plication. We must implore Him to fill us with this spirit that we may "become con formable to his death." III. THAT SOUL-FOOD IS THE GIFT OF CHRIST-"Which the Son of Man shall give unto you, for him hath God the Father sealed;" that is marked out and authenticated for the transcendent work of giving this food to hungry souls. Christ gives it First By his teaching. Everywhere throughout his discourses does He inculcate this self-sacrificing love love which leads to the surrendering of everything, and the taking up of the cross. a Secondly: By his spirit. His spirit conveys it into the soul. Self-sacrificing love for God and man is indeed the gift of Christ. The world knew nothing of this spirit, till He came and gave Himself a ransom for sinners. This spirit is, in the highest sense, the moral "flesh and blood of Christ." He poured forth this precious spirit upon the world to cleanse it from all sin. This spirit alone makes men truly happy and blest. "There never," says Sir Walter Scott, "did, and never will exist, anything permanently noble and excellent in a character which was a stranger to the exercise of resolute self-denial. Teach self-denial and make its practice pleasurable, and you create for the world a destiny more sublime than ever issued from the brain of the wildest dreamer." This is Christ's work. GOD'S UNALTERABLE DECREE IN RELATION TO MAN. "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life." John vi. 40. The MUCH has been said and written about God's decrees. dogmatism of narrow-minded theologians concerning them has made them something terrible to the common mind. But what are his decrees but the resolves of Infinite love? The text leads us to make two remarks concerning them. I. GOD DECREES THE WELLBEING OF MANKIND. It is his will that we should "have everlasting life." What does this mean? Not merely an existence without end. All, perhaps, may have that, but an endless existence in the absence of all evil, and in possession of all good-physical, intellectual, social, religious. II. GOD DECREES A SETTLED CONDITION FOR MAN'S WELLBEING. The condition is faith in Christ. "This is the will of him that sent me, that every one that seeth the Son and believeth on him," &c. In the days of his flesh thousands saw Him who did not believe on Him; and now multitudes intellectually see Him who do not believe on Him. Faith in Him is God's condition. Faith in -- moral associations, he had not disgraced and distressed his father. He had been a steady, inoffensive, obedient, and, ap Him-First: As the Divine Redeemer :-One sent of God for the work of effecting the spiritual restoration of the word. Faith in Him-parently affectionate son. All Secondly: As the all-sufficient Redeemer: "One that is mighty to save." Faith in Him-Thirdly: As the only Redeemer. "There is no other name given under heaven whereby ye may be saved." God's decree then is that man's well-being should be obtained through faith in Christ. God does not desire the misery of any man, but the happiness of all; and as He has decreed that life shall come to the earth through the sun, He has decreed that true happiness shall come to humanity through faith in Christ. ELDER BROTHER.—(No. 6.) "And he was angry, and would not go in."-Luke xv. 27. IN this short description of the elder brother we have a type of a certain state of feeling into which the Church too often falls. It is important to observe that it is not the general character of the elder brother that is here held forth as being wrong, but his conduct in a particular case. His common behaviour had been good, while that of his brother had been bad. He had never forsaken his home, he had not wasted his property, he had not formed im that was good; and if the penitence of his brother was a virtue, his innocence was a higher virtue still. But notwithstanding the general correctness of his history, he was He guilty of one great fault. was displeased with the joyous excitement produced by the return of his poor brother. "He was angry and would not go in, reproached his brother, condemned his dear father, and this one sin of his obscured all his virtues and exposed the unsoundness of his heart. His behaviour was rude, selfish, and cruel. Instead of flying to the house with a full heart to embrace his broken-hearted brother, and to welcome Him home to the scene of their infancy and boyhood—instead of this he was angry with his brother for returning to his once happy home, and with his father for thus welcoming him. In this description we have a portraiture of the moral state of feeling into which the Church often falls. We may mention three instances of this. First: The Scribes and Pharisees murmured because Christ received Publicans and sinners. They said, "This man receiveth sinners." This was at once the language of pride, censure, unmercifulness, and truth. Secondly: This is also a striking image of the perverse behaviour of the Jews when the Gentiles were called by the Gospel. The unbelieving Jews hated Christianity on this account, and even the believing Jews were unwilling to associate with Gentile converts unless they would submit to the ceremonial law. Thirdly: This is also an image of the apathy of some who profess Christianity respecting the condition of the world around them. They censure all extra efforts to bring perishing sinners to God. If any special measures are adopted to supply the poor and ignorant with the Bible, to bring them under the preaching of the Gospel, to lead them to God, to introduce the Gospel to dark localities, or convert the heathen to Christianity-they are angry. Communities of individuals professing Christianity object to all extra enterprises for the conversion of sinners on different grounds. I. Some because they imagine it to be contrary to SOUND DOCTRINE. The conversion of sinners is the work of God, and God will do his own work in his own way and time. Such is their idea. The Bible shows three agents. (1.) Sinners. "Repent-be converted." (2.) Christians. "Let him that turneth." (3.) God,"works in us to will and to do." No contradiction here. In one sense it is the work of God, in another of the sinner himself, and in another of Christians. Harvest is the work of God. But without the agency of man to plough and harrow the soil and to sow the seed He never produces a crop of corn. Nor can man without the agency of God causing the seed to germinate and grow by his sun and dew and vitalising power produce harvest. It is God by man that creates the harvest. Let man then work, and if he does it he must do it in God's time. II. Some because it is contrary to ECCLESIASTICAL ORDER. Some persons are weak or wicked enough to maintain that themselves and those whom they authorise only have the right to labour for the conversion of souls. First: Whoever wishes to do good has a right to do so. To do good by saving souls is to be just and holy, and I have a right to be just without the consent of a fellow mortal. Secondly: Whoever possesses Christianity is bound to do so. Here is the commission, "Go into all the world." Man requires no license from bishop, pope, or king. III. Some because it is cON TRARY TO ESTABLISHED CUSTOM. There are individual churches whose methods are stereotyped, whose operations run in a rut, and who recoil from all innovations, &c. CALEB MORRIS. THE STRONG MAN ARMED. “When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace but when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils."-Luke xi. 21, 22. THIS language is figurative, but figure implies fact, as the shadow implies the mountain. The words occur in the Lord's refutation of the childish argument of the Pharisees. I. WHAT does the figure set forth. The "strong man is Satan. The existence of Satan a fact in the mind of Jesus; not the embodiment of the principle of evil, but a real existence. God personal, the devil personal; his power and his temptations real; the denial of his existence a proof of his blinding power. He works by human instruments, on human hearts and consciences and through sins. (Gal. v. 19, 20.) All the discord of the earth traceable to him-is his work. He has always assailed men, is assailing still. History, past and present, a record of his successes and defeats. He is not ubiquitous, but is swift of foot, and has many watchful slaves. How mighty his in fluence, Judas, Peter, the priests, Pilate, our criminals, the godless, the formalist, authors, journalists, preachers even, under his influence. To hinder the good is his work; his success marvellous. How subtle he is; varying his temptations with a view to success; sometimes becoming an angel of light, making things lawful to corrupt us. How daring; he even tempted Jesus-wilderness, Gethsemane, Calvary. But Jesus triumphed, fulfilling his own word and the pledge that we may successfully resist in Him. II. WHY? First: That we may be free. Christ the deliverer from the strong man ; his service true liberty; Satan's dominion overthrown, conscience calmed, the soul renewed through him into his image. Secondly: We must be watchful; for though delivered the foe still exists, is as malignant as ever. If his lost throne is not won back, it will not be his fault. Thirdly: that we may be earnest; the conflict is real; the foe is mighty-mightier than we think, Christ alone can conquer, but his strength sufficient. R. V. PRYCE, LL.B., M.A. Seeds of of Sermons on the Proverbs. (No. CXLVI.) THE EVILS OF COVETOUSNESS, AND THE BLESSEDNESS OF GENEROSITY. "He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house; but he that hateth gifts shall live."-Prov. xv. 27. OF COVETOUSNESS. I. THE EVILS "He that is greedy of gain troubleth his own house." How does the covetous man trouble "his own house"? In many ways. First: Sometimes by niggardly provision for the wants of his house. He frets at every outlay; he grudges every comfort. His hand is ever open to grasp, never to give. Secondly: Sometimes by his miserable temper he disturbs the peace of the house. The temper and bearing of a covetous man produce disgust in all with whom he associates. Then, too, his irritability, anxiousness, and niggardly ways, falsehoods, over-reachings, which are ever associated with covetousness, pain all hearts within his circle. Thirdly: Sometimes by his reckless speculation he brings ruin on his house. His greed of gain urges him often into hazardous enterprises. These often break down, and in their crash ruin his family. Lot, Achan, Saul, Ahab, Gehazi, are examples of men who have troubled their house by their covetousness. "Woe to him that coveteth an evil covetousness to his house, that he may set his nest on high, that he may be delivered from the power of evil." (Hab. ii. 9.) "As the partridge sitteth on eggs, and hatcheth them not, so he that getteth riches, and not by right, shall leave them in the midst of his days, and at his end shall be a fool.' (Jer. xvii. 11.) "Refrain from covetousness," says Plato," and thy estate shall prosper." Book of II. THE BLESSEDNESS OF GENEROSITY. "He that hateth gifts shall live." It is implied that the man greedy of gain," in the first clause, is a man anxious for gifts of any sort, even bribes. By the man who hateth gifts," here we are not to understand a man regardless of his own interest, but one who would reject any amount of wealth that came not to him in an honest and honourable way; a man who has a stronger disposition to give than to receive. Such a generous man, we are told, "shall live." First: He "shall live" in the smiles of his own conscience. Conscience smiles upon the benevolent heart. Secondly: He "shall live" in the love and esteem of his neighbours. Men are made to admire and applaud the generous. Thirdly: He shall live in the approbation of his God. The man who rejects all earthly good, offered to him in an unrighteous way, and with a self-denying benevolence follows duty, shall" receive an hundredfold recompence in this world, and in the world to come everlasting life." (No. CXLVII.) THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED. "The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things. The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous."- Prov. xv. 28, 29. THESE verses present to us the righteous and the wicked in relation to their speech and in relation to their God. I. IN RELATION TO THEIR SPEECH. First. The speech of the righteous is properly studied. "The heart of the righteous studieth to answer." |