an honest detestation of the baseness and malignity, which he read in the hearts of the members of this sect, whose vices he exposed, whose reformation he attempted, but against whose lives he put forth no exertion of those miraculous powers over which he had an unlimited control, yet of which he never availed himself for any other than the kindest purposes.

He who harbours anger, and thinks often and unkindly of the men that have occasioned it-he who does or wishes them evil-will be implacable. A state of mind how unworthy of human creatures; how disgraceful to those who bear the Christian name; how destructive of their dearest hopes and interests!

I shall now endeavour, in few words, to remind you of the meaning of the text.

The apostle does not advise that we be angry. There could be no occasion for this counsel. The feeling is much too easily lighted up in most men, and needs, therefore, guidance and restraint. Paul, accordingly, recommends that IF we be angry, we at least guard against sinful anger. In particular, he enjoins that it be not continued; be not permitted to rankle in our breasts, but depart with the closing day. To the like effect was the maxim of an ancient Jewish sage:"Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for

Eccles. vii. 9.

anger resteth in the bosom of fools”—which language takes for granted that anger, when once awakened, is not always or easily suppressed.

Though the justice and holiness, or in another word, the perfect benevolence, of Almighty God, render Him infinitely averse from sin, yet, in strict propriety of speech, he cannot be said to feel anger. His beloved Son, our Lord Jesus, was not, we know, an entire stranger to it. Mark, however, what excited his resentment. Nothing trifling, nothing personal. The occasion was the sight of the basest hypocrisy joined with the most envenomed malice. He indulged and exercised this emotion only in the noble cause of the virtue and happiness of mankind. Here, as in all respects, may we trace his footsteps! Let us cultivate meekness: let us pursue peace. At the same time, let us remember that the spirit of Christian love is the spirit of courage and of a sound mind: and let us lay the basis of it, deeply and strongly, in devotion and purity of heart, and in faith unfeigned.

SERMON XV.

ON VAIN-GLORY, AS CONTRASTED WITH CHRIST'S HUMBLE SPIRIT.

PHILIPP. ii. 3, 5.-LET NOTHING BE DONE THROUGH VAINGLORY;-LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU, WHICH WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS.

PERHAPS there is no quality, against which it is more essential that we be on our guard, especially at a certain age of life, and in particular circles of society, than what the Apostle here forbids-" Let nothing be done through vain-glory." VANITY consists in excessive and ill-directed self-love. It has a perpetual thirst for distinction and applause: to obtain these, is its constant aim; nor is it very scrupulous or select in the means which it employs for attracting notice. It seeks human praise, rather than God's approbation, and has not learned to be content with the testimony of a good conscience. Pride and Vanity are thus far alike-that both think of themselves more highly than they ought to think. However, there is an important difference between

them. The proud man looks down on others. He is contemptuous, arrogant, and often reckless of the opinion of the world. The vain man is gratified if he can but take your attention, and impress you with a favourable sense of his talents, his wealth, or the like outward advantages: and, in general, he has so much self-complacency that, as long as he can gain his end, he will not despise any of his fellowmen. Vanity, in some of its stages, and in its lighter manifestations, is the frequent subject of ridicule, which has rarely succeeded, nevertheless, in curing the evil. The case requires a more efficacious application than the lash of the satirist: nor will the religion that we profess, authorize our wearing a smile or raising a laugh at those follies and vices which teem with serious mischief. It is the least hurtful consequence of the habit of vain-glory that it taints the character, and renders it artificial, that it arrests the improvement of the faculties and affections, and causes its possessor to be dependent on the breath of fame. Cast your eyes on society, and behold the evils of this temper in religious and in civil life. Principles the most hostile to our present and our future happiness, have owed their diffusion, if not their birth, to vanity. It is this which has impelled men to enter on situations and undertakings, for which they were totally unfit: burning with a desire

of distinction, they have signalized themselves, like the incendiary who is known only as the destroyer of the magnificent temple of Ephesus, by heinous crimes and gross absurdities; and families, churches and nations have shared in the direful effects of the infatuation.

From circumstances which we are but imperfectly acquainted with, the Christian society at Philippi had those among its members, who needed the caution, "Let nothing be done through vain-glory!" Paul administers it, accordingly, with his well-known wisdom, affection and fidelity; and he beautifully and strongly enforces his warning by the example of his divine master-"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." Permit me, with the same design, to appeal to the same authority.

Vanity will be subdued in true Christians by the contemplation of their Saviour's pattern. This is the theme of my present address: and to this I invite your earnest regard.

It is characteristic of vanity that it attempts display; that it urges men to leave their proper sphere of duty, and to rush into provinces, and embark in undertakings, for which they have no qualifications; that its governing motive is not the Will of God, or its object His glory; that it makes an undue estimate of talent and other outward advantages;