Now, when the Lord Jesus Christ himself as the glorious head of the church is alone considered, it seems easy to profess attachment to him. There is in this country, and all professedly Christian countries, an honour and kind of respectability, yea, there is a fashion in professing to be faith-food to keep himself and his family ful to Christ. But, behold, while the head is exalted in glory, his members are left upon the earth, the members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones, are here among us, and they are in distress. Some of them are ex

seen) a poor man in real sincere attachment to a fellow-creature deny himself the repose which his weary frame required after the day's labour, and instead of sitting down to refresh his body for to-morrow's labour, go to show some kindness, to soothe some pressing sorrow, or to volunteer to go on some convenient errand for the gratification of the object of his affection? Well, well is it proved where a man's heart is, for where his heart is, there is his willing hand and his willing foot; there is his willing service, there is self-denial, there the whole power of his nature manifests itself in the out-goings of those extra kindnesses, as it were, which are not absolutely called for in righteousness, but which show the fulness of the affection of the soul.

posed to any open effort of Christian benevolence, and who has no separate funds whereby such an effort can be carried on? Yet, to such a one I say, there is still one talent left by which you may testify your love to your dear Lord in the persons of his members on earth. What is it?—what is it? I think I hear a poor man say, whose heart is full of the love of Jesus, but who has no money. He can scarcely clothe and feed himself. What can I do? How can I show my attachment to my Lord? Why, my brethren, observe in the enumeration which our Lord gives of the tokens of attachment to him, we read not only, "I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; thirsty, and ye gave me drink; a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me;" these clauses are beyond the reach of a poor man to whom I now address myself; but there remain two clauses more, "I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came to me." Who is so poor, who is so destitute of opportunity that he cannot show some tender sympathy, some self-denying condolence with the suffering members of his beloved Lord, that he cannot go to some sick bed, and pour consolation, by his sympathy, into the heart of the sufferer that lies there upon it? Who is there that cannot comply with the apostolical injunction, "to weep with them that weep?" My dear brethren, true love is ingenious in inventing methods of showing kindness. A man who truly loves an earthly object, one of his fellowcreatures, if he be too poor to testify his love by costly gifts, will yet devise such smaller kindnesses, such affec-gifts, of all the opportunities, of all the tionate watchfulness of attention as will bear witness with an eloquence not to be misunderstood, that if he give no more it is not for want of inclination, for the inclination is manifested in these smaller attentions. Oh, my brethren, who has not seen (I have

Shall this be done towards human objects, and shall our Lord have to complain that there is no such selfdenying love, no such determination of costly affection, (for it is more costly than money for the poor man to give his extra labour, for the labouring man to give the last hour of exertion in his weary frame, and deny himself the indulgence that nature craves, is more costly than hundreds or even thousands laid down on the plate by him who has thousands left behind.) Shall our Lord have to complain that such attachment is shown among one another, and that there is so little attachment shown unto him?

It is to this, it is to this self-denying, this warm, fervent, sympathetic love that you are invited this day, my dear brethren, in the exercise of all the

talents with which the Lord hath entrusted you to trade withal until he shall return. And whatever other things he shall do at his return, we are positively assured of this one thing, that "when the lord of those servants returns, he reckoneth with them."

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sufficiency in all things may abound in every good work." There is," says the wise man, "that scattereth, and yet increaseth, and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." And if the language of philosophy can add power to the language of GoD, hear what our

has said on this subject. Lord Bacon said, "Money is like manure, it is useless in a heap, it must be scattered in order to bring in true riches."

Unto you, then, that are rich, I give this charge, and yet not I, but the Lord chargeth you by his Apostle. Be not high minded. Trust not in uncertain riches, but in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy. Do good. Be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for your-countryman, the first of philosophers, selves a good foundation against the time to come, that ye may lay hold on eternal life, so that when the Lord, the Son of man shall return, he may say unto you, "Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For when I was hungry there upon earth, though indeed the head of the body was in the enjoyment of all the fulness of GOD in heaven, yet in his members he wash ungry, there in that city I was hungry, in that village, and ye gave me food; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was ignorant, and ye taught me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Ye have been faithful in the few things, ye have made to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, enter into the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world."

Oh, beloved brethren, let me warn you against the withering effect of narrow systems, which would prevent the full power of this glorious appeal of our Lord from reaching your very heart and soul. To those of you who are rich in measure, the same language applies in its measure, and thus saith the Lord to you by his Apostle, "He that soweth sparingly, shall reap also sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully, shall reap also bountifully. Let every man according as he is disposed in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly or of necessity, for GoD loveth a cheerful giver, and GOD is able to make all grace to abound to wards you, that ye always having all

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To those that are poor among you, thus saith the Lord by his servant, in reference to your state of mind, in reference to the efficient support of the poor, which you cannot give, and in reference to the sympathy which you can give. As to the state of your mind, he says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain. brought nothing into the world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out; and having food and raiment, let us therewith be content." As to what you cannot give he saith, "where there is the first a willing mind it is accepted, not according to what a man hath not, but according to what he hath." And as to what you can give he saith, "rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep." Remember them that are in bonds as being bound with them; and because yourselves are also in the body, remember them that are in adversity.

And to all of you the Lord saith, "let love be without dissimulation; let him that giveth do it with simplicity." And the Lord saith, "he that hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of GoD in him?" And He saith, "beloved, if God so loved us, we should also love one another, for love is the fulfilling of the law," and that seeing it, is now high time, because the night is far spent and the day is at hand.

And, therefore, lay aside all works of] darkness and put on the armour of light, and devote yourselves to all the Lord's works and labours of love, for love is of God, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in GoD-he that enjoyeth love enjoyeth GOD-and he that practiseth love imitateth GOD; walk ye, therefore, as imitators of GOD, like dear children in love. As Christ loved us and gave himself a sacrifice for us, so we should sacrifice ourselves for the brethren, so should we be willing, like the primitive bishops, of whom it is recorded, (I allude particularly to the Bishop of Carthage,) who, when there was a plague in the city, and when called to preach to the brethren con. cerning the condition of the poor around him, he congratulated his church, praised GOD for the opportunity afforded, of showing real love to the suffering members of Jesus Christ, by giving themselves a sacrifice for their brethren, by running the risk of losing their own lives in the infection, because he said the Lord hath so done to us, and we should lay down our lives for the brethren.

My dear brethren, to avoid doing evil-to be satisfied to avoid absolute mischief-to avoid the commission of crime is a very poor standard; besides, it has a most insulating effect on society. It is, as much as to say to all our neighbours, let me alone, and I will let you alone. It is a detaching, a breaking, a selfish principle; but the warm activities of sympathetic love are like the powerful cement, which binds together the living stones of the Lord's spiritual temple, that it may grow up in beauty in the Lord.

My brethren, contemplate the ground of condemnation in all these instances before us. It is not for any actual crime committed, it is simply for the omission of active, diligent duty. The foolish virgins were excluded for ever from the presence of the glorious bride

groom, not because of any immorality imputed to them, but because they wanted oil in their lamps. The unprofitable servant is cut off, not for any act of dishonesty, but simply because he lacked activity and diligence in the service of GOD. And those on the left hand are cast into outer darkness, not because of any alleged crime, but because they omitted duty; because, when the members of Christ near them were hungry and thirsty, they fed them not-they gave them not to drink. Oh, if omission alone be so made by our Lord, the ground of fearful condemnation, what shall we say about the carelessness, the negligence, manifested in so many who profess to be the Lord's followers?

My dear brethren, bear in mind this word of exhortation. I am not one of those who are afraid to give to each portion of Scripture its full, its plain, its honest scope of application. Let those who fear the fulness of the glorious doctrines of grace-let those be afraid to follow up, in due measure, this exhortation to personal holiness, and devotedness of service; but we have no such fear-we have no fear of stating, in all their glorious fulness, the riches of the assured salvation which God has given to his peoplethe all-sufficiency of his grace in Jesus Christ-the union in him who is united to God, who stands the bond of union between GoD and man-in whom God has come down to humanity-in whom man is raised up into the godheadand the sure salvation of all the members united in him—those members who were chosen in him before the foundation of the world. We are not of those who would check the fulness of the declaration, that salvation in Jesus Christ, in the sight of GOD, the meritorious admission into the kingdom of heaven, is by grace without works, or merits of ours-that we are accounted righteous before God, only

declaration of admission into his king-ple-an object which it should delight