THE CHRISTIAN’S LEGACY having gone through 10 editions, in a short space of time, the writer has no other apology to offer for the 11th edition, than a belief of its proving useful toallChristians of every denomination.
A conviction that a knowledge of the Bible, above all other books, is calculated “to make one wise;” and that an advantage is given to the enemy by not attending to our Lord’s admonition, “Search the Scriptures,” led to an attempt to assist the inquirer in his “Search” afterTRUTH.
The design of the work is, to make the reading and study of theHoly Scripturesmore easy and delightful; especially to those who have but few helps, little time for studying, or are young in years. Theplanis new; and the arrangement so simple, that no one, not even a child, need mistake it; but may, without knowing a word of the Bible beforehand, find whatever the Scriptures contain on any subject, as readily as though he knew the whole Bible by heart.
It is a handsome volume of 420 full pages, printed with good type, on clear, fine white paper; is handsomely bound and lettered, with a striking likeness of the author.
The first 310 pages contain as many subjects, adapted to every state and condition of the Christian in Life, Death, the Grave, and beyond the grave, as far as the Bible goes but no farther: for there is not asectarianexpression to be found in the work. Each Page is complete of itself.
The last 110 pages contain a compendium of every book in the Bible, with the history of the several writers, &c.; together with the character of the first Christians—the example—miracles—parables—and remarkable discourses of Christ—the prophecies with their fulfillment—figurative and symbolical language of the Bible, alphabetically arranged, with the import of each word—a description of the Jewish offerings; and the different Sects mentioned in the Scriptures—Scriptural difficulties accounted for—fate of the Evangelists and Apostles—Hebrew offices—a Pronouncing Dictionary of the “hard names” in the Old and New Testament, &c.
AnalphabeticalIndexis placed in the former part of the book, and by consulting which, the reader may readily find an answer to any question, that may be asked him by any Bible question-book, or individual; providing, that it is a question that would benefit any one to have answered, isnotSectarian, and is one that theBiblecan answer.
The following are only a few of the names and residences of the Clergy, of various denominations, who have patronized and recommended the Christian’s Legacy:
Providence, R. I.: Rev. Messrs. Tucker, Vinten, Mackreading, Dowling, Taylor, Hall.—Newport,R. I.: Rev. Messrs. Watson, Vinten, Smith.—Pawtuckett, R. I.: Rev. Mr. Gonealves.—Lowell,Mass.: Rev. Messrs. Blanchard, Hanks, Burnap, Edson, McCoy, Sarjent, Brewster, Hoes, Porter, Woodman, Thurstan, Cole.New Bedford,Mass.: Rev. Messrs. Knight, Hawley, Howes, Dawes.—Fall River,Mass.: Rev. Messrs. Fowler, Russell, Taylor.—Charlestown,Mass.: Rev. Mr. Greene.—Brookline,Mass.: Rev. Mr. Shailer.—Newburyport,Mass.: Rev. Messrs. Campbell, Sternes, Pike.—Grafton,Mass.: Rev. Mr. Richards.—Cabotsville,Mass.: Rev. Mr. Scott.—Taunton,Mass.: Rev. Mr. Eldridge.—Milford,Mass.: Rev. Messrs. Long, Tozer.—Holliston,Mass.: Rev. Messrs. Matlack, Rice.—Pocasset,Mass.: Rev. Mr. Wallen.—Rochester,Mass.: Rev. Mr. Clarke.—Mansfield,Mass.: Rev. Messrs. Culver, Latham.—Upton,Mass.: Rev. Messrs. Wood, Bullard, Eastman.—Dorchester,Mass.: Rev. Mr. Boyden.—E. Cambridge,Mass. Rev. Mr. Wilson.—Haverhill,Mass.:Rev. Mr. Plummer.—Malden,Mass.: Rev. Mr. McLeish.—Hartford,Conn.: Rev. Messrs. Hodgson, Eaton.—New Haven,Conn.: Rev. Messrs. Teasdale, Law.—Portsmouth, N. H.: Rev. Messrs. Davis, Harris.—Dover,N. H.: Rev. Mr. Mason.—Brooklyn, N. Y.: Rev. Messrs. Youngs, Burnett.—Williamsburg, L. I.: Rev. Mr. Roberts.—Newark, N. J.: Rev. Messrs. Whittaker, Lenhart.—Elizabethtown, N. J.: Rev. Messrs. Magie, Greene.—Boston,Mass.: Rev. Messrs. Meyrell, Russell, Bartoll, Winslow, Phelps, Kirk, Pierce, Huested, Clarke, Sharpe, Raymond, Read, Motte, Sarjent, Pierpont, Parkham, Barrett, Gannett, Gray, Robbins.—New York: Rev. Messrs. Bond, Levings, Bangs, Stocking, Nichols, Cheney, Bangs, Seney, Withey, Martyn, Jacobs.—Philadelphia,Pa.: Rev. Messrs. Burrows, Lincoln, Suddards, McKnight, Onins, Cooper, Stockton, Keller, Ewell, White.—Lancaster,Pa.: Rev. Mr. Gerry.—Reading,Pa.: Rev. Mr. Schoch.—Columbia,Pa.: Rev. Mr. Humphrey.
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EDMONDSON’S SHORT SERMONS.WITH AN INTRODUCTIONBy Rev. J. P. DURBIN, D.D.Late President of Dickinson College,Carlisle,Pa.With a Splendid Portrait of the Author engraved on Steel.
Never study to say all that can be said upon a subject; no error is greater than this. Select the most useful, the moat striking and persuasive topics which the text suggests, and rest the discourse upon these.—Blair.
I believe, this volume will be a fountain of light and peace to thousands; and may God follow it with his blessing.—J. P. Durbin.
One Hundred and Forty Sermons on the following important subjects:
The Original state of Man.
The Present state of Man.
The Mediation of Christ.
The Necessity of Repentance.
Daniel in the Den of Lions.
The Hebrew Children in the Fiery Furnace.
Prayer in Affliction.
A Message from God.
David’s Advice to Solomon.
The Strait Gate.
Objects of God’s Hatred.
Justification by Faith.
The Importance of Regeneration.
The Conduct and End of Enoch.
Noah warned of the Flood
Hagar peen of God.
The Destruction of Sodom.
Abraham about to Slay his Son.
Joseph sold into Egypt.
The final Lot of Men.
Sin punished with Death.
The Master’s call for Mary.
Family Religion.
John in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.
The little Flock of Christ encouraged.
Encouragement to the Tempted.
A Caution against Idolatry.
The Vanity of the World.
The Growth of a Christian.
The Pure in Heart shall see God.
Friendliness secures Friends.
The Christian Race.
Christ our Great High Priest.
The True Circumcision.
The Day devoted to the Lord.
The Duty of searching the Scriptures.
Directions how to hear Sermons.
Perseverance in Prayer.
Primitive Christianity.
Propriety of Trusting in God.
The Case of Lot’s Wife.
The Strength of a Christian.
Troubles prevented by keeping the Tongue.
Caution against Error.
The Spiritual Kingdom of Jesus.
Working Good, the Way to Honor.
The Propriety of praising the Lord.
Secret Things belong unto the Lord.
Brotherly Union.
Redemption by Jesus Christ.
Reverence due to God in Public Worship.
The Jews charged with robbing God.
Christian Privileges.
The Danger of Bad Habits.
The Prayer of Habakkuk.
The Blessing of Pious Connexions.
The Portion of the Pious.
The Mission of Barnabas to Antioch.
The Nativity of Christ.
The Crucifixion of Christ.
The Resurrection of Christ.
The Day of Pentecost.
The Brevity of Human Life.
The Certainty of Death.
The Resurrection of the Dead.
The General Judgment.
Sinners banished from Christ.
Saints invited to Glory.
The Gentiles trust in Jesus.
The Dispersion of Knowledge.
Advice to Young Men.
The Captain of the Lord’s Host.
Christian Privileges.
Followers of that which is Good.
Fools deny the being of a God.
The Word of God is a Light to Man.
All the Earth shall know the Lord.
Jesus is the Light of the World.
The cloud between the camps.
The Conversion of the Gentiles.
We should be decided in Religion.
The Character of Christ.
Sinners invited to Christ.
The Lost Sheep.
Walking in Truth.
The Days of Methuselah.
The Wisdom of Man.
The Obedience of Josiah.
The Ghost of Samuel.
Christianity is a Source of Joy.
Counsel to a Fallen Church.
The Parable of the Sower.
The Wisdom of Obedience.
Contending for the Faith.
The Happy Death of Believers.
Holy Angels serve good Men.
The Government of God.
The good Samaritan.
An important Petition.
The Parable of the Tares.
Jesus is the Lamb of God.
The murmuring Labourers.
The Ascension of Jesus.
The wicked Husbandmen.
The Resurrection of Believers.
The Ten Virgins.
The Spirit may be quenched.
The Parable of the Talents.
Good News to fallen Man.
The wealthy Farmer.
We should hate vain thoughts.
The barren Fig-Tree.
Piety produces strong confidence.
The Parable of the great Supper.
Wise and useful Man.
The Prodigal Son.
The Body and the Eagles.
The unjust Steward.
The Way to eternal Life.
The rich Man and Lazarus.
The Lord is a righteous Judge.
The importunate Widow.
The People of God are happy.
The Pharisee and the Publican.
God is mindful of Man.
A Word to Saints and Sinners.
Faith and Hope in the Redeemer.
The First Christian Martyr.
The Ministry of the Apostles.
Rest from Persecution.
Social Worship.
The Conduct of Jesus.
The best Exercise.
The Counsel of God.
Christian Morals.
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[11]Down to this time, the Welsh inhabited all of what is now denominated England. But henceforth they are confined to the western part of the island, called Cumry, or Wales.
[27]A part of this sermon, as delivered on another occasion, is given in the latter part of this volume.
[43]Jer. xv. 12.
[44a]Isaiah lxvi. 8.
[44b]Isaiah ii. 3.
[45]Hos. xiv. 2.
[53]Such an accident is said to have occurred at Shrewsbury, in England, a few fears ago.
[56]The three are since dead; the first two named died before Mr. Evans, and Mr. Thomas since.
[71]1 John i. 1–3.
[73]Rom. vi. 17.
[74]The eighteenth.
[75]Dr. Edward Williams, of Rotherham, author of some abstruse inquiries on the Divine Sovereignty.
[94]This paragraph is one of the celebrated “Specimens of Welsh Preaching,” printed in England some years before the publication of any of these sermons. We give the first English version verbatim. Ed.
[114]The substance of this transcendent passage Christmas Evans often repeated in his preaching, and of course with considerable variation on different occasions. There are two other versions of it in English. One of them, translated many years ago, and published under the title of “A Specimen of Welsh Preaching,” has been everywhere justly admired, as one of the finest productions of sanctified genius. The other, which we give below, was taken from the lips of the preacher, and rendered into English, by one of his frequent hearers and intimate friends. “All the stores of his energy,” says the editor of the English memoir, “and the resources of his voice, which was one of great compass, depth, and sweetness, seemed reserved for the closing portions of the picture, when he delineated the routed and battered hosts of the pit retreating from the cross, where they had anticipated a triumph, and met a signal and irretrievable overthrow.”—Editor.
“Methinks I find myself standing upon the summit of one of the highest of the everlasting hills, permitted thence to take a survey of our earth. It shows to me a wide and far-spread burial-ground, over which lie scattered in countless multitudes the wretched and perishing children of Adam. The ground is full of hollow’s, the yawning caverns of death, while over it broods a thick cloud of fearful darkness. No light from above shines upon it, nor is the ray of the sun or moon, or the beams of a candle seen through all its borders. It is walled around. Its gates, large and massive, ten thousand times stronger than all the gates of brass forged among men, are one and all safely locked. It is the hand of Divine Justice that has locked them, and so firmly secured are the strong bolts which hold those doors, that all the created powers even of the heavenly world, were they to labor to all eternity, could not drive so much as one of them back. How hopeless the wretchedness to which the race are doomed, and into what irrecoverable depths of ruin has the disobedience of their first parent plunged them!
“But behold, in the cool of the day there is seen descending from the eternal hills in the distance, the radiant form of Mercy, seated in the chariot of the divine promise, and clothed with splendor, infinitely brighter than the golden rays of the morning when seen shooting over mountains of pearls. Seated beside Mercy in that chariot is seen another form like unto the Son of man. His mysterious name is the ‘Seed of the Woman,’ and girt around him shines the girdle of eternity, radiant with the lustre of the heaven of heavens. ‘He has descended into the lower parts of the earth.’ I see Mercy alight from that chariot, and she is knocking at the huge gate of this vast cemetery. She asks of Justice: ‘Is there no entrance into this field of death? May I not visit these caverns of the grave, and seek, if it may be, to raise some names at least of the children of destruction, and bring them again to the light of day? Open, Justice, open; drive back these iron bolts and let me in, that I may proclaim the jubilee of deliverance to the children of the dust.’ But I hear the stern reply of Justice from within those walls; it is,—‘Mercy, surely thou lovest Justice too well, to wish to burst these gates by force of arm, and thus obtain entrance by mere lawless violence. And I cannot open the door. I cherish no anger towards the unhappy wretches. I have no delight in their eternal death, or in hearing their cries as they lie upon the burning hearth of the great fire kindled by the wrath of God, in the land that is lower than the grave. But I am bound to vindicate the purity, holiness, and equity of God’s laws; for, ‘without shedding of blood there is no remission.’ ‘Be it so,’ said Mercy, ‘but wilt thou not accept of a surety who may make a sufficient atonement for the crime committed and the offence given?’ ‘That will I,’ said Justice, ‘only let him be duly allied to either party in this sad controversy, a kinsman, near alike to the injured Lawgiver, and to the guilty tenants of the burial-ground.’ ‘Wilt thou, then,’ said Mercy, ‘accept of the puissant Michael, prince among the hosts of heaven, who fought bravely in the day when there was war in heaven, and also vanquished Apollyon upon the summit of the everlasting hills?’ ‘No,’—said Justice, ‘I may not, for his goings forth are not from the beginning, even from everlasting.’ ‘Wilt thou not then accept of the valiant Gabriel, who compelled Beelzebub to turn and seek safety in flight from the walls of the heavenly city?’ ‘No,’—cried Justice, ‘for Gabriel is already bound to render his appointed service to the King Almighty; and who may serve in his place while he should be attempting the salvation of Adam’s race? There needs,’ continued Justice, ‘one who has, of right belonging to him, both omnipotence and eternity, to achieve the enterprise. Let him clothe himself with the nature of these wretches. Let him be born within these gloomy walls, and himself undergo death within this unapproachable place, if he would buy the favor of Heaven for these children of the captivity!’
“But while this dialogue was held, behold, a form fairer than the morning dawn, and full of the glory of heaven, is seen descending from that chariot. Casting, as he passes, a glance of infinite benignity upon the hapless tenants of that burial-ground, he approaches, and asks of Justice: ‘Wilt thou accept of me?’ ‘I will,’ said Justice, ‘for greater art thou than heaven and the whole universe.’
“‘Behold, then,’ said the stranger, ‘I come: in the volume of the book has it been written of me. I will go down, in the fulness of time, into the sides of the pit of corruption. I will lay hold of this nature, and take upon me the dust of Eden, and, allied to that dust, I will pour into thy balance, Justice, blood of such worth and virtue that the court of heaven shall pronounce its claims satisfied, and bid the children of the great captivity go free.’
“Centuries have rolled by, and the fulness of time is now accomplished; and see, an infant of days is born within the old burial ground of Eden. Behold a Son given to the dwellers of the tomb, and a spotless Lamb, the Lamb of God, is seen within that gloomy enclosure. When the hour came at which the ministers of the Divine Justice must seize upon the victim, I see them hurrying towards Gethsemane. There, in heaviness and sorrow of soul, praying more earnestly, the surety is seen bowed to the earth, and the heavy burden he had assumed is now weighing him down. Like a lamb, he is led towards Golgotha—the hill of skulls. There are mustered all the hosts of darkness, rejoicing in the hope of their speedy conquest over him. The monsters of the pit, huge, fierce, and relentless, are there. The lions,[116a]as in a great army, were grinding fearfully their teeth, ready to tear him in pieces. The unicorns,[116b]a countless host, were rushing onwards to thrust him through, and trample him beneath their feet. And there were the bulls of Bashan,[116c]roaring terribly; the dragons[116d]of the pit are unfolding themselves, and shooting out their stings, and dogs[116e]many are all around the mountain. ‘It is the hour and power of darkness.’ I see him passing along through this dense array of foes, an unresisting victim. He is nailed to the cross; and now Beelzebub and all the master-spirits in the hosts of hell have formed, though invisible to man, a ring around the cross. It was about the third hour of the day, or the hour of nine in the morning, that he was bound as a sacrifice, even to the horns of the altar. The fire of divine vengeance has fallen, and the flames of the curse have now caught upon him. The blood of the victim is fast dropping, and the hosts of hell are shouting impatiently: ‘The victory will soon be ours.’ And the fire went on burning until the ninth hour of the day, or the hour of three in the afternoon, when it touched his Deity,—and then it expired. For the ransom was now paid and the victory won. It was his. His hellish foes, crushed in his fall, the unicorns and the bulls of Bashan retreated from the encounter with shattered horns; the jaws of the lions had been broken and their claws torn off, and the old dragon, with bruised head, dragged himself slowly away from the scene, in deathlike feebleness. ‘He triumphed over them openly,’ and now is He for ever the Prince and Captain of our salvation, made perfect through sufferings. The graves of the old burial-ground have been thrown open; and from yonder hills gales of life have blown down upon this valley of dry bones, and an exceedingly great army have already been sealed to our God, as among the living in Zion.”
[116a]Allusion to the language in which Psalm xxii. predicts the Saviour’s sufferings. The Psalm which our Saviour himself quoted upon the Cross, when he cried, “My God, why hast thou forsaken me.”
[116b]Ditto.
[116c]Ditto.
[116d]Ditto.
[116e]Ditto.
[132]Was it the amount of suffering, or the dignity of the sufferer, that gave merit to the sacrifice sufficient for the world’s redemption?Ed.
[148]Dan. xii. 11, 12.
[185]This sentiment, in different forms, occurs very frequently in these sermons. It is questionable theology.—Ed.
[205]Acts iv. 4.
[223]Rom. i. 19–21.
[224]Acts xvii. 22–28.
[256]James ii. 17–26.