ie, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth
forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that
hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal._" (John
xii. 23-25.) Lord, we have seen the seed corn cast into the ground, we
have seen it lie there, we have seen it rise, and where is the harvest?
Where is the kingdom? Where are the throngs? Where is the throne? The
offence of the cross still lies in the way of triumph. Tribulations are
the only gifts of the kingdom still! The writer of this epistle does not
care to argue about the moment. Be it so. Be it as bad as you say:
tribulations, persecutions, contempt, spoiling of your goods, and bonds.
Be it so. "_Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin._"
You have not faced the last extremity, and the last extremity may be in
store. But what matters? Sons of God, brethren of Christ, citizens of
the heavenly state, heirs of everlasting joys and glory, what matters
it? "_Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the
earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and
latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of
the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye
be contemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my
brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an
example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them
happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen
the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender
mercy._" (Jas. v. 7-11.) Is patience no longer beautiful, divine, when
it is heaven which has to be waited for, a royal sceptre, an everlasting
crown? For shame! moaning over the moment's pains, which are the seeds
of everlasting joys; over the dust of the husks and shells of the
temporal things, when, as they waste and perish, the glorious forms of
the things not seen and eternal, which they veiled, appear. I say not,
Compare the one with the other, weigh them well, and make your
selection. There is no comparison possible. "_I reckon that the
sufferings of this present life are not worthy to be compared with the
glory that shall be revealed._" "_For our light affliction, which is but
for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things
which are not seen: for