In the opening of this chapter, our Lord sets before us the blessedness of that spirit which is in all things opposed to the spirit of the world, and which constitutes the character of the children of God. The whole chapter abounds with spiritual tests, by which we may examine and prove ourselves; for "except your righteousness (says Christ) shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven;" or, in other words, the religion of Jesus is not in external cbservances merely, but extends to the heart, the thoughts, the affections, where the eye of man cannot reach. External profession will be of no avail where the test by which we must be tried is strictly spiritual. After pronouncing a separate blessing on each state denoting this blessed frame of the renewed heart, mark our Saviour's striking words to his disciples: "Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." The appellation is indeed striking, the comparison forcible, and the question which immediately follows weighty in its signification.

To see the nature of this salt, we will endeavour, through the divine assistance, to consider what the word salt in Scripture is intended generally to illustrate. Salt is a grand preservative from corruption; but if it lose its saltness, it becomes tasteless, useless, insipid. God appointed that salt should be used in all the sacrifices that were offered to him under the Jewish dispensation, and which prefigured the atonement : "Every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season

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with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of the covenant of thy God to be lacking: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. (Lev. ii. 13.) And in Ezekiel's mystical temple, where the priests presented burnt-offerings upon the altar, they were commanded to cast salt upon them, before either burnt-offerings or peace-offerings found acceptance before the Lord. (Ezek. xliii. 24, 27.) The type is continued in the New Testament: "Every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another." (Mark ix. 49, 50.) Here we must attach to the word a spiritual signification, as denoting that grace from which proceed the peaceable fruits of righteousness, of which St. Paul speaks in Gal. v. 22. If grace rule in our hearts, we shall endeavour to live peaceably with all men, and evidence that we have "salt in ourselves" by being examples of every Christian grace and virtue.

But again: salt is also a symbol of perpetuity, as well as of incorruption, as we read, in Numbers xviii. 19, "a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord." And if it was never to be omitted by the Israelites of old, in the offering of their holy things, in order to render them worthy of acceptance, how strikingly does this type set before us the nature of that holy and pure sacrifice which alone can be acceptable to a God that hateth iniquity. The covenant of salt therefore for ever before the Lord, under the gospel dispensation, is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb without spot or blemish, slain by covenant with his Father, before the foundation of the world, to make atonement and full satisfaction for the sin of a whole world lying in wickedness. His incorruption pleads for his people's corruption; his spotless sacrifice rises up as a perpetual memorial in their behalf before the Lord of Hosts, and renders their sacrifices, and offerings of praise and thanksgiving, when sprinkled with this spiritual salt, well pleasing in his sight.

The still further signification of the term, as applicable to Christians, is seen in Col. iv. 6. "Let your

speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt," It is from the Lord alone this grace can be derived; and to be seasoned therewith, we must walk closely with him. Indeed, every fresh examination of the epithet salt leads us nearer and nearer unto him who bestows it, and will prove as that incorruptible seed which liveth and abideth for ever; (1 Pet. i. 2, 3.) like spiritual salt cast into the earth to purify it from the corruption which is in the world through lust. (2 Pet. i. 4.) Thus forcibly stands marked out the character of God's people at this day, scattered and dispersed on the face of the earth, by the varied dispensations of God's providence: as salt is scattered on meat, here a grain and there a grain, so must they, in their different stations of life, adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things, and set forth the blessed results of grace in their lives, communicating knowledge seasoned with salt to all within the sphere of their influence, otherwise their savour is lost, and they will become "worthy to be trodden under foot of men," or rejected and despised.

The doctrine of the Gospel when communicated is as salt, penetrating, quick, powerful; as set forth in Heb. iv. 12. pricks to the heart, (Acts ii. 37.) and has a cleansing power; it is relishing. We read of the "savour of the knowledge of Christ," (2 Cor. ii. 14.) and all other learning without this becomes insipid, nay, in God's sight, foolishness. As possessors of this knowledge through grace, throw then, with the prophet, (2 Kings ii. 21.) your salt to sweeten the unwholesome waters of a troubled, sinful world, and with him acknowledge it is the Lord doeth these wondrous things; he healeth, and there is no more dearth or barren land; so that we may exclaim indeed, "Behold the situation is pleasant! the land under his transforming influence bears a smiling aspect, the curse of sin is removed through God's inestimable gift of grace. But mark also how these waters were healed. The salt was put into a new cruse, into the spring of the waters, and then cast therein. It is the new earthen

vessel, or the new man, which can alone contain the salt of grace, that purifier from earthly corruption, that preserver from the paths of evil and the way of the destroyer.

Oh! that Christians would well consider the mighty import of the treasure they possess, and the force of the designation under which our Lord addressed them: "Ye are the salt of the earth." How would such thoughts tend to exalt or debase the Christian character, inasmuch as they were acted upon or neglected; ever remembering that the excellency of the power and its sufficiency is of God, and not them. (2 Ĉor. ii. 4, 7.) They would endeavour to gather with their Lord, that they might not scatter that which he has bestowed upon them; (Matt. xii. 30.) not corrupting the word of God, but in sincerity, as of God, by manifestation of the truth, commending themselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God; approving themselves good stewards of his manifold grace, and proving themselves indeed a sweet savour of Christ in them that are saved. Thus, in a day marked by much religious profession, they would exemplify its reality by its saving efficacy, christianity working as it should work, pervading, perhaps unseen, the whole mass of a world's corruption, but leavening it by slow degrees, until it is imbued with that spirit which is from above.

Finally, as the salt, or heavenly seasoning, is God's gift, use it as a talent committed to your charge, and seek the blessing and the increase from the Lord. Remember that the last words of this chapter (Matt. v.) place before you a high standard of perfection, and the beginning tells you in what this perfection consists, in the blessings of spiritual attainments; and the higher your ascent in these steps of grace, the nearer your approach to that glorious model in which perfection shineth in its full lustre, and in whom every attribute, every appellation, every comparison of Scripture is illustrated in its utmost excellence, the fulness of all Christian and divine grace, dwelling richly embodied in Christ Jesus the Lord of glory.

A. F. N.

THORNS AMONG WHEAT.

"Madam, there is no hope," said the physician to the weeping wife, as he was taking his departure, "I will not deceive you; there is no hope."

When the physician had departed, and she that was so soon to become a widow was left alone with her dying husband, she felt it her duty to communicate the mournful intelligence to him, that his mind might be more earnestly directed to that state he was so soon to enter. He had been a professor of religion, had attended divine service, and kept up domestic worship regularly; and to the world he appeared, and he believed himself to be, a devout man; but the hour was now come when all self-deception was to be rent away, when the truth of his profession was to be put to the test, and then he was weighed in the balance, and found wanting. And why? The word had been sown; it had not fallen by the way-side; nor did his religion appear to be the religion of a moment or an hour. The seed had evidently taken root; it had sprung up, and the eyes of men beheld it, at a distance, apparently green and flourishing; but it was growing amongst thorns, and the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches had choked the word; and when the sower sought for fruit, it was found unfruitful. Yes, the deceitfulness of riches was his ruin. Day after day had he knelt at the family altar, and poured his prayer for daily bread, and then rushing into the pursuits of business, and accumulating wealth, had seen around him the hungry, but had not fed them; the naked, but had not clothed them; the sick, but had not ministered unto them. No; absorbed in the accumulation of riches, and engrossed in the cares of business, his eye, if not absolutely averted from, was never directed to, the widow and the orphan; and his heart, exulting in the success of his business and the thriving state of his affairs, had forgotten to listen to the cry of the needy. He had oppressed no one, he had rendered to every one his due, and h