. 43

SERMON V.

Temporal Advantages.

"We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."—1 Tim. vi. 7, 8

SERMON VI.

The Season of Epiphany.

"This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth His glory; and His disciples believed on Him."—John ii. 11

SERMON VII.

The Duty of Self-Denial.

"Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child."—Psalm cxxxi. 2

SERMON VIII.

The Yoke of Christ.

"Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls; for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."—Matt. xi. 29, 30

SERMON IX.

Moses the Type of Christ.

"The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken."—Deut. xviii. 15

SERMON X.

The Crucifixion.

"He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He openeth not His mouth."—Isaiah liii. 7

SERMON XI.

Attendance on Holy Communion.

"Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life."—John v. 40

SERMON XII.

The Gospel Feast.

"When Jesus then lifted up His eyes, and saw a great company come unto Him, He saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?"—John vi. 5

SERMON XIII.

Love of Religion, a New Nature.

"If we lie dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him."—Romans vi. 8

SERMON XIV.

Religion Pleasant to the Religious.

"O taste and see how gracious the Lord is: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him."—Psalm xxxiv. 8

SERMON XV

Mental Prayer.

"Pray without ceasing."—1 Thess. v. 17

SERMON XVI.

Infant Baptism.

"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God."—John iii. 5

SERMON XVII.

The Unity of the Church.

"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it."—Matt. xvi. 18

SERMON XVIII.

Stedfastness in the Old Paths.

"Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls."—Jer. vi. 16

SERMON I.

The Lapse of Time.

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest."—Eccles. ix. 10.

Solomon's advice that we should do whatever our hand findeth to do with our might, naturally directs our thoughts to that great work in which all others are included, which will outlive all other works, and for which alone we really are placed here below—the salvation of our souls. And the consideration of this great work, which must be done with all our might, and completed before the grave, whither we go, presents itself to our minds with especial force at the commencement of a new year. We are now entering on a fresh stage of our life's journey; we know well how it will end, and we see where we shall stop in the evening, though we do not see the road. And we know in what our business lies while we travel, and that it is important for us to do it with our "might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave." This is so plain, that nothing need be said in order to convince us that it is true. We know it well; the very complaint which numbers commonly make when told of it, is that they know it already, that it is nothing new, that they have no need to be told, and that it is tiresome to hear the same thing said over and over again, and impertinent in the person who repeats it. Yes; thus it is that sinners silence their conscience, by quarrelling with those who appeal to it; they defend themselves, if it may be called a defence, by pleading that they already know what they should do and do not, that they know perfectly well that they are living at a distance from God, and are in peril of eternal ruin; that they know they are making themselves children of Satan, and denying the Lord that bought them, and want no one to tell