good Christian, and that he has not yet learned the true Christian temper, but to lay the blame upon the Gospel, and say that Christians, however they may talk, do, in fact, feel and act like other men. No, my brethren, it is most false. Christians do not feel or act like other menit is most otherwise: their seed remaineth in them; they are born of God, and made again after his image; and they learn, after their imperfect measure, to feel and to act like Christ. But all are not Christians who are called so: and many a man who rails against them as hypocrites, has never known a Christian in his life, nor has any notion of what he really is. But I would boldly call on those to witness, who have seen and known real servants of Christ, in all the various circumstances of life, whether it is not true of them as of the Apostle, that they know both how to be abased and how to abound; that they bear good fortune meekly and soberly, and evil fortune calmly and contentedly; and both for the same reason, that it is the constant habit of their minds to regard God's anger as the main thing to be feared, and his promises the main thing to be loved. Nor is it only true, that of two people endowed with equal health and spirits by nature, and placed in nearly the same circumstances of for

tune, the Christian will go through life a happier man than the other who is not so. There is a great deal more to be said for the comforts of the Gospel than this; he who possesses them will be a happier man than many who are without them, though they should be rich and he should be poor; though they should be healthy and prosperous, and he sickly and visited with affliction. I would not be thought to speak lightly of the miseries of poverty or disease: nothing is less likely to do good, nothing seems less spoken in Christian sincerity and kindness, than the language which says it is easy to bear those evils which we ourselves are ignorant of. Assuredly, no man can have seen any thing of the condition of the very poor, no man can have ever watched by the bed of sickness, or witnessed persons suffering under a long-continued weakness and loss of health, without feeling very doubtful with what patience he could himself have borne, or bear hereafter, such trials, if it had pleased, or should please God to visit him with them. Yet it is equally certain, that even in these distressed states, the grace of God through Jesus Christ has given, and does give continually, I do not say patience only, but comfort and an absolute sense of thankfulness, which makes the sufferer say with Peter

on the Mount, "Lord, it is good for me to be here!" Now this is no forced or high-wrought feeling, such as has made some men bear a painful death with seeming triumph: such feelings will not go on quietly day after day, and year after year, when there is no one to admire them, or even to notice them. It is the mere common sense of Christian faith, and Christian piety; the fruit of the Spirit of God in the changed and enlightened heart. It is the mere habit of comparing this life with that which is to come, of looking steadfastly at God's promises, till they fill the whole heart with abiding joy and love; so that though the outward man perisheth, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. If it is very rare to see poverty borne with such a spirit: we should remember, first, that there must be few real Christians among the

poor, in proportion to their numbers, just as is the case among the rich; for all inherit the same evil nature; and, secondly, that of those who are sincere Christians now, many have not been so very long, but have been led by the pressure of the world's evils to take up the hopes and comforts of the Gospel more than they had ever done before. Now, although such persons have become wise in time enough, we trust, for their soul's salvation, yet they

must not be surprised if they do not taste the full blessings of the Gospel here in this life. We cannot find such benefit in a thing which we only begin to learn when we want to practise it, as if we had prepared ourselves for the need by studying it before at our leisure. Habits cannot be changed in an instant; and, least of all, the habit of looking to worldly things for our happiness. He who has been accustomed to do so for many years of his life, when he sees his idol suddenly broken to pieces, and runs, for the first time, to seek for help of the living God, must not wonder if the regret and longing for what he has lost still continues to trouble him, if he cannot soon get familiar with the hopes and desires of the Gospel. Assuredly, it was not said in vain, that we should remember our Creator in the days of our youth; that we should prove ourselves in the armour of our Christian warfare while danger is yet at a distance, and not first essay to put it on in the alarm and confusion of the actual battle. He who went through life as a Christian, learning to look at the world from the beginning with a Christian's eye, would find himself strong in the strength of Christ to bear whatsoever was laid upon him, and would say with the Apostle, in perfect sincerity, " In all these things we are

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more than conquerors through him that loved us; for I reckon the sufferings of this present time as not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

These, then, are some of the blessings which are given to the disciples of Christ in this life; and they are enough to make us think the language of the Prophet not altogether extravagant, even as applied to what particular Christians should enjoy before the general triumph of Christ's kingdom. A strength to overcome temptations, and a certain charm to sweeten the worst evils of life, are no inconsiderable benefits; and such, if we choose honestly to try it, we shall find Christ's Gospel. We may, therefore, justly sympathize with the Prophets in the warm language of thankfulness which they use concerning it.