Parochial and Plain Sermons

HIS is a remarkable verse, because it accidentally tclls us so much. It is addressed fo Timothy, St. Paul's comlanion, the first ]3ishop of Ephesus. Of Timothy we know very little, except that he did minister 4o St. Paul, and hcnce we might havc iër'ed that he was a. man of verv saintly eha.ractcr; but we know little or nothing of him, except that he had been from a child a careful reader of Seripture. This indeed, by itselt) in hat Al»ostolic ae, would have lcd us fo infel; that ho had riscn fo somc great height in spiritual excellence; thoug'h if must be confessed that instam'es are fi'equent at this day, of pe'sons knowing the Bible well, and yet being little stricter than others in their lives, ibr all their knowle(lge. Timothy, however, had so rea¢ the Old Testament., and had so heaM from St. Paul the -ew, that he was a true follower of the Apostle, as the

Apostle was of Christ: St. Paul accordingly calls him "my own son," or "nly rue son in thc faith." And clsewhere he says to the Philippians, that he has " no man like-minded to 'imotlly, who would lmturally" or truly " care ibr thcir siate i.,, ut still, acr all, this fs but a g-eneral account of him, and we seem to dcsirc something more definite in the xvay of description, beyond merely knowing that he was a g'reat saint, which conveys no elear impression to thc mind. Now, in the text we have aceiden/allv a g'limpse given us of his mode of litb. St.. Paul does hot exprcssly tcll us that he was a man oï moified habits; but he reveals the faet indireetly by eautioning him against an exeess of mortification. "Drink no longer wtter," he says, "but use a littlc wine." It should be observed, that wine, in tle souflern eountries, fs the saine ordinary beverage that beer fs here; it fs nothing strong or eostly. Yet even ri-oin sueh as this, Timothy vas in the habit of abstaining, and restrieting himself to vater  and, as the Apostle thous'ht, imprudently, to the inerease of his "often infirmities." There fs something veïy striking in this aceidental mention of the private ways of this Apostolical Bisllop. We know indeed from history file doctrine and file life of tlle great saints, who lived some time af'ter file Apostlcs' age; but we are naturally anxious fo know something more of the Apostlcs tllemselves, and their associates. We say, "Oh that we could speak to St. Paul,—that we could see him in his daily walk, and hear his oral and ihmiliar teaclling!that we could ask him what he

 8 Aposlolic 113stinencc meant by fhis expression in his El)istles, or what he thought of this or the other doctrine." This is not givel fo us. God might give us reater light than lte does; but it is IIis g'aeious will to give us fle less. Yet perhaps nueh nore is g.iven us in Seripture, as if has eome to us, thau we think, if our eyes were enlig'htcncd fo diseern if there. Sueb, for instance, is the text; it is a sudden revelation, a glimpse of the personal eharaeter of Apostolic Christians; it is a hint which we mav follow out. For no one will denv that a ve) great, deal of doctrine, and a very great deal of preeept, goes with sueh a thet as this; riz. thaf this holy man, without impiously disparaing God's ereation, and thanklessly rejccting God's gits, yet, on the whole, lived  liiç of abstiuenee. I eannot af all understand why such a lire is hOt excellent in a Christian now, if i was the charaeteristie of Apostles, and friends of Apostles, then. I really do no sec why the trials and pel'Secutions, which cnvironed thcm from Jcws aud Gcntilcs, their forlorn dcspiscd state, md flleir nccessary diseomforfs, should no even have exempted them from voluntary sufferings in addition, unless such self-ilnposed hardships were pleasing fo Christ. Ye we find tha St. Paul, like Timothy, who (as the Apostle says) had known " his doctrine and manner of lire ,'" I say, St.. Paul also, in addition to his "weariness and painfulness," " hunger and thirs," "eold and nakedness,'" was "in watehings orteil,  "in fistings offert." Such were holy men of old rime. How iar are we below them! Alas fi,r our easy sensual lire, our cowardice, onr sloth! is this the way by which the kin'dom of hcaven is won? is this the way that St. Pa.ul fou'ht a g,ood fig'ht, md finished his course? or was it by putting behind his back all thin's on earth, and looking,stedistly towards tIiln who is invisible? Now at first s,.'g'ht it may hot be elcar why this modera.tion, and at least occasiolml abstinence, in the use of God's 'ifts, shou!d be so great a. duiy, as our Lord, for instance, seems to imply, when Ite places fitstin-in so prominent a place in thc Scrlnon on the [ouut, with ahnsgiviug and prayer. But thus much we are able fo see, hat the great duty of the Gospel is love to OEd and man; and that this love is quenched and exting'uished 1)y.self-indulgence, and cherished by self-dcnial. They who enjoy tbis lire fi'eely, lnake it or self their idol; they are gross-hearted, and have no cyes o see God withal. Hence it is said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see Go(l ." And again, if was tbe rich man who fared smnpuously every day, who neglected Lazarus; for scnsual living hardcns the heart, while abstinence softens and rcfines it. Now, observe, I do not mcan tha.t abstinence produces this effect as a matter of course in any given person,else all the loor ought fo be patterns of Christian love, but that where men are religiously-miuded, here those ont of the number xvill make grcater attainmens in love and devotiona.1 feeling, who do exercise themselves in self-denial of the body. I should really be disposed fo s,y,—You mus make your choiee, you must in some way or nnoher deny the flesh, or vou canno possess ChSsim love. Love is no comnaon 'race in ifs bicher derees. I is truc, indecd, that, as bei the necessm T token of cvery truc Christian, if mns be possessed in some deree even by the weakes and hunables of Chris's sewantsbu in auy of ifs hiher and maturcr stnes, i is rre nnd dicult. I is easy fo be amiable or uprigqa; i is easy fo lire in reular habits;i is easv fo lire eonscientiously, in the common sense of the word. I say, nll this is eompar:tively casy; bu one thin is needfid, nnd one thin is ofteu lzckin,love. We mny act rihtly, Se without, doin out riht actions fi'om the love of God. Othe" motives, short of love, ar good in themselves; these we nav lmve, mad hot have lof-e. ow I do no think thz this detbc arises fi'om an one cause, or enu be removcd by auy one remed-; and yct still, i does seem zs if abstinence and fastin availed much towards ifs removal; so much so, that, granting love is necessary, then these are neeessa-y; assuming love to be the charaetcristie of a Christian, so is abstinence. You mav think fo dispense with fasting; truc; and you may neglt also fo eultivate love. And here a connexio may be t.raced between the truth I have been insisting on, and ont Lord's words, when asked why His disciples did hot fast. He said, that they could hot fnst. while the Bridegroom was th thena; but tha.t when He was taken from them, then they wonld fast. ae one thing, which is all in ail fo us, is fo live in Christ's presenee; fo hear His volte, o sec His countenanee. His first disciples had Him in bodily presence amonoo them; and He spoke to them, warned them, was a pa(tern to them, and uidcd them with His evc.:But whcn IIe wifldrew IIimsclf from thc world of scnsc, how should they sec I[im sfill? Vhen their fleshly eyes and e.rs saw ]Iim no more, when Hc had ascendcd whither flesh and b]ood cannot enter, and the barricr of the flesh was intcrposcd bctween tIim and them, how should thcv anv longer sec and hear Him? "Lord, whither oest Thou?" thcy said; and Ho answered fo Pctcr, "' Whither I go thou canst hot fillow hic now, but thou shalt fillow Me afterwards." They werc to fo]low Hiln throuh the vei], and fo break the barrier of the flesh after His pattern. They must, as î:r as thcy could, weaken and attenuate what stood between them and Him; they must anticipate that world where flesh and blood arc hot; thev must disccrn truths which flesh and blood could hot rcveal; they musf lire a lire, hot of sense, but of spirit; they must practisc those mortifications which former reliions had enjoined, which the Pharisees and John's disciples observed, with bette: ri'uit, for,n higher end, in a more heavenly way, in order fo sec Him who is invisible. By fasting, Moses saw God's gloo-; by fastin,:Elijah heard the "'sfill small voice" bv fasting', Christ's disciples were fo express their mourning" over the Crucified and Dead, over the ]3rideroom ta.ken away: but that mourning would brin Him baek, that mourning" would be turned fo joy; in that mourning. they would sec Him, thev wou]d hear of Him, again; they would sec Him, as they mourned and wept. And while they mourned, so long would they sec Him and

3 a./ipostolic./istiJzc«cc rejoiee—for" blessed are they that mouru, for they shall be eomforted" they are "sorrowfil, joiein" lmngerin and thirstil W nfter and unto righteousness,—fisting in body, that their soul may hnnger and thirst after ifs tl'e ood  fistiu in hody, that they may be satisfied in spirit; in a "barren and dry land, where no water is, '' that they may look for Him in holiness, and bchold I[is power and glory. "Iy heal' is smitten clown, and withcred like grass (says the Psalmist), so that I forger fo car my bread. For the voice of my groaning, my bones will searee eleave fo my flesh. I ara bceome like a peliean in the wilderness, and like an owl that is in the desert. I have watehed, and am cvcn as a sparrov that sitteth alone upon thc house-top." "AI1 dav long have I been punished, and ehastcned every morning." And what was the consequenee? "Nevertheless, I ara alway by Thee: for Thou hast holden me by my right hand. Thou shalt guide me with Thy counsel, and after that reecive me with glory. Whom have I in heaven but Thee? and there is none upon emlh that I desire in eomparison of Thee? [y flesh and my heart faileth, but God is the strenh of my heart, and my portion for ver . Such was thc ortion whi«h St. Paul and St. Timothy received, wllen thoy gave up this wor]d and ifs blessings; hot that they might hot bave enjoyed them had they chosen; but beeause they might, and 3-et gave them up, therefore they received blessings out of sight instead.

And in like manner, applying this to ourselves, if is out duty also to be evcr modcrate, ad at rimes to abstain, in the use of God's earthly gifts; nay, happy is if for us, if God's secret ,'race call us on, as if callcd St. Paul and Timothy, fo:L more divine and tranquil lift. than that of the multitude. It is out duty to war against lhe flesh as they warred against if, that we may inherit the gifts of thc Spirit as tltey inhcritcd thcm. If Saints a.re our patterns, lhis surcly means lhat we must copy them. Ilere, however, if nmy be ol!iected, that thcre is ærcsnmplio, in wishing to be what Apostles:md lheir associates were. That thev had hlgh spiritual g'ifts which we have hot, and that fo attempt their lire without these, is ail oue with attemptin fo work sueh miracles as they did, whieh any one would grant fo be presumptuous. There is much truth in such a remark so far as this, that fo attempt at once all thcy did would be presumptuous; we tan but put ourse]res in the way. God givcs second and third girls fo those who improve the first; let us improve thc first, and then we know hot how high may be the spiritual faculties which at length He will givc us. Wlo is there, who, on setting out on a journey, secs belote him his destination? IIow often, when a person is making for a place which he has never seen, he says fo himself, that he cannot, believe that at: certain rime he really will be there? There is not.hinff in what he af present secs, which conveys fo him the assurance of the future; and)'et, in time, that future will be present. So is it as regards our spiritual course: we know hot what we shall be; but begin it, and, af

34 tposloh'c A leng4h, by God's g.raee, 'ou vill end if; no, indd, with the raee He now has given, bu by fresh and fresh g'mee, fuller and tillel', inereased aeeording fo your need. hus you will ead, if you do bu begin; bu begin nog xilh. the end; begin with the beginning; nlo/ln up the heavenly ladder step by step. Fasting" is a duty; but we ought fo fast according to our strength. God requircs nothing ot" us beyoud out stvcngtll; but the utmost according to out strength. " She bas done vhat she could," was IIis word of comlnendation fo 5Ia. Now, fo forger or to miss this truth, is vcry common with begilmers, eveu thr«)ugh mere igm.rauce or inadvcrtence. They k[aow hot what. they tan do, and what they canno¢, as hot having' yet t.ried hcmselves. And then, whcn what they hoped was easy, 1)fores a rea¢ deal too ranch for them, they t]til, and then are dispirited. They xvound their conscîeuce, as being unable fo fuliil thei- oxç-u resolves, and they are reduced fo a kind of despair; or they are tcmpted fo be reckless, and fo give up all cndeavours whatever fo obcy God, because they are hot strong euough fo" cvcrv thing. And thus if ofteu halTens, that lnen rush ti-om oue extreme fo tmother i and even pro[ss themselves ri'ce fo lire vithout any rulc of self-govcrument af all, al'ter having protssed great strictncss, or evcu extrava'ance, in their mode of living. This applies of course to all duties whatever. We should be very much on out guard, vhen we are engagcd in contemplating the lires of holy men, against attempting" just what they did; which might be right inde lu them, and yet may be wrong in us. Holy men may say and de thing's whieh we have no right te sa.y and de. Profession 1)y word of mouth, religious lang'uage, rebuking others, t)nd the like, may be natnral and proper in them, uud tbrced and t,u of place in us. We ought te attempt nolhing but wlmt we clin de. 'fhere is a kind of inward feeling" whieh oIlen tells ns wlmt we bave a rig'ht te de, and what we have net. We have offert a kind of misgiving5 as if what we are tempted de does net really belong" te us. Let ris earefilly attend te this inward voiee. This applies espeeially te out devotions.: common men have no rig'ht, te use the pmyers whieh advaneed Chris/ians use without o[lbnding'; and if they atmpt if, they l,eeome mreal; an oflnee whieh all persons, who have any thith and reverenee, will endeavour earnestly te avoid. But if we will thns commence out relixious course, it is certain we shall soon get tired of it; we shall ive it up; and out devotional feeling's will lhus be shown, by the event, bave been hut a thshion or an impulse, whieh has no trne excellence in if. And here I will observe, whag may be «,t" use even te those vho are inost eaulious and prudenL in their mode of eondueting" their ltdenials, snpposing they haro seasons in which they praetise them, sueh as LenL oug'h te be all of us. Be ve T mud on your g'uard ag'ains a reaction te a eareless way of lire aRer Len is over. I is a eauLion eomlnonly and usefiflly g'iven, tha afler a of thsLing wo shouhl net, when w break out fist, ea unduly; new I ara giving" a similar warning" eoneerning  «ea«oe of M»stinenee, and net only as regards eating" largely, bg against, all laxity and self-indulgence.

Lent, serions thous"hts are bronght nmre regularly beFore the min. he rule oF abstinence whieh we aopt, however sfight if may be in itselç» aets as a eonthmal restraint and memento upon us in other thin's. We eannot range ai will through the field of thinking and wishin. We are more frequenç also in prayer. And epeeially, if we feel ourselves al,le fo be strict in out fast, the weakness of body evnsequenç on if is an additional check upon us. Leç us beware, then, lest, when this rime is over, and Easter cornes, we fidl baek into a lawless state of mind, and a random lift, as if God's paradise were some Judaical heaven, where we mlg'ht indule ourselves the more fi'eely in this world's gvods, for having renouneed them for a while. This grievous eonsequenee is sald aetnallv fo happen in some forei'n eountries, in the case of the multitude, who never will bave a deep and eonsMent devotion while the world lasts; and we should be mueh on onr g'uard, lest it happens fo us in out degree. It will be a sad thought fiw remembranee hereafter, if we slmll find after all, that we have undone what was right and profitablc in out Lent exercises by a vlapsc in Easter-tide. This, however, moEv be added for our eneouragemcnt, lhat to abstain tbr any length of rime is the beginning of a habit; and we may trust, tiret what wc have begun will continue, or tend to continue. And even though, thro/gh our frailty, we fall back {which God forbid ), yet wc shall find our self-denials easier next Lent. Nay, as I just now suid, we shall be able fo do more. SelL denial will become natural fo us. We shall feel no desire for those indulgences, whether anhnal . mental, which savour o" this world; and our fastes and likings will begiu fo be formed upon a heavenly rule. To those who arc accustomed to seltçdenials, itis more painfifl to indulge than fo abstain, as everv one of' eOllllllOll self-,.ontrol must khow, ff'oto ordilmlT matters of his own experienee. Persons in the hmnbler ranks, of unrefined nfinds, look up fo the rieh, and womler tlley do hot do this or that, which they would do fi, r certain, lmd they the likc means. The 'ason is, tha these rieh wrsons, having a more pertZ, et education, bave oo mut'h tastc and sense of lwopricty, evcn th,,u'h reliR'ion shouhl be absent, 1o use thcir wealth in what mav bc ealled et barbarian way. Now the saine dislike of self-indulgence, in all ifs shapes, is matured, undcr God's raec, lu thc souls of those who seek ]Iim in the way of austcrity. Timothy had fo be reminded by St. Paul to use a little wine; for to drink wine was a trouble to Timothy, as putting him (fo use a eomlnon phrase) out ot" his wav. I[e was happy in his own way. A]l mon havc cach his own way, and lhey wonder a one another. Eaeh looks down upon his neihbour, becaflse his neigqbour docs hot like the very things he ]ikes himselff We look down on tbreig'ners, beeause their way is hot ours. llappy ho whose wav is God's way; when he is used to if, if is as casy as any other waynay, mueh easiel', fi)r God's service is perfect fl'eedom, whereas Safari is a cruel tasknmster. To eonelude, le flmsc who attempt fo make this Len£ profitable to thcir souls, by such observances as bave over been in use at. this season sinee Christianity was, beware lest they 1,»se this world without gaiuing the next;for instance, as I said just nov, by relapsing.

3 8 Aiostolic.4 hslizc«cc. Or ag'ain, by obscrving" wha is in itself r]gh in  eold and iblaml nmnncr. We tan se the means, but it God alone who blesses them. ]Ie alone turns the stones into lwead, and lwings water ii-om the lmrd rock. eau turn ail things into nnrishment, but lIe alone ean do so. Le ns pray Him fo blcss what we venture for IIim, that we may hot onlv labour, lut mn)" reeeive ont wag'es, and g'ather tnit nnto li[ eternal. This world is: very little thinR' fo g'ive np fiw the next. Yet, it' we give if np in hear and conversation, w" shall g'ain the ncxt. Le ns aire t the consistent, habi of mind, of l«oking" towards God, and r:joieing in the g'lory whieh shall be vevealed. In that case, whether we ea[ or drink, or abstain, or whntever we do, we shall do ail unto Him. Let us aire ai bein:z truc heirs of thê promise; let us humbly aspire fo be IIis eleet., in whom IIe delig'hteth, holy and undefiled, "" blameless and hnrmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the lnidst of a erooked and perverse nation," among" whom we mav shine "as lig'hts in the world, holding" forth the word oï lire."

"' IW'zozo the graee of out JLord Jes«s Christ, fhert, though le vas rich, yet for your sakes He became Toor, that te fhrough IlisToverQi might be rich.'"

S rime goes on, and:Eastcr draws uearer, we are eailed upon not onlv to mourn over out sins, but cspecially over lhe various suflbrins which Christ out Lord and Saviour uuderweut ou aeeount of them. Why is it, my brethreu, lhat we have so litlle fecling ou the marrer as we eommouly have? Why is it lhat we are used lo let lhe season corne and go just lil¢e anv other seasou, hOt thiukin F more of Christ lhan af other rimes, or, at least, uot feeling more? Ara I uot right in saying that lhis is the case? and if so, have I hot cause for asking why it is lhe case? We are hot moved whe we hear of the bitter passion of Jesus Christ, the Sou of God, for us. We ueither bewail our sins whieh eaused if, nor have an), sympathy with it. We do hot surfer wit/ Him. If we corne lo Church we hear and then we go away ag'ain; not distressed at all; or if distressed, only for the moment. And many do hOt corne fo Chm'ch ai ail; and to thenb of course, this holy:md solemn rime is ]ike other rimes. They eat, and drink, and sleep, and ris up, and go about their business and their pleasure, just as usual. They do hot earry the/hought of llim who died for them, along" with thcm,with them wherever they are,with them " whether they eat, or drink, or whatevcr they do." They in no seuse '" lire," 1o use St. Paul's words, "by lhe thith of the Son of God, vho loved them and gave ltimself tbr ' " ttem. This, alas eannot be denied. Yet, if it be so, that the Son of God came down flore heavcn, put aside tIis g'lory, and submitted to be despised, erue]ly treated, and put to death l»y IIis own creatures,—by those whom IIe had ruade, and whom IIe had preserved up fo lla day, and was then npholding in lire and being,is it reasonable that so great an event should hot more us? Does it hot stand fo reason /hat we must be it a very irreligious state of mind, mfless we ]mve sonae little gratitude, some ]ittle sympathy, some lit/le love, some lift.le awe, some little self-reproaeh, some litle selfabasement, some litIle rel»entanee, some little desire of amendment, in eonsequenee of what IIe bas done and sutfered for us? Or, rather, mav hot so great a. Benether demand of us some overflowing gratitude, keen sympathy, fervent love, profi»und awe, bitter seltç reproach, earnest repentanee, eager desire and longing afr a new heart? Who ean deny all this? XVhy then, 0 my brethren is it hot so? why are things with us as they are? Alas! I sorrowfullv forctcll that time will fro on, and Passion-ride, Good Friday, and East«r- Day xvill pass by, and the weeks after it, and manv of you will be just what you were—not at..'dl nearer heaven, hot at ail nearer Cl, rist in your hearts and live., hot impressed lasting'ly or savinfly with the thouht, of Ilis mercies and your own sius and dcmerits. But why is this? why do you so little understand the (lospel of your salva.tion? why are your eyes so dira, and your ears so Imrd of hearilg'? wh- have vou little faith? so little of heaven in vour hearts? For thi. one reasol b my brethrelb if I must express my meauing in one word, because you so little,editate. You do not meditate, and therefore vou are hot impressed. What is meditating on Christ? if. is simply this, thinking habitually and constantlv of IIim and of ]Ils deeds and sufferings. It is fo have IIim Lefore our minds as One whom we may contemplate, worship, and address when we fise up, when we lie down, when we car and drink, when we are at honle and abroad, when we are workin, or walking', or af l'est, whcn we are alone, and ag'ain when we are in company; this is ditating'. And by this, and nothing short ot" this, will our hearts corne to feel as they ought. We havc stoy hearts, liearts as hard as the highways; the histol T of Christ makes no impression on them. And.ver, if wc would be saved, we must have tender, sensitive, living hem-ts; our hearts must be broken, lnust be broken up like ground, and dug, and watercd, and tended, and cultivated, till they become as gardens, gardens of Eden, acceptable to our God, g.ardens in which the Lord Crod may walk and dwell; filled, not with briars and thorns, but with ail sweet-smellinff and useful plants, with heavenly trees and flowers. The dry and barren waste lnust burst tbrth into spring'. of living' water. This ehang'e must take place in out hearts if we w.uld be saved; in a word, ve must have what we lmve hot by nature, faith and love; and how is this fo be effeeted, under God's g'raee, but 1.y g'odly and praetical meditatlon lhroug'h the da"? St. Peter describes what I mean, when he says, speakiug" of Christ, "'Whom havin," hot seen ye love: in whom, thoug'h now ye see I[im hot, yet believing', ye rejoice wilh joy unsi»eakable and fidl of g'lory ." Christ is gone away; IIe is hot seen; we never saw IIim, we only read and hear of Him. If is an old saying, '" Out of sig'ht, out of mind." ]k, sure, so it «vil/ be, so i atst be wilh us, as reaïds out blessed Saviour, unless we make eontinual efforts ail throug'h the day fo think of tlim, Ilis love, ]Iis precepts, His gifts, and His promises. We must recall fo mind what we read in the Gospels and lu holy books about Him; we must bring before us what we have heard in Chureh  we must pray God fo enable us fo do so, to bless the doinff so, and fo make us do so in a silnple-minded, sineere, and reverential spirit. Iu a word, we lnU.¢ meditate, for ail this is meditation; and this even the mos unlearned person eau do, and will do, if he has a will fo do it. Now of sueh meditation, or thinkinff over Christ's deeds and suffering's, I will say wo things; the firs of which would be toc plain fo mention, except that., did I hOt mention if., I nlig'ht seem to fbN'el iL wheïeas I g'ran if. Ig is this: thag sueh lneditation is nog af ail pleasan a first.. I know i; loeople will find it at firs very irksome, and their minds will gladly slip away to ciller subjeets. Truc: bu consider, if" Christ though your salvation worth the g'rea sacrifice of vohmtary suffering's for you, shouhl no you think (wha is vour own eoneern) your own salvation worth the slig'ht sacrifice of learning" to meditate upon those suffcrings? Can a less thin be asked ci" you, than, when IIe has donc the work, that you should only have fo believe in if aud accept it? And my second remark is this: that if is only by slow deg'rees that meditation is able to soften our hard hearts, and that the history of" Christ's trials and sorrows really moves us. It is hot once thinking of Christ or twice thinking" of Christ that will do if. If is bv g'oing" on quietly and steadily, with the thoug'ht of Him in our mind's cye, that by little and little we shall g'ain somcthing of" warmth, light., lire, and love. We shall hot perceive ourselves changing. If will be like the unfolding" of the leaves in spring. You do not sec them g'row; 3"ou cannot, by watching', detcct it. But evel'3 da3b as it passes, has donc something ibr thelu; and you are able, perhaps, every morning" to sa 3" that they are more advanced than yesterday. So is if with our souls; hot indced every morning', but at certain pcriods, we are able fo sec that we are more alive and religqous than we weïe, though duïing" the interval we were hot conscious that we were advaneing.

44 Ch'isf s P'izatiozs N-ow, thon, as il" by way ot" speeimen, I will say 8 few words upon the vohmtary self-abasement of Christ, fo sugest fo 3-Oll thoughts, whieh you ouCht, indeed, to bear about yott a[ all t.imes, bu£ espeeially a this mos£ holy season or" the »ear; thoug'hts whieh will in their poor measure (please God) prepare you tbr seeing Chris in heaven, and, in the me;mwhile, will prcl,are vou for "  lesterai. ]çoster-Dav cornes seemg" l[im in ]Ils Lasler  "  I,ilt. once t veiu'; it is short, like othcr days. O that we mav mako mueh of it, that we nmy make the most of it, tha we may enj,,y it  O that it mav hot. pass over like offset diys, and leavt, us no fl'ng'rance flcr it to remind us of if  Corne theb my bretbren, at this rime, before the so]emn days are prest'n, and let» us review some of the privations «,fthe Son of God ruade ma, vhieh should be your meditstion through these holà- weeks. And, ehiefly, ]Ie seems to speal to the poor. Ile came in 2o«ert. S. Paul snys, in the text, "Ye know lhe graceo£ out Lord eSilS Christ, tlmt thoug'h IIe was rieh, yet for yom" sakes I[e became poor, tha ve through IIis poverty mig'h ho rieh." Le no the poor suppose tha thcir hardships are their own onlF, and thag no c,ne else ever ft.l them. The Mos l[igh God, God tho bon, who had reig'ned with fle Father ff'oto everlastin, supremely blessed, Ite, even ]to, become  pr man, and suered the hardships of the poor. Yha are their lmrdships? I suppose sueh as lhese:tha they have bad lodgiF, bad elothing, nog enough to eat, or ofa poor kind, that they lm-e few p]easures or amusemens, tha they are despised, hag ghey are depeuden upon others for their living, and that they have no prospects for the future. -ow how was it with Christ., the Son o the Living God? Where ws llc born? stable. I suppose hot manv men suflbr an indignity g'reat; born, hot in quiet and comfort, but amid brute cattle; and what was His first cradle, if I mav call if.? a manger. Such were the beginnings of Ilis ctrthly life; nor did Ilis conditi,.n mend as lite weut Ho says on oue occasion, " Foxes havc holes, and 1)ird of the air havc uests, but the Son of Man hath where fo la" llis hcad i.,, lit had no home. IIc was, when IIe beg'an to preach, what would now be ealled with conemp a. vag'rant. Ïhere are persons 'ho are obliged fo sleep where they ean; sueh, in good measure, seems fo have been our blessed Lord. We hear ot" Martha who was hospitable 1o Ilim, and of others; but, though lit.tle is told us, Ile seelns, ri'oto whal is told, fo have lived a rougher life lhan an" village, peasant. He ws fortv dass it the wilderness: where do you think Tic slept then? in eves of the rock. And who were IIis companions then? worse eompanions even than those IIe was born among'. Ile was borll in a. ca'e; He passed forty nig'hts in  cave; His birth, a least, thêv were lame beasts whom Ih, was among', the ox and the ass. But during tlis forty days' temptation He " was with the wild beasts." Those caverns in the wilderness are filled with fieree and poisonous creatm'es. There Chris slept; and doubt.less, but for His Father's unseen a.rm and

46 Chri«t's P'zatz'oTzs His own sanetit.y, flaey would have fallen upon Him. Again, eold is another hardship whieh sensibly aicts us. q'his, too, Christ endured. Ile remaincd whole niffhIs in prayer upon the mountains. IIe rose betbre day and went. into solitary places to pmy. IIe was on the set at. nigbf. I[eat is a suiK, ring" which does hot affiler us much in out eount.ry, l»ut is very tbrmidablc in thc eastern parts, where our Saviour lived. Men keep at home when the sun is high, lest. it. should harm them; -et we read ot" Ilis sittinz down on Jeob's well ai mid-day, being wearied with Itis journey. Observe this also, fo which I have ah'eadv referred. He was eonstantly journeying during tfis ministry, and journeying on tbot. Once I[e rode into Jerusalem, fo fidfil a lropheey. Again, Ite endul-ed hung'er and thirst. He was a.thirst af. the well, md asked the Samaritan woman fo g'ive IIiln water fo drink. IIe was hungry in the wilderness, when tic fisted fortv days. Af anot.her rime, when aetively engaged in Itis works of merey, He and His disciples had no rime fo eat bread . And, indeed, wandering about as IIe did, lit seldoln eould bave been certain oi' a meal. And whaç was the kind of food He lived on'? IIe was mueh in the neighbourhood of an inland sea or lake, ealled the sea o[" (;ennesaret, or Tiberias, and He and His Apostles lived on bread and fish; as spare a diet as poor men lmve now, or sparer.

We hear, on one well-known occasion, of rive barley loa.ves and two small fishes. After His resurreetion Ho provided for His Apostles—" t tire, and fish laid thereon, and bl'ead; '' as i would seem, their usual rare. Yet iL deserves noiee that, in spite of this penury, He and His were in the eustom of ivin something to the poor notwithstanding. They did not allow themselves to make the most evet of lhe little they had. When the traitor Judas rose up and went out to betray film, and Jesus spoke to him, some or" the Apostlcs thought that IIe was 'ivin" directi.)ns about abus fo the poor; this shows lIis practiee. And Ho was, as need scareely be addcd, quife dependent on others. Sometimes rich men entertained IIim. Sometimes, as I have said, pious persons ministered to Him of their substance . IIc lived, in lIis own blessed words, like the rayons, whom God ibeds, or like the grass of the field, which God clothes. Need I add tiret I[e had fw plcasures, few recreations? itis hardly in place fo Sl»eak on such a topic in the case of One who came fi'«nn (lod, and who had other thoughts and ways tlmn we have. Yct there are innocent cnjoyments which God gives us here fo counterbalance the troubles of litb; our Lord was exposed fo the trouble, and miht havc taken also its compensation. But He refi-ained. If has bcen observed, that He is never spoken of as mirthfid; we ofien read of His sighing, groaning, and weel»in . He was " man of sorrows and acquaintcd with grie£"  John xxi. 9. z Luke viii. B.

48 Crist's ]-iz,«tian l-ow le us proeeM o o(ler grea(er suflrins, whieh He ook on Himsel when IIe beeame poor. Çontempt, hared, and perseeution from Even in I[is illfillleV Marv hml to flee with llim int«,. Egypt fo hinder llemd t'rm killing returned, it was hot saD fo dwell in Jmle, and lle was I,touhf up af razu'eth, a. place «,f evil Il:line, where tlw lmlv VirR'in had been when (abriel (he Anoel t'ame her. I need hot sav how l le was set nt nouh nnd perseeued by the Pharisees nnd priess when fie beat to preach, ami had nain nml aai lo tlee for l[is liD, whieh they veru bent on takiu'. Mmther rea. sulDring" from whieh our ord did ixot withdraw Ilimselç, was wha in (mr ease we eall bereavemelt, (lie loss of relations or ffiends by death. This, deed, it was o easy for Ilim o sustuiu, who had but one eartlly ear relation, and so çew ffiends; but even this afltietion Ite (asted fi»r out sakes, lazarus was IIis friend, and I[e lost him. IIe kuew, indeed, that lle eould restore him, and IIe did. Ye still IIe bitterlv lamented him, çor whatever reason, so tha he Jews said, "Behold how I[e loved him." Bu(. a. reater and truer bereavement., as far as we dure speak oç it, wa His oriiual aet o¢ humiliation itselç, heavenly g'lory and eoming" d.»vn on earth. This, of course, is  reat mystery fo us ff'oto beimfin o end still, I[e eertainlv vouehsaes o speak, throuh is Aposfle, of Iii8 " eml»tyin  I[imself" oi" [is loç-; so tht we may tirlv and reverenfly eonsider speakable and wondrox8 bereavemelil, whieh He under- went, in bein for the tilne, as it were, disinheri[ed, and ruade in the likeness of sinful flesh. But all these werc but the begilmin. of sorrows with Hiln; to sec their flflness we llltlS; look oll fo Ilis passion. Ill the anguish which He then endtn'ed, we see nll tIis other sorrows eoneentrated and exeeeded; thoug'h I sllnll say little of if now, when Ilis "rime is hot)'et, eome." But I will observe thus lnueh; first, what is vcry wonderflll and awflfl, the overwhelmin fcar I[e had of ]Ils suffcrings before they came. This shows how great they were; but it would seem hesides this, as if ][e had decreed to go through all trials for us, and, alnong them, the trial of fear. He says, "Now is My soul troubled, and what shall I sa 3"? Father, save 5[e from this hour; but for this cause came I unto this hour." And when the hour calne, this terror forlned thc beginning of ltis sufferings, and eaused I[is:tgony and bloody sweat. IIe prayed, "O My Father, if it be possible, let this eup pass froln Me; neverthcless, lmt [)- will, but ïhine, be done." St. Luke adds; " And being in an agony, IIe prayed lnore earnestly, and lIis sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down fo the ground Next, He was betraycd to death by one of His own friellds. Vhat a biffer stl'okc was this! Ho was lonely enough without this: but in tllis last trial, one of the twelve Apostles, His own familiar friend, betrayed Him, and the others forsook lIim and fled; though St. Peter and St. John afterwards recovered heart a little» and

o Crist's P-iv«dizs tbllowed Him. Yet soon St. eter himsel ineurred a worse sin, by denying t[im thrice. How affeetionately He felt towards them, and how ]le drew towards them with a natural movement of heart upon fle approaeh of His rial, thoug'h they disappointed I[im, is plain ffom the words I[e used towards them at His Last Snpper; '" IIe said unto them, With desh'e I have desired fo eat this passover with vou betbrc I sultbr Soon aller this lIis sntlbrin's began; and both in soul and in bodv was this I[,_,ly and Blessed Saviour, the Son of God, and Lord of lifb, given over to the malice of the g'reat enemv of God and man. Jol was g'iven over fo Safari in the Old q'estament, but within preseribed limits; first, the Evil One was hot allowed fo toueh his person, and atterwards, though his person, yet hot his lifb. But Safari had power to triumph, or what he thought was triumphing, over the lifb of Christ, who confesses fo ]Iis perseeutors, "This is your hour, and the power of darkness." H[s head was erowned and torn with thorns, and bruised with staves; ]Iis face was defiled with spittin; IIi shoulders were weig'hed down with the heavy cross; His bat.l; was rent and gashed with scourges; ]Ils hands and ff.et ored throux with halls; IIis side, by way of eontumely, wounded with the spear; I[is m.uth parehed with intoleralde thirst; and ]Ils soul so bedarkened, that He eried oui, "My God, Iy God, why hast Thou tbrsal;en)Ie a Ad thus He hun upon the Cross for six hours, His whole bodv one wound, exposed almost naked fo the eves of men, "despisinff the shame ,'" and railed at, taunted, and eursed bv ail who saw ]tire. Surelv to tIim alone, in their thlness, apply the Prophet's words; "'Is nothinff fo)'ou, all ve that pass l»v? 1,ehohl, and sec there be anv sorrow like lmto My sorrow which is dom" unto Me, whercwith the Lord hath aflticfed Me la thc dav of" His tierce aner ï." How litfle are our sorrows to these! how litle is ont pain, out hardships, our 1)ersecutions, c«,mpared with those which Christ voluntarily undertook tbr us! I[e, the sinh,ss, underwent these, what wonder is if tha we sinners should endure, if it so be, the lmndredth part of them? How base:lnd miserable are we, for understanding them so little, for being" so little ilnpressed by them! Ala.! if we felt them as we ouCht, of course they would be fo us, at sensons sueh as that now eoming', far worse than what the death of a fi-iend is, or his painN1 illness. We should hot be able at sueh times to take pleasure in this world; we should lose out elljoyment of things of earth; we should lose out appetite, and be sick at heart, and only as a matter of duty eat, and drink, and go about out work. The I[oly Season on whieh we shall soon enter would be a week of mourning, as when a dead bodv is in a house. V(e eannot, indeed, thus feel, lnerelv beeause we wish and ought so fo feel. We eannot force ourselves into so feeling. I do not exhort this man or that so to feel, sinee if is hot in his power. V'e cannot work ourselves up into sueh feelings; or, if we ean, if is better we should not,

5 OE Christ's Priaioas, bec,use il i« a working" up, whieh is bad. Deep feelin i but the natural or necessary attendant on a holy heart. But thouh we cannot at out will thus feel, and at once, we ean go the way thus to fêel. We ean grov in grace till we t]ltls fee]. znl, meanwhile, we ean observe such an outward abstinence fi'om the innocent pleasurcs and comfi»rts of ]itb, as may prepare us fi, r thus fcelinz; such an abstinence as we should sponlane«»us]v observc if we did hus lock We mav meditate upon Christ's sutlbring's  and lw this mcditation we g'raduaI]y, as timc oes on, bc broug'ht fo these deep tbelings. Ve may lway God fo do for us what wc cannot do fi»r ourselves, to make us feel; fo g'ive us the spirit of gratitude, love, revcrence, selLabasement, godly fear, repentancc, holiness, and lively thith.