all thy mind. And lastly, is it an easy matter to exercise true charity, which of all others is the characteristic of the Christian? To love our brethren as ourselves; to be as careful of our neighbour's good and welfare as of our own; to see in every one around us, be he high or low, one that has a claim on our love, our sympathy, and our aid?

If it can be said that it is easy to fulfil these duties, which are but a few of what are required of the Christian, then, brethren, we need not be surprised at the listlessness, the indifference, the inattention, the apparent unconcern with which men set about them. But who is there that has striven with true conscientiousness to walk worthy of his calling in these respects that has not, on the contrary, found himself harassed with many obstacles and difficulties? Who is there that has made the trial that will not confess that it has brought him into constant collision with sin and evil; that it has been impossible to avoid an open conflict, and that nothing but constant watchfulness, and persevering diligence, will enable a man so to wield the weapons of God's grace as to overcome the many spiritual enemies to which he is exposed?

Be sure, then, that the Christian's calling, as it confers on him the highest honour, and enlists him in the service of his Lord and Saviour, so it exacts from him the entire devotion of his whole being. Do not imagine that the duties of so high a post may be carelessly or irregularly attended to; be

ware of bringing disgrace upon so holy and high a calling; lest, in so doing, you should be putting to shame Him whom you are bound to serve. Let the Christian reflect upon all he knows, all he professes, all he believes, all he hopes for as a member of Christ, and then say whether it is consistent with common honesty and gratitude to allow himself to be drawn away from such weighty, because eternal, matters of interest, to the trifling vanities of a deceitful and perishing world.

Let, then, the Apostle's exhortation sink deeply into your hearts when you are tempted to forget your high position before God, and to lose sight of the glorious purpose for which you have been anew created. When God's glory and your own sanctification are fading in your estimation before the glittering objects of worldly desire, then let the Apostle's words, from his prison at Rome, sound in your ears, and turn you to better and nobler pursuits: "I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." And thus shall also the Apostle's prayer be fulfilled, "that the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ "." To whom, &c.

SERMON XIII.

The Christian Ministry.

I CORINTHIANS iv. I.

"Let a man so account of us, as of the Ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God."

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HAVE been desirous, my brethren, during the four weeks of Advent through which we are passing, to direct your attention to the subjects which the compilers of our Liturgy have deemed most suitable to the time, and most calculated to fit us for the celebration of the great festival so near at hand. With this view, on Sunday last, following the teaching of the Collect and Epistle for the day, I spoke to you on the subject of Holy Scripture, and endeavoured to point out what a store of patience, and comfort, and hope is laid up in the sacred volume, and how great is the privilege of possessing so inestimable a treasure.

I propose, then, to-day to look to the same source for the direction of our thoughts, and in so doing I find that we are invited to dwell on the Christian ministry. In the Collect we pray that the ministers and stewards of the divine mysteries may prepare and make ready the way for Christ's second coming,

even as John the Baptist prepared men for His first coming; we pray, further, that this preparation may be effected by turning men from the folly and wickedness of disobedience to the wisdom of holiness and willing obedience, and that the result of this diligence on the part of God's ministers may be shewn in the mercy and favour which shall be bestowed upon those among whom they have laboured in the great day of account. The Epistle also sets before us the same subject, referring, as it does, to the nature and character of the ministerial office, and to the light in which those who are invested with it are to be regarded by their fellow-men.

Now before I proceed to notice any errors which men are liable to fall into on this subject, let me say a few words on the general necessity of the Christian Ministry, and the need which it supplies. There is always a greater danger of our becoming so accustomed to the gifts and blessings of Providence, as gradually to lose sight of their value. When we have never known what it is to be without any particular blessing, we are very apt to think lightly of it. It does not attract our attention, or we fail to form a correct estimate of it, because we can scarcely realize to ourselves what it would be to be deprived of it. That is the case with all the blessings which God has bestowed on us for any length of time, and with which we have become familiar; such as health and strength, our faculties and talents. We take them as matters of course, as long as they are ours,

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and it is only when by some visitation of God we are deprived of them that we begin to be conscious of their full value, and to wonder how we could have esteemed them so little when in our possession.

Now this tendency to undervalue God's blessings will shew itself, unless we are on our guard, in our low estimate of the Christian Ministry. It is just one of those blessings to which, as we grow familiar with it, we shall attach less and less importance. It is bestowed on us unsought for: it is procured by no efforts of our own, and is a blessing of which we have never entirely known the want. Throughout the length and breadth of this land we find churches, and an order of men specially appointed to minister in them, and to labour amongst those who are committed to their charge. I say, we are so familiar with this state of things, that we can hardly realize to ourselves what would be the consequence of losing it, or in what condition we should have been had the blessing never been ours; and that unless we do force ourselves to reflect upon the pressing nature of the want that this gift supplies, we are in great danger of undervaluing what is in truth most necessary and most precious.

I need not devote any time to the task of proving to you, that without the Christian Ministry the religion of Christ could not have taken root and spread amongst the nations of the earth. It must be evident to every one of you, that unless the Apostles and their fellow-labourers had been set apart and