SERMON X.

THE CHURCH OF SMYRNA.-ON CONSTANCY IN

RELIGION.

REV. ii. 8-11.

And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the First and the Last, which was dead and is alive; I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich,) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried: and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches ; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

SMYRNA, the city to which this second epistle to the churches of Asia is addressed, is a city of Ionia, at the distance of about forty-five miles from Ephesus. It is called by Pliny "the second city of Asia." Of this place the celebrated Polycarp was for some time the bishop. And as, by the testimony of Irenæus, he was appointed to that high office by the apostles themselves, it is by no means improbable that he was the very "angel," or president, of " the church of Smvr

na," to whom this epistle was, in the first instance, addressed. The church of this city was probably founded by St. Paul himself, by whose means, it is said, " all Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus." And even to the end of the eighth century, it remained in possession of much of its original splendour and extent; and at the present moment contains many thousand professors of the Gospel of Christ.

It will be my endeavour, in dependence upon the Divine blessing, to examine the several parts of which this address is composed, and to call your attention in succession,

I. TO THE DESCRIPTION HERE GIVEN OF THE
SAVIOUR OF THE WORLD;

II. TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CHURCH OF
SMYRNA AT THIS PARTICULAR PERIOD;
III. TO THE TRIALS PREDICTED TO THAT CHURCH;
IV. TO THE DUTIES ENJOINED UPON IT; and,
V. TO THE PROMISES MADE TO IT.

I. And, first, we are to consider THE DESCRIPTION HERE GIVEN OF THE SAVIOUR OF THE world.

The description of our Lord in these several addresses to the churches appears to have a special reference to the object of the address. The intention of that now under consideration, is evidently to cheer and strengthen the church of Smyrna; on which it is observable that no fault is charged. And surely there are no topics more pregnant with consolation to the true servants of the Redeemer, than the two especially insisted upon in the text-viz. the divinity, and the death and resurrection of the Son of God. Observe the bearing of these truths on the circumstances and hopes of the people of God.

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"I," says our Lord in the text, "am the First and the Last." I am from eternity to eternity. 1 am the Beginning of all things, and their eternal End. I have all the attributes of the Godhead, and am "one with the Father." But, if so, fear nothing, ye troubled and suffering servants of the Gospel, for your Redeemer is your God; and if God" be for you, who can be against you?"

Again, says our Lord, "I am he which was dead and am alive." In other words, "Why should you fear? He who was God in his own nature, took the nature of man upon him. He lived, he suffered, he "died for your sins, and has risen again for your justification." What higher testimony can you possess of the sincerity and depth of his sympathy and affection? Even if every other evidence of the love of God were erased from the face of nature or the history of providence, yet, if we might contemplate the Cross-if we might listen to the prayers, and watch the dying agonies of the Saviour of the world-faith and hope could, as it seems to me, need nothing further for their encouragement. Your Redeemer is evidently as willing to suffer, as mighty to save. Go, then, thou disquieted servant of God, to the mount of Calvary; and dry your tears, and "rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory."

II. But consider, secondly, THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CHURCH OF SMYRNA, as described in these verses. "I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty (but thou art rich); and I know the blasphemy of them who say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan."

It is, as has been already stated, the peculiar distinction of the church we are now considering, that no fault is laid to their charge. On the

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contrary, they are, in the first place, commended for their "works." The "works" of his creatures are familiar to the Saviour of the world. He knows their source, their principle, their end; knows whether they are improperly offered as the price of pardon, or scripturally offered as the fruit of love; knows whether they are designed as the monument of our own glory, or as a pillar of praise to God. The mite of the widow, and the cup of cold water, are registered in the book of his tender remembrance. "faith without works" he rejects as "dead," and worthless; but the faith productive of them he accepts and blesses.

But, it is said also, "I know thy tribulation, and thy poverty." It was one feature in the history of the Church of Smyrna, that it was "counted worthy to suffer" for God. In another part of this discourse, I may have occasion to present a specimen of those sufferings, in the case of one distinguished member of that church. But, for the present, it is enough to observe, that there is scarcely any species of sufferings to which the servants of Christ in Smyrna, in common with several other parts of Asia, do not appear to have been exposed during the persecutions of the early ages of Christianity. Amongst the other sources of suffering, was that of poverty, a trial which none can be expected thoroughly to appreciate but those who have felt; but the acuteness of which the rich amongst ourselves acknowledge, by the numberless institutions for its alleviation. Let this part of our text serve for the consolation of any of the servants of God in this congregation who may be suffering from the same cause. Poverty, you will observe, in

this case, was the lot and inheritance of a true and approved church: and, in your own case, it is designed as a testimony, not of the wrath, but of the tenderness and love of your Heavenly Father.

It is added, “I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." This, therefore, was another of the trials of Smyrna, that the church was infested by a body of individuals, who, pretending to be the people of God, were in fact the church or synagogue of the devil. The prevalence of hypocrisy, my brethren; of a high but false pretension to piety; of that spurious religion which shelters an impure life under a holy garb and name; which stains the fair title of the Gospel with the foul blots of passion, or dishonesty, or pride :such a quality, in the members of any church, is one of the heaviest curses which can be inflicted upon it. "Protect us from such friends," may the church of Christ well say, "and we may better hope to protect ourselves from our enemies." How truly awful is the language of the text with regard to such persons! "they are the synagogue of Satan," or, in simple words, the church of the devil. Thousands, it is to be feared, who bear the name of Christ, and who assert their rights to all the comforts and privileges of his Gospel, are, in fact, nothing better than servants of Satan; and must go down, if unchanged, to all the horrors and anguish of that miserable place in which he reigns and suffers.

It is still further added, with regard to the church of Smyrna, "but thou art rich." It is possible, my brethren, to be poor in the midst of worldly riches, and rich in the midst of worldly