Whether, then, we are called by the voice of the preacher, by the accidents of life, or by the secret whispers of conscience in our hearts; whichever of these natural means it be by which the inward grace of God has visited us, let us consider it as an appeal to our souls, of the same nature as that which Joshua made to his countrymen (Joshua xxiv. 15), and let us prepare ourselves to choose without delay, without partiality, whether we will be servants of God or no. "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve." Servants ye must be to one or other leader-ye must serve a true or a false God; or if ye deny God altogether, yet ye will be no less, but tenfold more, the servants of your sinful lusts. Some one leading object of your thoughts and actions, some one pursuit of life there must needs be, on which your hopes, your cares, your labours, are bent and fixed; and this object-whether it be Baal or Jehovah, wealth, or pleasure, or ambition, or anger, or pride this object, which ye labour to gratify, and from the power of which ye hope for reward and happiness, what ye love above all things, desire above all things, serve above all things-this must be your God! If we honour any creature more than the Creator, it matters little whether that creature be a golden image or a purse of money; whether it be the devil himself, who presides over lust, or drunkenness, or covetousness, or those creatures of God which the devil tempts us to abuse. The sin is nearly the same; and the punishment can very slightly differ; and though in a Christian country mankind no longer worship the sun and moon, or mutter their foolish prayers to stocks and stones, yet are the world and its joys still the object of the worldly man's desire and devotion; the option is still to be made by us all whether we will be servants of God or of mammon; and we are all of us called upon to choose this day whom we will worship, whom we will hereafter obey, and from whom we are to hope for our everlasting reward and portion.

Mankind, we cannot help observing, are divided into two great parties-the godly, or the followers of God; the worldly, or followers of the world and its prince; and it remains for us to consider to which side it is wisest and most advantageous to belong. On this question, however, a very little consideration is necessary to decide us, since no man whom I have ever met with, above the condition of an idiot, has been blind to the difference between the wages of sin and of righteousness; between the best reward which it is in the power of the world to offer, and the kingdom and crown of everlasting glory which is held out to the faithful and obedient soldier of Jesus Christ. I have known many men who, with far more means of enjoying the world than myself, have taken their full range of its business, its pleasures, its hopes, and its cares, and I have never met with any who did not own that all these things very soon became tiresome, and at last insufferably nauseous. There is not one who has not confessed that the pursuits and pleasures of the world are vanity; and when we consider that these painted follies are to be purchased by the loss of our souls, that these short pleasures are to be succeeded by the pains of everlasting fire, it is loss of time to urge, what is evident to the common sense of all, that he who is wise will worship the Lord his God, and him only will he serve.

The truth is, that, of the souls which perish, by far the greater number fall a sacrifice, not to any mistake as to the comparative value of this world and of the world to come, but to a vain and fruitless endeavour to get as much as they can of the first, without endangering the second. They are loth to fall into hell, and yet are they unwilling to give up those pleasures, of which hell is the consequence: and they thus flatter themselves that they may serve God, though not in all things, at least sufficiently; that, if they are now followers of the world, they will yet, some time or other, renounce the world and its temptations; that there is no im

mediate danger or cause for hurry; and that God will not be extreme to mark what is done amiss. How foolish this manner of reasoning is, will appear to all from the following short statement of what that service is which is expected at our hands by God; what are those sacrifices by which we purchase to ourselves an interest in the blood of our Redeemer. To know this is highly necessary; since, if we embrace a profession, it is fit that we should know the duties which that profession imposes; if we go forth to warfare, it is wise to count the costs, and reckon up the dangers. And the service which the Lord of heaven and earth requires at our hands may be shortly comprised in a single demand, the sacrifice of our heart and affections. "My son," are his words to all of us-"my son, give me thine heart." (Proverbs xxiii. 26.) "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first and great commandment." (Matthew xxii. 37, 38.) To love one who has done so much for us, to love the best of parents, the kindest of friends, our Creator, our Saviour, our Helper, this is surely no unreasonable service; but in this service more, far more, is implied than a cold or careless spirit may suppose. If we give up our whole heart to God, it must mean that we love nothing else in comparison with him; that we desire nothing so much as to please him, and to receive his approbation; and that we are ready, above all, to give up, when he requires, all that is dearest to us in this world, for his sake. This is often no light and easy service; and it is expressed by Christ in terms which show that it is one which requires our whole resolution, and which will be often accompanied with real pain and difficulty. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke ix. 23.) "Strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life: and few there be that find it." (Matthew vii. 14.) "The

kingdom of God is like unto a merchant man seeking goodly pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." (Matthew xiii. 45, 46.) "If any man come to me, and hate not," in comparison, "his father and mother "-"yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke xiv. 26.) These greater sacrifices are not, indeed, often required; but they may be required at any time; and the only way by which we can know that such a heart is in us, as will in these greater matters resign itself to God's will, is by our readiness to please him in such little things (if anything can be called little on which the salvation of a soul depends)—in such little things as are in our daily power. It is not the value of the service which we render to God (for our best services have no power to make him happier), but the good-will with which we do them; we are not required to do much, but to do our best; and many a poor, and weak, and ignorant Christian will be crowned hereafter with unspeakable glory, who has never yet had it in his power to make any conspicuous or visible sacrifice. Instead, therefore, of boasting what we would do for God's sake if it were in our power, let us seriously consider what we can do; and take heed, especial heed, lest we neglect what little may be within our reach. And, to come to the behaviour of every one of us-if we neglect our prayers, or repeat them carelessly and without faith in God; if we are careless of our children's instruction, and do not correct them when they offend their Master and Maker, and our own; if we take any undue advantage, how small soever, or neglect any little act of kindness, which may be in our power, God sees, and we ourselves may see from these examples, what is the real condition of our hearts; and that we, who have been thus "unfaithful in a few things,” would have been far worse, had more been committed to our care. Let no man, therefore, be careless of his daily conduct, nor

indulge in what are generally called little sins; since it is by our behaviour under such seemingly slight temptations as these that our service to God is shown. It would be a strange answer of a servant to his master, were he to say, "It is true that I have been drunken and idle; but these are little things; and, if I am asked to rob your house, I never will consent to it." It would be stranger still, if, when commanded to go on a short and easy message, he should refuse so slight a duty; and yet, at the same time, offer to lay down his life for his master. "If ye will not do me so slight a favour," would doubtless be that master's reply, "how can I depend on you for greater services?"

Be not deceived; he that doeth righteousness is righteous, and he only, be the occasion small or great: ye cannot serve God and mammon; choose, while the choice is allowed you, which of them you will follow, and in the least as well as the greatest temptations, be this your constant answer, and, as far as your influence extends, let it be the answer of your children, your servants, and your friends, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

CHRISTIAN COURAGE AND CONSISTENCY. [BISHOP BLOMFIELD.]

Miserable is his weakness, who, knowing what his duty to God requires, abstains from doing it, not under the overpowering constraint of natural appetite, and the irresistible force of temptation, but from a sense of shame; from a selfcondemned slavery to the opinions of a wicked world. Well would it be for us, if at the moment when a false delicacy, cr a morbid fear of ridicule, exerts its influence, in opposition to the dictates of conscience and the plain commands of God,