they have neither temptation nor desire to defraud their neighbour; and they are benevolent and kind hearted, and wish ill to no one. But here comes the difficulty: "Unless a man deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me, he cannot be my disciple." Such are our Lord's own injunctions. They must mean something. What is it they do mean? What is implied by a man denying himself? How is he to take up his cross and follow his blessed Master? I will endeavour to answer these questions according to my ability, though such is the depth and fulness of God's word that there may be, and doubtless is, much beyond what I am able to point out.

In the first place, then, I may remark that Holy Scripture is not a mere system of injunctions and precepts, stating what we ought to do and what we ought not to do, as a human system of laws would be. When a law is placed in the statute book, we may have difficulty in knowing it is there from the multitude of laws with which that book abounds; and we may not be able to understand it when we read it, from some peculiarities of language, or from the complex nature of the objects it embraecs; but let it be explained by a competent person, we then comprehend its contents; and provided we keep within the letter, that is, do nothing contrary to what it expressly enjoins, we are quite safe from running the risk of incurring the penalties consequent to its infringement. This is not, however, sufficient as regards God's laws: they are far more comprehensive than those of men, and affect not merely our acts, but the spirit in which these acts are performed. I do not mean that God's laws are calculated to mislead by seeming to say only one thing, yet meaning something more. God forbid that I should attach any such unworthy notion to the mode in which He is pleased to deal with His creatures. What I do mean is, that while man's laws are comprehensible to any one of common understanding when once expounded, and consequently he can have no difficulty as to obedience or disobedience-God's laws require some preparation in the heart for their being rightly understood; and if we venture to read them without that preparation, we are sure to be mistaken. That preparation is Faith. We must believe that God stands to us in the relation not merely of Creator but of Father; that His blessed Son is our Mediator and Redeemer, and the Holy Ghost our Sanc

tifier, to be enabled to understand the precepts of the Gospel by a just interpretation. They mean all that presents itself to the eye; but they mean more, and this fuller and deeper meaning discloses itself just in proportion to the vitality of our faith. An active, energetic belief, a faith that worketh by love, discovers truths in God's word beyond ordinary fathoming; and where one sees nothing but rule and precept to which he yields a literal compliance, the more enlightened Christian penetrates beyond, and finds scope for the exercise of a freewill offering of obedience. Our blessed Lord, in the Sermon on the Mount, dwells upon this mode of interpretation; He points out the error of taking the commandments of God too literally. The Jew had looked on them with a dim vision. His disciples were to be enlightened. He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil; His followers were to be instructed in all righteousness, but this could only be by showing how spiritual things were to be spiritually discerned.

And this applies especially to the matter now under consideration. The Christian is to deny himself at the risk of being rejected as a follower of his Divine Master. Yet there is no special rule laid down as to the extent or mode of this self-denial; there are no prescribed bounds for its exercise; it must be left to the enlightened conscience, for as it is a spiritual thing, it requires to be spiritually discerned. Yet this is no excuse for its neglect. We must deny ourselves, or we shall be denied by Him when he comes to make up His jewels; we must take up our cross and follow Him here, or we shall never follow Him into a blessed eternity.

I return then to the question, How is this to be-in what manner practised and carried through? I will endeavour to answer as far as I myself see my way. In the first place, then, I would observe that self-denial evidently does not mean the abstaining from things in themselves unlawful. A man is not self-denying merely because he is not dishonest, nor impure, nor intemperate. Indulgence in vice, and injurious treatment of another, are prohibited equally by human as divine morality: temperance, sobriety, justice, and such-like, may be practised by the heathen, and of course must be strictly observed by one who "has been brought out of darkness into marvellous light." This may be attended with self-denial,

because he may have to struggle with flesh and blood; but it does not come up to the precept which our Lord in the passage before us meant to inculcate. We are not merely to avoid what is sinful itself; but we are even to restrict ourselves in things lawful. It is not enough that we avoid running into excess; we are not even to use permitted objects or indulgences without a rein. Not only are we to avoid prohibited paths, we must not too closely approach the boundary. We are not to scrutinise the letter of the law as to how far we may go, but rather seek to testify by steady self-control the principle by which we are actuated. Our obedience is not that of a slave to a hard master, but of a son to a loving Father. Hence our desire to meet, nay, to anticipate His wishes. We serve willingly, not by coercion; and, conscious of what He has suffered for us, we would suffer likewise for Him when occasion offers. Hence the principle of self-denial: it is a self-imposed rule of discipline and restraint. God asks the heart, and that we render and show our earnestness and sincerity by the subjection of even lawful inclinations to do Him pleasure.

Now apply this to the ordinary conduct of life. Take some taste or inclination not in itself at variance with Christian duty, and restrict yourself in its indulgence. Take the round of pleasures, or occupations, or conduct-do something you would not do, or refuse something you would not otherwise refuse: and that for the love of God. If it be nothing else, it will be excellent training for the warfare we must carry on through the whole of our Christian course. But it will be more than this: self-denial in the use of permitted objects will help us to the other portion of the precept, to "take up our cross and follow Him." Each one has his own peculiar cross. God imposes on us all some yoke to bear, some weight to carry; but you will observe that in this we are enjoined to take up the cross. It is to be a voluntary act; we might omit it, but we do not. God points to it-we take it; His will is our will. I say God points to it: if He do not, we are not called upon to go out of our way in search of it. It will be presented to us if it be intended for us. If the Gospel spiritually discerned in the heart indicate a cross to be borne by us, we take it up in confidence of having strength

sufficient given us: if revealed truth do not place it before us, it would be presumption in us attempting to carry it. But self-restraint in the use of allowed objects will generally be a safe rule for us all. We are seldom called to strike into devious paths: the common course of life affords for the most part sufficient scope for that denial of self without which we cannot be Christ's disciples.

But to what extent should this self-denial be carried? This is a question that no one can well answer for another. An increasing faith enlightening the spiritual perception will point out the mode and degree in which this Christian grace may be exercised. But I would say, begin moderately. One step will lead to another; but if you attempt at once more than you are able to perform, you will be disheartened, and perhaps stop short. Select at first one inclination; be it matter of indifference otherwise: curb and restrain, or altogether deny it. One victory over self-will will make others easier; and remember what your object is: you desire to be the disciple of your blessed Master. He has told you that in order to this you must deny yourself. The duty is imperative, though the mode of exercising it be left to your own discretion; and no act done to please God will lose its reward. Christ is the sole meritorious cause of our salvation, and through faith alone in Him can we make this salvation our own. But our works are the witnesses to the reality of our faith, and by them we shall be judged, whether for good or evil. Submit yourselves, then, to the discipline of a watchful self-denial; it will harden you for the conflict here, and secure to you the blessed privilege of being counted as one of His faithful followers on that day when no one will feel that he has served God too much, but his sole regret will be that he did not serve Him better.

I have hitherto spoken of self-denial as a duty incumbent on our Christian profession; and no doubt this is the highest ground to take, for a Christian requires no other motive than to obey his blessed Master. Yet even our unregenerate nature, unless debased by vice or enervated by indulgence, seeks to gain the mastery over self, and to keep its inclinations under due control. Many a wise man among the heathen has taught and written upon this subject, and religion only shows how to do effectually what reason unenlightened

Gospel truth has too often attempted in vain. Every one brings into the world with him some peculiar propensities. They are given him for his trial, and according as they are employed, the good fostered and the bad repressed, will they be instruments towards his final happiness or eternal loss. And it is astonishing to the extent victory over self may be carried where the watchfulness is constant and the discipline unremitting. One given by nature to the indulgence of appetite grows indifferent to its call; the sluggish becomes active; the impatient, gentle; the impetuous, reflective; in short, a new character is formed: and even when the impress of the old yet remains, by habitual restraint it is so modified. that it rather testifies to what a man has been than indicates what he is. Thus, by a steady process of self-subjugation, our work of probation is effected, till that perfection comes in view, which, though in its full degree certainly not attainable here, is nevertheless set forth as the Christian's aim. "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect."

In laying the stress I have on the necessity of exertion and watchfulness, in order successfully to carry on the work of self-discipline, I must guard myself from misapprehension on one essential point. For human works human efforts are sufficient. A man who aspires to rise to eminence in any worldly pursuit trusts to his own energies: success is either the reward of his industry and application, or the result of his superiority of powers. The means are adequate to the end. He is, if I may so say, self-dependent. Not so in spiritual matters. He who seeks a closer communion with his God, to serve Him more unreservedly, to devote himself more entirely, and to make not the letter of the law but its spirit his rule of conduct, requires, as I have stated above, the exercise of all his faculties to the purpose: but he does not rely on this exercise. He looks elsewhere for assistance to carry his efforts into effect. Success is hopeless without his utmost endeavours; but it would be equally hopeless if those endeavours were made in dependence on his own strength. There is an antagonistic power struggling within, which would be sure to get the upper hand unless resisted by some thing more than man could of himself offer. The devil will have a hold in the heart

ry one, unless it be preoccupied by God's Holy Spirit: and even