mystery how those persons can have a peaceful moment, who are living at enmity with those for whom Christ died, despising and hating them, in direct contradiction to the example and the precepts of Jesus.

But they are self-satisfied, and justify themselves.

3. And here, again, we see how exactly they are like the Jews. They justified themselves by cleaving to the forms of the law, while they were violating its spirit, and were cutting themselves off from Christ, who was its end and accomplishment. And men, now-a-days, profane the Gospel ceremonies by treating them in the same manner. Do men give up the form of religion when they disobey all its precepts as it suits them? No: they are outwardly Christians still, and they comfort themselves and deceive others by their owtwardly religious actions. They hold fast to the form, or at least to so much of the form as they like, when the spirit is gone, as it is gone, alas! in their case. They are proud and unforgiving and revengeful, yet they kneel and pray, "Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us." They hate a number of their fellow-creatures, yet they pray, "That it may please Thee to have mercy upon all men; We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord." They boast of their strength or their knowledge, or their honesty, or their cleverness, and then they say, "Have mercy upon us miserable sinners." They commit numberless sins of uncleanness and drunkenness, and then pray, "From fornication, and all other deadly sin, good Lord deliver us." They are bold and eager for their

own rights; they speak every word that comes uppermost, angry, or malicious, or slanderous, and then they presume to stand up, and say, in the holy words of inspiration, "Lord, I am not high-minded; I have no proud looks. I do not exercise myself in great matters, which are too high for me. But I refrain my soul, and keep it low, like as a child that is weaned from his mother; yea, my soul is even as a weaned child." Surely this is not only to use vain repetitions as the heathen do; but to cleave to the righteousness of an empty form, and to lose the Righteousness of God.

Dear brethren, let us take care that we are not even unconsciously guilty of this sin. Let us guard against the sins of pride, and anger, and hatred; not merely because they at once shut the door of mercy through Christ against us, but also because they have a strange effect in blinding our eyes to our real history; leading us to be self-confident and selfsatisfied, at the very time that they deprive us of all true grounds of confidence, and shut up the only source of satisfaction for hungry and desolate souls. Let us not try to appease our consciences by fulfilling the outward round of religious duties, without endeavouring, heartily and steadfastly, to subdue wrong feelings, and overcome bad habits. This is the true submission to Christ, without which, an outward form of submission is worse than useless, because it is a desecration of things holy. Let us be on our guard against angry words, and against words in justification of ourselves, and in condemna

tion of others; for these fan the flame of angry and excited feelings. Many a person whose anger would pass away if he could be silent for a day, becomes worse and worse by continually complaining of the hard treatment he has received.

O, how pleasant it is, dear brethren, to turn away from the vain janglings of the world to holier and better thoughts! How sweet is the calm stillness of God's holy House! How solemnizing, and how good for our souls, is the thought of Christ in His humility, our Saviour from sin! How comforting the thought of His immeasurable mercy, in which we trust for the forgiveness of sins that are past! How invigorating the thought of the riches of His goodness, upon which we lean for all our future needs!

It is indeed humiliating, that we cannot save ourselves, but that another should save us; but then we are to be humble, and with humility peace dwells; nay, with the humble and contrite heart Almighty God Himself dwells. "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word.""

'Isaiah, lxvi. 2.

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SERMON XXX.

THE HOME OF CHRIST.

ST. JOHN, i. 38, 39.

"Master, where dwellest Thou? He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where He dwelt, and abode with Him that day: for it was about the tenth hour."

OUR blessed Saviour mercifully invites us to come unto Him, and to see for ourselves how good and gracious He is. He bids us try for ourselves, and not trust only to the report of others. "O taste,” He says, "and see how gracious the Lord is; blessed is the man that trusteth in Him." The two disciples to whom He speaks in the text had known Him hitherto only by report. A good and trustworthy report indeed it was, even that of St. John the Baptist; whose witness they had believed, and were now acting upon. "John stood, and two of his disciples, and looking upon Jesus as He walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God. And the two disciples heard him speak, and followed Jesus." They acted accord

ing to their light, and more light was given them. They heard the words of their holy teacher, who was of earth like themselves, and he led them to One holier than himself, the "Teacher sent from God," their heavenly Master. Hitherto they had learned wisdom from St. John Baptist: now they learn it from the lips of Christ Himself, the true Wisdom of God, His all-enlightening Word. "Jesus turned, and saw them following; and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto Him, Rabbi (which is to say, being interpreted, Master), where dwellest Thou? He saith unto them, 'Come and see."" He does not merely answer their question, but He bids them "Come and see." He does not direct them thither, and leave them to find the way by themselves, but He guides them. He does not say, "Go," but "Come."

Once, you may remember, He said to two of His disciples, "Go;" but still with the same gracious design, for He was with them in Spirit, by His Providence, though absent from them in the Body. "He sendeth forth two of His disciples, and saith unto them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water; follow him :” and they found it even as He had said, and they made ready the Passover; and in the evening Jesus sat down with them, and gave them the heavenly feast of His blessed Body and Blood. So that though He sent them from Him, as it were, yet He was with them by His overruling Providence, and sent the man to meet them, as He had foretold, bearing a pitcher of water; and at the appointed