I am not so sure of that; nay, there are many lives which, if not actually cut off by the violent act of self-slaughter, are assuredly shortened through the aching remorse of self-accusation, unbrightened by the ray of pardon which follows on confession to our God. The cause which led Judas to this act is very often the cause of many a sorrow, which, if it be only the sorrow of the world, brings death. Judas' act was a sinful one, and sin must ever be a failure, and Judas saw that his calculations, based on a worldly principle, had woefully miscarried.

The Light of Life in his heart passed away, now extinguished, into the darkness of despair: which way he looked was hell, himself was hell.

Hurrying to the temple with his wretched gain (the silver marked-as Canon Farrar tells, strange irony of history-on one side with an olive branch, the symbol of peace, on the other with a censer, the type of prayer, and bearing on them the superscription "Jerusalem the Holy"), for which gain he had bartered away his inheritance of one of the twelve thrones of the resurrection, and an apostle's glory here; leaving behind him a name, it should have been of sweet commendation, instead of one of severe condemnation; he goes to his worldly masters, having forsaken his Heavenly Master, and

would thrust back upon them the price of blood so soon to be shed.

With the world's coin, in words as well as in metal, they pay him back. "What is that to us? see thou to that." Did the world ever treat its followers otherwise? When will we believe that the wages of sin is death? God grant, not merely when from bitter experience we know it to be true. For this remains, as our last word, and one of comfort: although immeasurable Love pronounced the words of immeasurable ruin and immeasurable woe, "It were good for that man if he had not been born," -although we may have too often betrayed Christ's religion, and Christ's holy cause and name, through word or deed of ours, although, even in some of us, the awful state may be true as of Judas, "Satan entered into him,"-yet there is a Voice which can, if we ask the dear Lord who loved and bought us with the price, not of money, but of His own lifeblood, say to that evil spirit, "Come out of him, and enter no more into him." Be our temptation what it may, if we will only pray,—and act on the prayer not to give way to it, be it a temptation to murmuring, to angry tempers, to unkind words, to selfish deeds-"Lead us not into temptation," He will make His strength perfect in our weakness.

Only, I pray you, ever mistrust yourselves and ever trust Him: trust Him when thou art strong, trust Him when thou art weak; trust Him in life, trust Him in death; for He has said, "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

"In the hour of trial,

Jesu, pray for me;
Lest, by base denial,
I depart from Thee.
When Thou seest me waver,
With a look recall ;
Nor for fear or favour

Suffer me to fall."

SERMON III.

ST. LUKE xxiii. 28.-" Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children."

"HE saved others; Himself He cannot save!" Before the judgment seat of Pilate, and in the midst of His accusers, Jesus is dumb, and opens not His mouth; but when He hears words of kindness and sympathy-the only break in the monotony of cruel abuse which had gone before, and would attend Him at Calvary-then those lips, shut for hours, are opened once more, to give utterance to the language of unselfish advice and gentle warning: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves."

The remark has been made-and this will serve as introduction to what I have to say as regards these women, who may be justly numbered among the "friends of Jesus"-that no woman is mentioned as speaking against our Lord in His life, or having a share in His death. On the contrary,

He was anointed by a woman for His burial ; women were the last at His grave, and the first at His resurrection. To a woman He first appeared when He rose again; women ministered to His wants; women bewailed and lamented Him; a heathen woman interceded with her husband, Pilate, for His life; of a woman He was born. We may also notice that St. Luke alone mentions this circumstance, and that, like most of the incidents recorded by that Evangelist, it is of a compassionate character; such as Christ's weeping over the doomed city, Jerusalem, and His prayer for His enemies. Perhaps the very fact that, among that crowd of thoughtless and of bitter foes, there was one touch of human, friendly pity, increased the agony of the Saviour's mind, as He turned and looked, and admonished those sympathizers that, bad and sad as His case might be, theirs was sadder, and far worse! How much, we may wonder, did these women know of our Lord's historyof His life of labour and love, of the accusation brought against Him, of His condemnation to death -that they showed this amount of pity? Was there something in the appearance of One so meek, and yet so noble, calm, and dignified, in the prospect of approaching death, that called forth this