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THE CHRISTIAN'S WORK AND REST. A SERMON rBEACHEU IN THE MAY 20th, 1866, ON THB OCCASION OF THE DEATH OF WARREN ROCKWELL. By Rev. J. E.^OCKT^ELL, D. 33. PUBLISHED BY REQUEST, THE UNION STEAM PRESSES, 10 FRONT STREET. 1866. ~ §- p^' l?^"'- ^U^7^ ^tli a hEC. SEP ibbO It. SERMON. will Acts 13 : 36. —For David, after he had served his own generation, by the of God fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers. These words, uttered by the Apostle in the course of an argument concerning the resurrection of Christ, con- tain the epitome of a Christian's life, fidelity to God, use- fulness to the age in which he lives, and a serene and hopeful death. No higher eulogy could have been pro- nounced upon David than this,—he served his own gener- ation by the will of God. Here was his crowning ex. cellence and glory ; not that he was descended from a long line of illustrious ancestors, or was the possessor of untold wealth, or the occupant of a throne, but that he fulfilled the duties of life cheerfully and faithfully, in obedience to the will of God. This was the great secret in his life, and in thus obey- ing the dictates of his better and renewed nature, he as cheerfully did his duty while feeding his father's flocks, as when called to rule over the kingdom of Israel. As the Shepherd boy of Bethlehem he was as faithful and unrepining at his obscure condition, as when he was hearing, after his triumph over the giant leader of the Philistines, the songs of the maidens of Israel. Nor when he had been annointed by the Prophet as the future king of Israel, and felt kindling within his soul the inspiration of the spirit, and had a dim fore- shadowing of vvliat he was to become, did he perform with less fidelity his daily duties, nor allow the hopes of the future to interfere with the work of the hour. Never was there a more pure and disinterested fi'iendship, than that which he cherished for the son and heir-apparent of the throne; never was more loyal conduct than he manifested even to the monarch who was cruelly hunting his life. Nor did this great principle of fidelity to pre- sent duty leave him, when seated on the throne. Wit- ness his conduct when, after expressing his desire to build a sanctuary for God, he was assured that he could never attain to that distinguished honor, which must be re- served for his son who should come after him. The check to his generous impulses did not prevent him fi'om doing what he could. But at once setting himself to the work of gathering materials for the temple, he engaged there- in as heartily as though he was himself to dedicate the glorious structure that in coming years should rise in its beauty upon the hill of Zion. These elements in the character of David enter to a greater or less extent into the life of every child of God ; and are the essential ante- cedents to such a death as is described in our text. I. The first thought which presents itself for our con- sideration is his obedience to the will of God. His mor- ality is all framed after the Divine Statutes, and is de- veloped by a cordial submission and sincere love towards him. He serves his generation, not in accordance with the dictates of a worldly and lifeless philosophy that makes man the centre of all its reasonings and activities, but because he loves God supremely, and has yielded his heart and soul to his service. This was the secret of David's life—to serve God. He drew the grandest motives of all his conduct fi'om Him, He stood in the hey-day of life when the world was pouring its honors at his feet, and said : Whom have I in Heaven but thee, and there is none — upon tlie earth that I desire besides thee. It was because he loved God supremely that he was a faithful subject, an unfaltering friend, a wise and just monarch. His heart was ever turning to God as his Father and Sovereign, and his faith as a lost sinner took firm hold of the hope of a Saviour, which in every age had been the support and comfort of the people of God. Thus he sang amid all the vicissitudes of life 'the Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.' And when he had yielded for the time to an overmastering and terrible passion, his sense of obligation to God led his heart to the penitential outbreak, ' against thee, thee only have I sinned,' while his faith took fast hold of the great sacrifice which should be offered on Calvary as he cried,—'purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean, wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.' Thus is it ever with the Christian. He looks upon all duty as having its origin in our relations to God. It be- comes duty because He has commanded it. Nor are we to pause and hesitate at its requii'ements. If we neglect to improve the one talent we are no less guilty, because he has given to others more and higher duties than he has imposed upon us. And, if we are faithful we shall be no less honored than he who has performed works more con- spicuous and arduous. The poor widow who cast in her two mites into the treasury, received even more of the love and approbation of Christ, than the rich men who cast in of their abundance. Her self consecration to God her performance of duty to the uttermost of her ability, because she loved God and desired to obey him, drew from Christ the blessed assurance, ' she hath done more than they all. The great measure of all our moral acts, is the extent to which they are performed as a simple obedience to God. The Christian is to do all to His glory. He looks upon himself as not his own. He esteems himself as a poor sinner saved by grace, redeemed to God by the precious blood of Jesus, and as fulfilling a part of tlie divine plan in his salvation. He seeks to do the will of his heavenly father not that he may be saved, but because he has been saved, and delivered from death and sin, and made a child of God, and a joint heir with Christ to a glorious inheritance, for the enjoyment of which he is here to be fitted, and to which he will be introduced at his death. II. And thus obeying the will of God the Christian is faithful to the duties of life, as they daily present them- selves before him. This was the secret of the great life of David. It was not one distinguished act that made his name ever after to be remembered, but the faithful discharge of the least and humblest duties of life as well as the more prominent and important. And this is to a greater or less extent the marked and emphatic feature in the life of every Christian. It is the faithful discharge of the duty of the hour that makes up the sum of his moral life. It is thus that he forms habits of fidelity that fit him for the higher spheres of usefulness to which he may be called, and often unconsciously is setting in motion a train of spiritual influences that may be felt long after he has gone from his work to his reward. Drawing his stimulous to duty from the Cross of Christ and the oracles of God, he goes forth to the work of life to serve his generation by the will of God. Wherever work is to be done—there he may be found. He is laboring for a master that he loves, and who has said to him, ^go work to-day in my vineyard'—'what thine hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.' Without a thought or care of what the world may say or think of him, he labors as cheerfully in the shade, as in the more conspicu- ous walks of useftilness, contented wherever God places him, and grateful that in any way he may serve him. Yet it is worthy of notice that the acts which a Chris- tian thus performs are by no means limited in tlieir re- sults to what they immediately accomplish. David served his own generation, but the influences he set in motion are felt to-day, and will be felt forever. Robert Raikes, without dreaming of doing more than a simple act of duty toward the poor of his own city, accom- plished a work whose blessed power and fruit can never be fully estimated until all its history shall be unfolded amid the record of eternity. An humble and unpretending Christian engages in some unobtrusive act of piety, never giving a thought as to what the world will say, yet his example may have been a stimulus to some halting heart that has sent it cheerfully forward in a noble christian course. We are not to imagine that our acts are unimportant or profitless because they are unattended by any immediate brilliant results, or because they are unknown to the world. The o-randest movements in the natural and moral universe are affected by silent and hidden influences.

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