Bible Heaven/Bible Heaven.iso/spurgeon/ps8.3

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                           EXPOSITION.

        At the close of that excellent little manual entitled
"The Solar System_," written by Dr. Dick, we find an eloquent
passage which beautifully expounds the text:-- A survey of the
solar system has a tendency to moderate the pride of man and to
promote humility. Pride is one of the distinguishing
characteristics of puny man, and has been one of the chief causes
of all the contentions, wars, devastations, systems of slavery,
and ambitious projects which have desolated and demoralized our
sinful world. Yet there is no disposition more incongruous to the
character and circumstance of man. Perhaps there are no rational
beings throughout the universe among whom pride would appear more
unseemly or incompatible than in man, considering the situation
in which he is placed. He is exposed to numerous degradations and
calamities, to the rage of storms and tempests, the devastations
of earthquakes and volcanoes, the fury of whirlwinds, and the
tempestuous billows of the ocean, to the ravages of the sword,
famine, pestilence, and numerous diseases; and at length he must
sink into the grave, and his body must become the companion of
worms! The most dignified and haughty of the sons of men are
liable to these and similar degradations as well as the meanest
of the human family. Yet, in such circumstances, man--that puny
worm of the dust, whose knowledge is so limited, and whose
follies are so numerous and glaring--has the effrontery to strut
in all the haughtiness of pride, and to glory in his shame.

        When other arguments and motives produce little effect on
certain minds, no considerations seem likely to have a more
powerful tendency to counteract this deplorable propensity in
human beings, than those which are borrowed from the objects
connected with astronomy. They show us what an insignificant
being-- what a mere atom, indeed, man appears amidst the
immensity of creation! Though he is an object of the paternal
care and mercy of the Most High, yet he is but as a grain of sand
to the whole earth, when compared to the countless myriads of
beings that people the amplitudes of creation. What is the whole
of this globe on which we dwell compared with the solar system,
which contains a mass of matter ten thousand times greater? What
is it in comparison of the hundred millions of suns and worlds
which by the telescope have been described throughout the starry
regions? What, then, is a kingdom, a province, or a baronial
territory, of which we are as proud as if we were the lords of
the universe and for which we engage in so much devastation and
carnage? What are they, when set in competition with the glories
of the sky? Could we take our station on the lofty pinnacles of
heaven, and look down on this scarcely distinguishable speck of
earth, we should be ready to exclaim with Seneca, "Is it to this
little spot that the great designs and vast desires of men are
confined? Is it for this there is so much disturbance of nations,
so much carnage, and so many ruinous wars? Oh, the folly of
deceived men, to imagine great kingdoms in the compass of an
atom, to raise armies to decide a point of earth with the sword!"
Dr. Chalmers, in his Astronomical discourses, very truthfully
says, "We gave you but a feeble image of our comparative
insignificance, when we said that the glories of an extended
forest would suffer no more from the fall of a single leaf, than
the glories of this extended universe would suffer though the
globe we tread upon, 'and all that it inherits, should
dissolve.'"

              EXPLANATORY NOTES AND QUAINT SAYINGS.

        Verse 3.- "_when I consider_." Meditation fits for
humiliation. When David had been contemplating the works of
creation, their splendour, harmony, motion, influence, he lets
the plumes of pride fall, and begins to have self-abasing
thoughts. "_When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained, what is man that
thou art mindful of him_?"--^Thomas Watson.

        Verse 3.--"_When I consider thy heavens_," etc. David
surveying the firmament, broke forth into this consideration:
"_When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon
and the stars, which thou hast created, what is man_?" etc. How
cometh he to mention the moon and stars, and omit the sun? the
other being but his pensioners, shining with that exhibition of
light which the bounty of the sun allots them. It is answered,
this was David's night meditation, when the sun, departing to the
other world, left the lesser lights only visible in heaven; and
as the sky is best beheld by day in the glory thereof, so too it
is best surveyed by night in the variety of the same. Night was
made for man to rest in. But when I cannot sleep, may I, with the
Psalmist, entertain my waking with good thoughts. Not to use them
as opium, to invite my corrupt nature to slumber, but to bolt out
bad thoughts, which otherwise would possess my soul.--^Thomas
Fuller, 1608-1661.

        Verse 3.--"_Thy heavens_." The carnal mind sees God in
nothing, not even in spiritual things, his word and ordinances.
The spiritual mind sees him in everything, even in natural
things, in looking on the heavens and the earth and all the
creatures--"_THY heavens;_" sees all in that notion, in their
relation to God as his work, and in them his glory appearing;
stands in awe, fearing to abuse his creatures and his favours to
his dishonour. "_The day is thine, and the night also is thine_;"
therefore ought not I to forget thee through the day, nor in the
night.--^Robert Leighton, D.D.

        Verse 3.--"_The stars_." I cannot say that it is chiefly
the contemplation of their infinitude, and the immeasurable space
they occupy, that enraptures me in the stars. These conditions
rather tend to confuse the mind; and in this view of countless
numbers and unlimited space there lies, moreover, much that
belongs rather to a temporary and human than to an eternally
abiding consideration. Still less do I regard them absolutely
with reference to the life after this. But the mere thought they
are so far beyond and above everything terrestrial--the feeling,
that before them everything earthly so utterly vanishes to
nothing--that the single man is so infinitely insignificant in
the comparison with these worlds strewn over all space--that his
destinies, his enjoyments, and sacrifices, to which he attaches
such a minute importance--how all these fade like nothing before
such immense objects; then, that the constellations bind together
all the races of man, and all the eras of the earth, that they
have beheld all that has passed since the beginning of time, and
will see all that passes until its end; in thoughts like these I
can always, lose myself with a silent delight in the view of the
starry firmament. It is, in very truth, a spectacle of the
highest solemnity, when, in the stillness of night, in a heaven
quite clear, the stars, like a choir of worlds, arise and
descend, while existence, as it were, falls asunder into two
separate parts; the one, belonging to earth, grows dumb in the
utter silence of night, and thereupon the other mounts upward in
all its elevation, splendour, and majesty. And, when contemplated
from this point of view, the starry heavens have truly a moral
influence on the mind.--^Alexander Von Humboldt, 1850.

        Verse 3.--"_When I consider thy heavens_," etc. Could we
transport ourselves above the moon, could we reach the highest
star above our heads, we should instantly discover new skies, new
stars, new suns, new systems, and perhaps more magnificently
adorned. But even there, the vast dominions of our great Creator
would not terminate; we should then find, to our astonishment,
that we had only arrived at the borders of the works of God. It
is but little that we can know of his works, but that little
should teach us to be humble, and to admire the divine power and
goodness. How great must that Being be who produced these immense
globes out of nothing, who regulates their courses, and whose
mighty hand directs and supports them all. What is the clod of
earth which we inhabit, with all the magnificent scenes it
presents to us, in comparison of those innumerable worlds? Were
this earth annihilated, its absence would no more be observed
than that of a grain of sand from the sea shore. What then are
provinces and kingdoms when compared with those worlds? They are
but atoms dancing in the air, which are discovered to us by the
sunbeams. What then am I, when reckoned among the infinite number
of God's creatures? I am lost in mine own nothingness! But little
as I appear in this respect, I find myself great in others. There
is great beauty in this starry firmament which God has chosen for
his throne! How admirable are those celestial bodies! I am
dazzled with their splendour, and enchanted with their beauty!
But notwithstanding this, however beautiful, and however richly
adorned, yet this sky is void of intelligence. It is a stranger
to its own beauty, while I, who am mere clay, molded by a divine
hand, am endowed with sense and reason. I can contemplate the
beauty of these shining worlds; nay, more, I am already, to a
certain degree, acquainted with their sublime author; and by
faith I see some small rays of his divine glory. O may I be more
and more acquainted with his works, and make the study of them my
employ, till by a glorious change I rise to dwell with him above
the starry regions.--^Christopher Christian Sturm's
"Reflections," 1750-1786.

        Verse 3.--"_Work of God's fingers_." That is most
elaborate and accurate: a metaphor from embroiderers, or from
them that make tapestry.--^John Trapp.

        Verse 3.--"_When I consider thy heavens_," etc. It is
truly a most Christian exercise to extract a sentiment of piety
from the works and the appearances of nature. It has the
authority of the sacred writers upon its side, and even our
Saviour himself gives it the weight and the solemnity of his
example. "Behold the lilies of the field; they toil not, neither
do they spin, yet your heavenly Father careth for them." He
expatiates on the beauty of a single flower, and draws from it
the delightful argument of confidence in God. He gives us to see
that taste may be combined with piety, and that the same heart
may be occupied with all that is serious in the contemplations of
religion, and be at the same time alive to the charms and the
loveliness of nature. The Psalmist takes a still loftier flight.
He leaves the world, and lifts his imagination to that mighty
expanse which spreads above it and around it. He wings his way
through space, and wanders in thought over its immeasurable
regions. Instead of a dark and unpeopled solitude, he sees it
crowded with splendour, and filled with the energy of the divine
presence. Creation rises in its immensity before him, and the
world, with all which it inherits, shrinks into littleness at a
contemplation so vast and so overpowering. He wonders that he is
not overlooked amid the grandeur and the variety which are on
every side of him; and, passing upward from the majesty of nature
to the majesty of nature's Architect, he exclaims, "What is man,
that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that thou
shouldest deign to visit him?" It is not for us to say whether
inspiration revealed to the psalmist the wonders of the modern
astronomy. But, even though the mind be a perfect stranger to the
science of these enlightened times, the heavens present a great
and an elevating spectacle, an immense concave reposing upon the
circular boundary of the world, and the innumerable lights which
are suspended from on high, moving with solemn regularity along
its surface. It seems to have been at night that the piety of the
Psalmist was awakened by this contemplation; when the moon and
the stars were visible, and not when the sun had risen in his
strength and thrown a splendour around him, which bore down and
eclipsed all the lesser glories of the firmament.--^Thomas
Chalmers, D.D., 1817.

        Verse 3.--"_Thy heavens_":--

        This prospect vast, what is it ?--weigh'd aright.
        'Tis nature's system of divinity.
        And every student of the night inspires.
        'Tis elder Scripture, writ by God's own hand:
        Scripture authentic! uncorrupt by man.

^Edward Young.

        Verse 3.--"_The stars_." When I gazed into these stars,
have they not looked down on me as if with pity from their serene
spaces, like eyes glistening with heavenly tears over the little
lot of man!--^Thomas Carlyle.

        Verses 3,4.--"_When I consider thy heavens_," etc. Draw
spiritual inferences from occasional objects. David did but
wisely consider the heavens, and he breaks out into
self-abasement and humble admirations of God. Glean matter of
instruction to yourselves, and praise to your Maker from
everything you see; it will be a degree of restoration to a state
of innocency, since this was Adam's task in paradise. Dwell not
upon any created object only as a _virtuoso_, to gratify your
rational curiosity, but as a Christian, call religion to the
feast, and make a spiritual improvement. No creature can meet our
eyes but affords us lessons worthy of our thoughts, besides the
general notices of the power and wisdom of the Creator. Thus may
the sheep read us a lesson of patience, the dove of innocence,
the ant and bee raise blushes in us for our sluggishness, and the
stupid ox and dull ass correct and shame our ungrateful
ignorance. ... He whose eyes are open cannot want an instructor,
unless he wants a heart.--^Stephen Charnock.

        Verse 4.--"_What is man, that thou art mindful of him_?"
etc. My readers must be careful to mark the design of the
Psalmist, which is to enhance, by this comparison, the infinite
goodness of God; for it is, indeed, a wonderful thing that the
Creator of heaven, whose glory is so surpassingly great as to
ravish us with the highest admiration, condescends so far as
graciously to take upon him the care of the human race. That the
Psalmist makes this contrast may be inferred from the Hebrew word
_ênôwsh_ <0582>, which we have rendered _man_, and which
expresses the frailty of man rather than any strength or power
which he possesses. ... Almost all interpreters render _pâqad_
<06485>, the last word of this verse, _to visit_; and I am
unwilling to differ from them, since this sense suits the passage
very well. But as it sometimes signifies to remember, and as we
will often find in the Psalms the repetition of the same thought
in current words, it may here be very properly translated _to
remember_; as if David had said, "This is a marvellous thing,
that God thinks upon men, and remembers them
continually_."--^John Calvin, 1509-1564.

        Verse 4.--"_What is man_?" But, O God, what a little lord
hast thou made over this great world! The least corn of sand is
not so small to the whole earth, as man is to the heaven. When I
see the heavens, the sun, the moon, and stars, O God, what is
man? Who would think thou shouldst make all these creatures for
one, and that one well-near the least of all? Yet none but he can
see what thou hast done; none but he can admire and adore thee in
what he seeth: how had he need to do nothing but this, since he
alone must do it! Certainly the price and value of things consist
not in the quantity; one diamond is worth more than many quarries
of stone; one loadstone hath more virtue than mountains of earth.
it is lawful for us to praise thee in ourselves. All thy creation
hath not more wonder in it than one of us: other creatures thou
madest by a simple command; Man, not without a divine
consultation: others at once; man thou didst form, then inspire:
others in several shapes, like to none but themselves; man, after
thine own image: others with qualities fit for service; man, for
dominion. Man had his name from thee; they had their names from
man. How should we be consecrated to thee above all others, since
thou hast bestowed more cost on us than other!--^Joseph Hall,
D.D., Bishop of Norwich, 1574-1656.

        Verse 4.--"_What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or
the son of man, that thou shouldst visit him_?" And (#Job
7:17,18|) "What is man, that thou shouldst magnify him? and that
thou shouldst set thy heart upon him? and that thou shouldst
visit him every morning?" Man, in the pride of his heart, seeth
no such great matter in it; but a humble soul is filled with
astonishment. "Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth
eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place,
with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive
the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite
ones." #Isa 57:15|. Oh, saith the humble soul, will the Lord have
respect unto such a vile worm as I am? Will the Lord acquaint
himself with such a sinful wretch as I am? Will the Lord open his
arms, his bosom, his heart to me? Shall such a loathsome creature
as I find favour in his eyes? In #Eze 16:1-5|, we have a relation
of the wonderful condescension of God to man, who is there
resembled to a wretched infant cast out in the day of its birth,
in its blood and filthiness, no eye pitying it; such loathsome
creatures are we before God; and yet when he passed by, and saw
us polluted in our blood, he said unto us, "Live." It is doubled
because of the strength of its nature; it was "the time of love"
(#Eze 16:8|). This was love indeed, that God should take a
filthy, wretched thing, and spread his skirts over it, and cover
its nakedness, and swear unto it, and enter into a covenant with
it, and make it his; that is, that he should espouse this
loathsome thing to himself, that he would be a husband to it;
this love unfathomable, love inconceivable, self-principle love;
this is the love of God to man, for God is love. Oh, the depth of
the riches of the bounty and goodness of God! How is his love
wonderful, and his grace past finding out! How do you find and
feel your hearts affected upon the report of these things? Do you
not see matter of admiration and cause of wonder? Are you not as
it were launched forth into an ocean of goodness, where you can
see no shore, nor feel no bottom? Ye may make a judgment of
yourselves by the motions and affections that ye feel in
yourselves at the mention of this. For thus Christ judged of the
faith of the centurion that said unto him, "Lord, I am not worthy
that thou shouldst come under my roof. When Jesus heard this, he
marvelled, and said to them that followed him, I say unto you, I
have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." #Mt 8:8-10|.
If, then, you feel not your souls mightily affected with the
condescension of God, say thus unto your souls, what aileth thee,
O my soul, that thou art no more affected with the goodness of
God? Art thou dead, that thou canst not feel? Or art thou blind
that thou canst not see thyself compassed about with astonishing
goodness? Behold the king of glory descending from the habitation
of his majesty, and coming to visit thee! Hearest not thou his
voice, saying, "Open to me, my sister: behold, I stand at the
door and knock. Lift up yourselves, O ye gates, and be ye lifted
up, ye everlasting doors, that the King of glory may come in?"
Behold, O my soul, how he waits still while thou hast refused to
open to him! Oh, the wonder of his goodness! Oh, the
condescension of his love, to visit me, to sue unto me, to wait
upon me, to be acquainted with me! Thus work up your souls into
an astonishment at the condescension of God.--^James Janeway,
1674.

        Verse 4.--_Man_, in Hebrew--infirm or miserable man--by
which it is apparent that he speaks of man not according to the
state of his creation, but as fallen into a state of sin, and
misery, and mortality. _Art mindful of him_, i.e., carest for
him, and conferrest such high favours upon him. _The son of man_,
heb., _the son of Adam_ that great apostate from and rebel
against God; the sinful son of a sinful father--his son by
likeness of disposition and manners, no less than by procreation;
all which tends to magnify the divine mercy. _That thou visitest
him_--not in anger, as that word is sometimes used, but with thy
grace and mercy, as it is taken in #Ge 21:1; Ex 4:31; Ps 65:9;
106:4; 144:3|.

        Verse 4.--"_What is man_?" The Scripture gives many
answers to this question. Ask the prophet Isaiah, "_What is
man_?" and he answers (#Isa 40:6|), man is "grass"--"All flesh is
grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the
field." Ask David, "_What is man_?" He answers (#Ps 62:9|), man
is "_a lie_," not a liar only, or a deceiver, but "_a lie_," and
a deceit. All the answers the Holy Ghost gives concerning man,
are to humble man: man is ready to flatter himself, and one man
to flatter another, but God tells us plainly what we are. ... It
is a wonder that God should vouchsafe a gracious look upon such a
creature as man; it is wonderful, considering the distance
between God and man, as man is a creature and God the creator.
"_What is man_," that God should take notice of him? Is he not a
clod of earth, a piece of clay? But consider him as a sinful and
an unclean creature, and we may wonder to amazement: what is an
unclean creature that God should magnify him? Will the Lord
indeed put value upon filthiness, and fix his approving eye upon
an impure thing? One step further; what is rebellious man, man an
enemy to God, that God should magnify him! what admiration can
answer this question? Will God prefer his enemies, and magnify
those who would cast him down? Will a prince exalt a traitor, or
give him honour who attempts to take away his life? The sinful
nature of man is an enemy to the nature of God, and would pull
God out of heaven; yet God even at that time is raising man to
heaven: sin would lessen the great God, and yet God greatens
sinful man.--^Joseph Caryl.

        Verse 4.--"_What is man_?" Oh, the grandeur and
littleness, the excellence and the corruption, the majesty and
meanness of man!--^Pascal, 1623-1662.

        Verse 4.--"_Thou visitest him_." To visit is, first, to
afflict, to chasten, yea, to punish; the highest judgments in
Scripture come under the notions of visitations. "Visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children" (#Ex 34:7|), that is,
punishing them. ... And it is a common speech with us when a
house hath the plague, which is one of the highest strokes of
temporal affliction, we use to say, "Such a house is visited."
Observe then, afflictions are visitations. ... Secondly, to
visit, in a good sense, signifies to show mercy, and to refresh,
to deliver and to bless; "Naomi heard how that the Lord had
visited his people in giving them bread." #Ru 1:6|. "The Lord
visited Sarah," etc. #Ge 21:1,2|. That greatest mercy and
deliverance that ever the children of men had, is thus expressed,
"The Lord hath visited and redeemed his people." #Lu 1:68|.
Mercies are visitations; when God comes in kindness and love to
do us good, he visiteth us. And these mercies are called
visitations in two respects: 1. Because _God comes near to us_
when he doth us good; mercy is a drawing near to a soul, a
drawing near to a place. As when God sends a judgment, or
afflicts, he is said to depart and go away from that place; so
when he doth us good, he comes near, and as it were applies
himself in favour to our persons and habitations. 2. They are
called a visitation because of the freeness of them. A visit is
one of the freest things in the world; there is no obligation but
that of love to make a visit; because such a man is my friend and
I love him, therefore I visit him. Hence, that greatest act of
free grace in redeeming the world is called a visitation, because
it was as freely done as ever any friend made a visit to see his
friend, and with infinite more freedom. There was no obligation
on man's side at all, many unkindnesses and neglects there were;
God in love came to redeem man. Thirdly, to visit imports an act
of care and inspection, of tutorage and direction. The pastor's
office over the flock is expressed by this act (#Zec 10:3; Ac
15:36|); and the care we ought to have of the fatherless and
widows is expressed by visiting them. "Pure religion" saith the
apostle James, "is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in
their affliction" (Jas 1:27|); and in #Mt 25:34|, Christ
pronounceth the blessing on them who, when he was in prison,
visited him, which was not a bare seeing, or asking 'how do you,'
but it was care of Christ in his imprisonment, and helpfulness
and provision for him in his afflicted members. That sense also
agrees well with this place, #Job 7:17,18|, "_What is man, that
thou shouldst visit him_?"--^Joseph Caryl.

        Verse 4.--"_What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or
the son of man, that thou visitest him_?"

        Lord, what is man that thou
        So mindful art of him? Or what's the son
        Of man, that thou the highest heaven didst bow,
                And to his aide didst runne?

                Man's but a piece of clay
        That's animated by thy heavenly breath,
        And when that breath thou takest away,
                        He's clay again by death.
                He is not worthy of the least
                Of all thy mercies at the best.

                Baser than clay is he,
        For sin hath made him like the beasts that perish,
        Though next the angels he was in degree;
                        Yet this beast thou dost cherish.
                He is not worthy of the least,
                Of all thy mercies, he's a beast.

                Worse than a beast is man,
        Who after thine own image made at first,
        Became the divel's sonne by sin. And can
                        A thing be more accurst?
                Yet thou thy greatest mercy hast
                On this accursed creature cast.

                Thou didst thyself abase,
        And put off all thy robes of majesty,
        Taking his nature to give him thy grace,
                To save his life didst dye.
        He is not worthy of the least
        Of all thy mercies; one's a feast.

                Lo! man is made now even
        With the blest angels, yea, superior farre.
        Since Christ sat down at God's right hand in heaven,
                And God and man one are.
        Thus all thy mercies man inherits
        Though not the least of them he merits.

^Thomas Washbourne. D.D., 1654.

        Verse 4.--"_What is man_?"--

        How poor, how rich, how abject, how august,
        How complicate, how wonderful is man!
        How passing wonder HE who made him such!
        Who centred in our make such strange extremes!
        From different natures marvellously mix'd,
        Connexion exquisite of distant worlds!
        Distinguish'd link in being's endless chain!
        Midway from nothing to the Deity!
        A beam ethereal, sullied and absorb'd,
        Though sullied and dishonour'd, still divine!
        Dim miniature of greatness absolute!
        An heir of glory! a frail child of dust!
        _Helpless_, immortal! insect _infinite_!
        A worm! a god! I tremble at myself,
        And in myself am lost.

^Edward Young, 1681-1775.

        Verses 4-8.--"_What is man_," etc.

                --Man is ev'ry thing,
        And more: he is a tree, yet bears no fruit;
                A beast, yet is, or should be more:
                Reason and speech we onely bring.
        Parrats may thank us, if they are not mute,
                They go upon the score.

                Man is all symmetrie,
        Full of proportions, one limbe to another,
                And all to all the world besides:
                Each part may call the farthest, brother.
        For head with foot hath private amitie,
                And both with moons and tides.

                Nothing hath got so farre,
        But man hath caught and kept it, as his prey.
                His eyes dismount the highest starre:
                He is in little all the sphere.
        Herbs gladly cure our flesh, because that they
                Finde their acquaintance there.

                For us the windes do blow;
        The earth doth rest, heav'n move, and fountains flow,
                Nothing we see, but means our good,
                As our _delight_, or as our _treasure_:
        The whole is, either our cupboard of _food_,
                Or cabinet of _pleasure_.

                The starres have us to bed;
        Night draws the curtain, which the sun withdraws;
                Musick and light attend our head.
                All things unto our _flesh_ are kinde
        In their _descent_ and _being_; to our _minde_
                In their _ascent_ and _cause_.

                Each thing is full of dutie:
        Waters united are our navigation;
                Distinguished, our habitation;
                Below, our drink; above, our meat:
        Both are our cleanlinesse. Hath one such beautie?
                Then how are all things neat!

                More servants wait on man,
        Than he'l notice of: in ev'ry path
                He treads down that which doth befriend him,
                When sicknesse makes him pale and wan,
        Oh, mightie love! Man is one world, and hath
                Another to attend him.

^George Herbert, 1593.

                       HINTS TO PREACHERS.

        Verse 4.--Man's insignificance. God's mindfulness of man.
Divine visits. The question, "What is man ?" Each of these themes
may suffice for a discourse, or they may be handled in one
sermon.