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of the populace: how many days those cruelties lasted is not said, but in all probability they were the ten days which are predicted in the epistle we are considering. We have a detailed account of this persecution in a letter which was written by the church of Smyrna, and of which copies were sent to the different churches of Asia: the principal object of this letter is to relate the faithfulness and sufferings of the aged Polycarp. Ever since the period that St. John addressed him as the angel of the church at Smyrna, he had continued to be the faithful overseer of that flock of Christ; and now in his extreme old age he was called upon to seal the great truths he had so long preached with his blood. The affection which the people had for their pastor induced him, when the day of trial came, to withdraw from the storm, and conceal himself near the city; but the place of his concealment was soon discovered, and he was hurried away to the stadium, where the multitude was calling aloud for his blood. Whilst Quintius, a Phrygian, was intimidated at the sight of the wild beasts and the instruments of torture, Polycarp maintained his usual composure of mind when he heard the voices calling aloud, "Let Polycarp be sought for; away with the impious!" As he came near the pro-consul, Statius Quadratus asked him if he was Polycarp. Upon his confessing that he was, he endeavoured to persuade him to deny Christ, urging him, and saying, "Swear by the fortune of Cæsar, and I will dismiss thee; reproach Christ." Polycarp, bearing no doubt in mind the words of the epistle" Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life"-answered," Four score and six years have I served him, and he has never done me any injury; how can I blaspheme my king and my Saviour?" The governor then threatened him with the wild beasts, and, finding that unavailing, he threatened him with fire unless he repented. Polycarp said, "You threaten me with fire, which burns for an hour and then is extinguished, but you are ignorant of the fire of the future judgment and everlasting punishment, reserved for the wicked; but why do you delay? Appoint which you please." The pro-consul then caused a herald to proclaim in the midst of the stadium, "Polycarp has confessed himself to be a Christian;" the proclamation having been made, the whole multitude of the Gentiles and Jews inhabiting Smyrna with furious rage cried out-"This is the teacher of Asia, the father of the Christians, the destroyer of our gods, who teacheth all men not to sacrifice nor to worship them." The shows of the amphitheatre being over, the wild beasts could not be let loose again that day, therefore they cried out with one voice that Polycarp should be burnt alive; they then immediately all joined in bringing wood and dried branches of trees from the shops and baths, and the Jews, it is said, were particularly forward in this work of cruelty.

And here I cannot but remark how constant, through a long succession of ages, has this spirit of hatred to the Christian remained amongst the oriental Jews. For, no longer since than the year 1821, when Gregory, the aged patriarch of Constantinople, was hanged at the door of his cathedral in his pontifical robes, the Jews fell upon the corpse

and with the rage of demons mutilated the dead body, and dragged it with shouts of hyæna-laughter into the canal. Nor, on the other hand, is there at Smyrna any more prevailing that spirit of a Polycarp which, in imitation of his blessed Master, could pray for his murderers; but, whenever an opportunity offers of revenge, the Christians (so called) retort upon the Jews the hate they know they bear them. When plague invades the city of Smyrna, the Jews are the first victims of oppression, and they are driven out of their homes, with such of their worldly goods as they can convey away by stealth, to seek a shelter outside the city. A circumstance, of this kind happened during the days I remained at Smyrna, endeavouring to trace out the remains of the stadium in which Polycarp was faithful unto death*.

But to proceed with the letter of the church of Smyrna. All things being prepared and put in order for the pile, when they were about to nail him to the stake, he said "Let me be as I am; he that enables me to bear the fire, will enable me also to remain unmoved within the pile, without your fastening me with nails." They therefore did not nail him, but only bound him. He then offered up a prayer to God, which? he concluded, saying aloud, "Amen." Then the officers kindled the fire, but, Polycarp's body not being so soon consumed as expected, the people desired that the executioner should be called for, and run him through with a sword. The faithful were now desirous to have his body to be delivered to them; but some there were who moved Nicetas to go to the governor to prevent his giving the body to the believers, lest, as they said, they should leave him that was crucified to worship this man. "This," continues the epistle of the Smyrnæans, "they said at the suggestion of the Jews, who also diligently watched us, that we might not carry off the body; little considering that we can never forsake Christ, who has suffered for the salvation of all men. Him we worship as the Son of God-the martyrs we love as the disciples and imitators of the Lord." The centurion, therefore, perceiving the perverseness of the Jews, caused the body to be brought forth and burnt it. "We then gathered up his bones, and deposited them in a proper place." This is the account given by the church of Smyrna of the end of their venerable bishop-the very angel of the church to whom the epistle in the apocalypse was addressed, and on that account I have thought it expedient to mention the particular circumstances of his death. And can we doubt that he who was such a faithful witness, even unto death, has received the crown of life, which fadeth not away? It does not appear that this inhuman act, which must have been well known to the emperor Marcus, caused him to take any measures for restraining the bad spirit of the people; nevertheless, we find, after “the teacher of all Asia," as they called Polycarp, was removed, the church had some respite; but it lasted not long. An

• Some vestiges of the stadium where Polycarp suffered, may yet be traced: the "Cavea" is discernible, but no seats are left remaining; the arena is still marked out in the features of the ground; the remains of some vaults on which the gradus were supported are the most satisfactory indications of the buildings. To tread the spot where the disciple of St. John suffered for the faith once delivered to the saints is enough to excite emotion in the breast of a Christian minister.

earthquake, which nearly destroyed the city about eight years after this event, interposed to check the rage of persecution, and exhibit the just judgment of heaven upon the multitude; but this not before Thraseas, bishop of Eumenia, and Papirius, the successor of Polycarp, had been added to the company of martyrs. In the year 250, we find another severe persecution raging in Asia Minor; and at Smyrna, though Eudæmon, the bishop, was terrified into a denial of his faith, several other persons had the courage to meet death, among whom particular mention is made of Pionius, a presbyter. Thus we find, éven in the third century, the Christians of Smyrna continued faithful unto death.

I need not go beyond the period when persecution began to cease, and the errors of a false philosophy and superstition began to prevail. The epistle of St. John is sufficiently illustrated by the fact here brought before us, and the prophetic part of it, I think, fully understood and accomplished. The persecution came and tried those whom it pleased the Lord should be so tried, in order that his name might be glorified upon earth by the death of his saints: the promises were seized and realized, and the martyrs of Smyrna are now before the throne of the Almighty, with their crowns of life, which shall shine as the stars for ever. I dismiss from all consideration the speculations which many have made upon the hidden and mystical meaning of the apocalyptic epistles. I see no occasion either to consider the ten days of persecution in any other light than those days which so put the very existence of the church of Smyrna to the trial, nor yet to suppose that this is a representation of any particular church, or of any fixed epoch of the church of Christ in general; but this, I conceive, is the legitimate use of the epistle to Smyrna-it is written for our admonition and for our encouragement if ever we come into a similar condition, or into any one of the conditions in which the Christians of Smyrna were. Then shall we learn that, in the midst of poverty and vexation from without, it is possible to preserve a conscience void of offence, and maintain the good works which, in Christ, are acceptable unto God. We shall learn that there is a Providence who ordereth all things for the good of his people, and that, even when they are called upon to die for their faith, they will be enabled to triumph in the midst of their enemies. We shall learn that, as the natural eye grows dim, and the flesh is consumed by the slow hand of death, the eye of faith will become brightened, until it sees the glory which is to encircle the departed spirit in heaven. We shall learn that when all is sinking fast around us, and the world has no more to offer, we have a crown of immortality which is laid up for all that love the appearing of the Lord Jesus; and in this manner the apocalyptic epistle may be applied to any church or to any epoch. For where is the church in which some may not be found, who would be willing to change the tribulation they experience on earth for the joy which awaits them in heaven? And where is the church of Christ which can say now all is secure, "There will be no more days of anguish; the days of persecution are past? It may be, on the con

trary, that some such days yet await either ourselves or our posterity: perhaps they may be said in some respects, to have already begun. We have only to look to a sister island to see the works, the tribulations, and the poverty of many of our brethren in the faith; and, whatever may be the cause of that tribulation which now in a dark hour presses upon* them, they are in a condition to look to the example of the church of Smyrna, and take encouragement from the exhortation of the beloved apostle-" Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer." It is not possible for us to say, because we want the prophetic vision of St. John, what further trials await the church of Christ in our own land; not that we would be understood to speak of her temporalities, which ought to be held in comparatively light esteem, but of the faith which she has for three centuries hitherto kept unpolluted-of the means of grace which she has so constantly furnished to a wealthy and prosperous nation and its colonies: it is for these more precious blessings that we are anxious, and that the holy things of the altar may be safe amidst the political strife which threatens to agitate our country. We cannot indeed suppose that, in the present day of light and knowledge, any such scenes can be acted over again as once disgraced our country and legislature, or that an angel of a church, like Polycarp, could be committed to the flames for confessing himself to be a Christian; but we are to recollect that this awful scene took place under the government of an emperor who has been eulogised by the gravest historians, and whose avowed principle was to do justice to all men. And, when we look for the cause which permitted such an act of inhumanity, as to put an aged servant of Christ to death for his religion, we find it only in a cold indifference; it was not thought worthy of the consideration of the legislature to put a stop to the murder of a few despised fanatics. The same philosophic indifference may let many crimes go unnoticed—an indifference perhaps supported by the over whelming number of the enemies of Christ, but yet as fatal to the security of faith ful men as if a raging persecution openly followed them. Every age has its peculiarity, and perhaps that in which we live is characterised by the specious liberality of a Marcus Aurelius, who could allow a Polycarp and many of his adherents to perish by the hands of an infuriated multitude. But what is our course to be pursued in such a state of things, professing as we do to belong to Christ's holy catholic church? It is to fear none of those things which we may be called upon to endure, whether they come in the form of sacrifices to be made, or attacks to be borne: it is to give no occasion to the enemy to blaspheme the name of our Redeemer, but, like the Christians of Smyrna, to show our works, to be patient in tribulation, and, if need be, to contend with the ills of poverty. And what is it all? and what is the contest which endures but for a moment? Are there not greater things than these to be ever before our eyes? Let us look beyond the present condition, and see in the distance, by the

These reflections were made when the clergy of Ireland were undergoing the greatest privations in 1835. The author of these lectures promoted a subscription among the English residents at Rome, and had the satisfaction of remitting to his grace the archbishop of Armagh, a considerable sum towards the relief of the suffering brethren in Ireland.

eye of faith, that crown of life which is promised to all those who, like Polycarp, are faithful unto death. Be it our care to commit to posterity the faith which was once delivered to the saints, and which we have received through the medium of those institutions hitherto the glory of our land; but, when that is done, let us leave the men of this world to contend about worldly things, whilst we look forward to an abiding city that hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

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THE VINEYARD OF THE LORD:

A Sermon,

BY THE REV. J. B. SMITH, D.D., Rector of Sotby and Martin, Lincolnshire; and Head Master of Horncastle Grammar School. ISAIAH V. 4.

"What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?"

UNDER this beautiful simile does the prophet Isaiah represent the dealings of God towards his people Israel. By a sublime flight of imagination the prophet represents the Almighty as thus addressing his eternal and well-beloved Son: "Now will I sing to my beloved a song of my beloved, touching his vineyard. My well-beloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill; and he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a wine-press therein and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes" (Isa. Ixv. 1, 2).

By the term "vineyard," we are to understand the people of Israel; and by the care and attention bestowed upon the vineyard, are pointed out the manifold blessings which God had bestowed upon them; and which were designed to keep them in obedience, and to "sanctify them unto himself as a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

The numberless instances, recorded in the bible, of God's watchful providence and gracious goodness towards his people, bear a sufficient testimony to the truth of the representation as far as regards the care bestowed upon the vineyard; and the ungrateful and rebellious conduct of the Israelites, so often repeated, fully corresponds to the statement that, "when he looked for grapes," that is, for the proper and reasonable returns for his mercies, "the vineyard brought forth wild grapes."

So plain and obvious was the contrast between God's goodness and their ingratitude, that the prophet represents the Israelites as being appointed judges even in their own "And now, O inhabitants of Jeru

cause:

salem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes? ?" Wherefore? If you can assign any shadow of reason for such conduct, if you can by any pretext palliate such ingratitude, I leave the decision of it to yourselves. But no: the prophet knew that their guilt was too plain, that their own consciences would strike them dumb; and therefore he introduces no reply, but goes on to represent the vengeance which God would take for their misdeeds, the punishment he would inflict upon them for their baseness and ingratitude. "And now go to: I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down. And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it." This was prophetical of the desolation which God permitted to be brought upon them by the Babylonians, and the captivity in which they were long to be held, as a punishment for their transgressions.

Having thus awakened their consciences, exhibited their depravity, and alarmed their fears by the denunciations of woe and vengeance, that they might not deceive themselves by any vain hope that the prophecy belonged not to them, he closes it by distinctly asserting that it did: "For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression- for righteousness, but behold a cry."

The prophecy was strictly and speedily fulfilled the denunciations of the Almighty were carried into execution; and the unhappy Israelites for a long period of years were doomed to the miseries of captivity and slavery.

After perusing this and many other similar accounts recorded in holy writ, we are frequently disposed to find fault with the conduct of the Israelites; to tax them not only with the basest ingratitude, but also with the most egregious and obstinate folly. We wonder how it could be possible for reasonable beings to act so absurdly; and we think it strange that, surrounded as the Israelites were with such evidences of God's especial providence, and having been so often made sensible of the effects of his wrath for their backslidings, they should still rush upon their ruin, and madly persist in rebellion

against him. But, were we to reflect awhile, we should perhaps discover, my brethren, that, however ungrateful, inexcusable, and foolish their conduct may appear to us, it is after all but too faithful a picture of what is daily exhibited in the conduct of the nominal Christian world.

It is my intention, in the present discourse, to endeavour to illustrate and enforce this application of the text-to show you what God has done for his Christian vineyard, and the too great cause that exists for applying to it the expostulation in the text; and thence to draw a few practical inferences as to the great folly and danger of trifling with God's patience and long suffering-of refusing his offers of mercy, and neglecting to bring forth fruits proportioned to the advantages we enjoy.

Let us consider then what the Almighty has done for his Christian vineyard: let us review, in detail, the blessings resulting from our redemption by a Saviour. Man was in a fallen condition-fallen from original innocence and purity-fallen from the love and favour of God-fallen from his state of happiness and immortality. Nay, more-he was in a lost state; not only having forfeited all his high privileges and qualifications, but having become obnoxious to divine wrath, liable to eternal death, amenable to the undeviating strictness of the divine law and the demands of eternal justice. Between the immortal glories of heaven and this sinful world, there yawned a mighty gulf; between the favour of God and his sinful creatures, there existed a barrier insurmountable to all the energies of human wisdom or power. Amongst the countless myriads of the descendants of Adam, there never existed one who, for his own merits, could presume to claim admission into the mansions of heaven; nay, there never existed one who could have dared to call in question the justice of the Almighty, were he doomed to eternal exclusion from God's presence.

The whole plan of our redemption is revealed to us on the supposition of the helplessness and ruin of the human soul. The Son of man, we are told, came "to save that which was lost." How strong the expression -how strikingly does it declare that, unless this gracious scheme had been planned and executed, the condition of mankind would have been miserable! But, thanks be to God, it was planned-it was executed. From our fallen and lost condition did the mercy of the Father and the compassion of the Saviour restore us.

When man, guilty man, "looked, but there was none to save," then did the arm of the Almighty bring him salvation; then did

the love of the Redeemer procure him peace. The sacrifice upon the cross was a satisfaction, a sufficient oblation and atonement to divine justice: the blood shed upon it sufficed to wash away the guilt of a sinful world, and to restore its alienated inhabitants to the love and favour of their Creator.

Man, being thus rescued from his lost condition, being thus delivered from the penalty of the letter of condemnation against him, and placed in an imputed state of righteousness and acceptance with God, required however something more to prevent him from relapsing under the power of sin, and falling away from holiness.

And here again we have occasion to bless the care of our Lord to his vineyard. The Holy Spirit of God is bestowed upon the Christian; and its blessed influences upon the soul are like the gracious dews of heaven upon a thirsty land, which refresh its barren state, and change its lost unfruitful condition.

Having been by divine grace enlightened to see and know what belongs unto his everlasting peace, having been aroused from his spiritual sleep, or rather death, his eyes are opened to perceive his guilt and his danger-to see the sinfulness of sin, to understand what is meant by divine justice, to know the value and extent of divine mercy. The things of eternity are discovered to him-are strikingly realized to his mind. He finds himself as it were in a new world, and stands astonished at his former apathy and blindness.

Along with this enlightening of the understanding there is associated likewise a change of heart; little would his knowledge profit him if his heart remained the same; nay, rather, it would only tend to increase his misery, by exhibiting the extent of his disease without discovering the remedy. But imperfection is not to be charged upon the least of God's works, much less upon the most stupendous dispensation of wisdom and mercy that he has ever set forth. By the purifying influence of the same Holy Spirit, man is regenerated. That carnal mind of his, which was at enmity with God, is changed; those unholy principles, those depraved feelings on which he acted, and by which he was influenced, are removed: those obstacles which stood in the way of his communion with infinite purity are broken down. He acknowledges the beauty of holiness: he feels the love of his Saviour: he is convinced of the mercy and faithfulness of his God. Henceforth, actuated by new principles, living to a new Master, devoted to another service, he no longer indulges in his former sinful habits; nay, rather, he abhors them he views them with detestation, as the accursed

thing which would rob him of all his newly found peace and joy and those members, which were formerly servants to uncleanness and iniquity, he now yields as servants unto righteousness, unto God.

To confirm those holy affections and resolutions, there are also set before him the most powerful sanctions. The strongest feelings of the human heart are assailed: the eternal, unfading, unspeakable glories of heaven are opened to man's view: the bliss, the delights which surpass imagination, are held forth to animate him in his path of holiness, to cheer and fortify him under the assaults of sin, to call his attention from the things of this world, and fix them upon those of a better; whilst, at the same time, the torments of hell the strange and unspeakable punishments at which nature shudders and revolts are denounced and set before him in all their appalling colours, to deter him from deserting his duty, to alarm him, and startle him away from listening to the devices or falling under the dominion of the evil one.

ness.

Further as we pursue the subject, the more do instances occur to call forth our thankfulDoes the Christian want a rule of life? Let him open the pages of the everlasting gospel; let him listen to the precepts of his divine Master-precepts imbued with the purest morality that ever could have been devised.

Or does he want an example of duty? Let him again turn to the same Lord and Master: let him behold the Lamb of God without spot, "who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth;" "who suffered also for us, leaving us an example that we should follow his steps." In every part of his duty the blessed Jesus will afford the Christian a perfect, a spotless example for imitation. Does the Christian, again, stand in need of an intercessor? Has he failed in his duty? Has he, notwithstanding all his holy resolutions and vows, fallen through the powers of temptation? Has the enemy of his soul assaulted and overcome him? Is he mourning his apostacy, and seeking to be healed of his infirmity? Here, again, there is provision for his wants. The same Jesus that died for him is now exalted to the right hand of the Majesty on high, and "ever liveth to make intercession for him."

Such are a few of the most prominent points which strike us in reviewing God's goodness to his Christian vineyard. And here, had we nothing further to offer, surely there would not be room for us reasonably to desire more, but rather thankfully to acknowledge and adore that infinite mercy which has provided so amply for the diseases and wants of mankind.

But, as if this were not sufficient, the Almighty has graciously provided for every demand, short of that irresistible demonstration to the senses which would in a great measure destroy our responsibility as moral agents, and render faith no test of our obedience. The strongest evidences for the truth of Christianity that any rational man could desire have been and are afforded in abundance. It suits not the limits of this discourse to enter into them in detail; and therefore we will only give a cursory glance at them.

Let us look then, in the first place, to the pages of prophecy. There we shall find a series of predictions and promises of a Messiah, commencing from the fall of our first parents, and continuing for a period of nearly four thousand years, gradually increasing in perspicuity and clearness the nearer the great event which they treated of approached; and all of them wonderfully and exactly, nay, even minutely, fulfilled in the person of our Redeemer.

Let us look next to the records of the gospel. There we shall find accounts of the most astonishing events, of the most miraculous demonstrations of the truth and divinity of its author. There we shall see him healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, speech to the dumb, and life to the dead. There we shall see him feeding the multitudes, commanding the demons, controlling the elements, bidding the angry sea be still, and the roaring winds be hushed. There we shall hear of the annunciations from heaven, and the visitations from angelic choirs. There we shall read of universal nature as it were proclaiming aloud her testimony to its truth in the awful events that took place at his crucifixion. There we shall read of his resurrection and glorious ascension of the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the continuance of miraculous powers to his followers, by which they were enabled to preach the doctrines of their divine Master with powerful and convincing demonstration to the world; so as to establish his kingdom, and overthrow that mighty dominion which the prince of the powers of darkness had for so long a period been usurping over mankind.

And verily, as if to complete the parallel in the history from whence the text is takenwhere we read of the sore punishment which, in the days of Isaiah, the Israelites underwent for their obstinacy and folly-so now would we direct your attention to the peculiar circumstances of that self-same Jewish people, who have now been for nearly two thousand years an anomaly in the political world; a nation dispersed and scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth-distinct and

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