THE WAY TO GREATNESS.

MATTHEW xviii. 4.

"Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

PRIDE is ingrained in human nature. It runs through the whole lump of our being. And what a thing pride is! And to think that human nature, our being, should be leavened with this thing! How passing strange ! For a moment pause and say- "What have I to be proud of? All my graces, my good qualities, are gifts bestowed upon me by my Maker, how can I be proud of them, as if I had bestowed them upon myself? And all my sins, and short-comings, and follies, and frailties, surely these will not make me proud! How inconsistent a thing therefore is vanity and conceit! how hateful a thing, pride!" In spite of our confession, however, we are proud; and this flimsy vein will never be drawn out of us, till we pass through the gates of death towards the palace of immortality.

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If any event in the history of the world is especially calculated to destroy our pride, it is that which we keep in mind at this season. I know not how to speak of it. My mind staggers and reels to and fro. And yet, perhaps, we may draw a practical lesson from the fact of Christ's nativity. We may reverently take this Holy Child Jesus, and set Him in our midst, and say truly, "that whosoever shall humble himself as this little Child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of hea ven."

I will try and teach you a lesson on this subject today, and will you learn it? We have not yet learnt it, have we? We have not yet humbled ourselves as this little Child. No! impossible to do so; but in our measure, and degree, according to our circumstances, have we tried to learn the lesson ?

The Cross is the badge of our Religion. A meek and quiet spirit is our ornament. Our clothing is humility. Self-indulgence, an upstart spirit, pride, rob us of our badge, break our ornament, violently rend our garments. Christmas time is a festive time, and well it might be. The angels rejoiced on the first Christmas-Day. If we do not rejoice at the birth of a Saviour, alas, for us! But mere worldly merriment, worldly good cheer, social enjoyments, family gatherings, without the love of Christ, is a false keeping of this holy season. We must set this Blessed Child in our midst, and become more and more as He.

The words of the text are our Saviour's words; they were uttered by Him when he had grown to man's estate. You remember, I dare say, the occasion that drew them forth. The disciples were disputing about precedency, about who should be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Unseemly contention! They brought the matter before Him to decide; and He did decide→ by a symbolic action. He called a child to Him; He set him in the midst of them, and then addressed them thus-" Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Here was an end to all precedency, for how could they take their place in heaven, without first finding an entrance. And here was the strait gate set up by the Master, and through that they must enter. Oh how strait is the gate, and how narrow is the way that leadeth unto life; how few find it! Pride could not pass that portal. They must unyoke. They must take off the burden of their conceits and folly, or they would never enter into heaven. "Whosoever therefore shall humble himself,” continued the Blessed Saviour, "as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

If an ordinary child may serve the turn to point the moral of so important a lesson, what must needs be the impression on the disciples of Wisdom, if, taking the Holy Child Jesus Himself, we set Him in the midst ! Oh, had the disciples known; had they thought just then of the manger cradle, and the lowly lot of their

Master Himself, surely they had been abashed at their unseemly rivalry and unhallowed contention. But we never think of the cure when the malady is upon us. The working of pride and conceit holds humility in abeyance. And when our spirits are agitated by evil passion, they do not brook the restraint of grace.

Christmas is come again, and Christmas will go again, and the lesson of humility will not be learnt by many. Christian seasons come and go to many Christians without special impressions being made on their hearts. The shore of their nature is rock, and the constant beating of the sea of grace has no effect, or next to none.

Let us take this Holy Child into the arms of our imagination, and permit a few expressions of our thoughts.

Where are we ? There lies the Child-there, in the manger! The man is Joseph. The woman, Mary, His blessed mother. Oh, draw not back, be not over surprised; that is the little King. His palace is purity and truth; His retinue, the graces; His servants, the angels. Depend upon it, this stable at Bethlehem is better guarded than the hall of Herod. It is not like our home, is it? No carpet, save straw; no costly furniture; no pictures; no ornaments; bare, drear, and sad; yet this is the rough casket that contains the Pearl price; Jesus is the glory of God.

In the stable at Bethlehem !

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Look on the features of the little Babe. It is just like any other child; the same form; the same hu

manity. There is no halo round His head, as you see in pictures. You would not know Him from an ordinary son of man, did not the Grace of God's Providence point Him out to you. How many are the privileges we possess over millions, millions now, millions all the way back to the time when He was on earth! We see His star. The beams of history, experience, prophecy, melt together, and lead us to our Master's cradle. Let us prepare our offering; for gold, let us bring love; for incense, a devoted heart; for myrrh, a selfmortified spirit. Let us be ready to offer our homage, and prostrate ourselves before Him; and, as we wonder and adore, let us learn a lesson of humility, and catch a measure of the spirit of this little Child.

The place is good for thoughtfulness; you are not thrown off your guard by grandeur, as if you were in a palace, and instead of Joseph and Mary had lords to deal with in state attendance. There is no concourse,

no going to and fro of multitudes, no rivalry of greetings. Joseph and Mary are from home. The neighbours know not who they are. They utter a passing remark concerning them, and are sorry the poor woman is so badly off at such a time. We are almost left alone to muse and meditate. Wonderful! And here lies the Saviour of the world; and at this lowly place, angels of God ascend and descend upon the Son of Man. How much we lose through lack of knowledge. What a pity that the screen of our ignorance is always before