fervent love" which he had been, and still is, inculcating as one of the Christian's first duties.

The exhortation of the Apostle is, "lay aside these evil tempers and habits." This exhortation strongly implies that those addressed had been originally depraved, wholly depraved beings, and that they were still partially under the influence of depravity. The exhortation is not, beware of putting these on, but put them off. Every renewed man has in his flesh his unrenewed nature,—the evil heart,—the seminal principle of every species of moral evil; and I do not know what is the sin which he, if unwatchful, unprayerful, exposed to temptation, and unrestrained by divine influence, may not commit. Such exhortations to regenerate persons loudly proclaim, "Be vigilant;" repress the first movements of evil; shun even its appearance: "Let him who thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall."1

The exhortation of the Apostle, is not to cover these unsightly deformities of the old man with the veil of an assumed courteousness and politeness, or sanctimony. In his estimation, and in that of his Master, these were, however admired by men, abominable in God's sight, being but forms of that hypocrisy which he so pointedly condemns. To do this were to add iniquity to iniquity. The exhortation is to "lay them aside." The object of Christianity is not to conceal the evil which still exists, and exists it may be but in the greater force, acts but with the greater virulence, because it is concealed; but it is to destroy it, so that there may be no need of concealment, because there is nothing to conceal.

The Apostle does not require the modification, but the extinction of those evil principles. The filthy rags must not be mended, and in some measure purified; they are to be put off, and cast away. Christian morality is very uncompromising. Those polluted vestments, fast as they may cling to the diseased mind, must be torn off. Every one of them; all malice, all guile, hypocrisies, and envies, and all

11 Peter i. 8. 1 Cor. x. 12.

evil speakings, must be put off. There is no exception; all sin, in all its forms and in all its degrees, must be abandoned, abandoned for ever. It is impossible to read this passage without being impressed with the inward, thorough character of the Christian morality, the spirituality of "the royal law," "the law of Christ." Malice and envy are forbidden, as well as deceit, and hypocrisies, and evil speakings.

And you will notice, too, the order in which the prohibition stands. In the world's morality, they set about pruning the branches while the root is undisturbed; and the evil tree is often rather strengthened than weakened by the process; but here "the axe is laid to the root of the tree." Lay aside malice. If that is laid aside, deceit and hypocrisy will soon disappear, and never re-appear. Destroy the root, the leaves and even the stem will soon wither and die. Lay aside envies, and there will be no evil speakings. Such is the import of the dissuasive part of the exhortation.

And now, my brethren, let us open our hearts to the word of exhortation here addressed to us. Let us not turn aside from these statements, as too plain and common-place to deserve much consideration. Do some say, we know all this already? I answer with my Master," If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them;" but if ye do them not, it had been better for you that you had not known them. The preaching of Christian doctrine and law is intended for some other, some nobler purpose, than to add to the stock of what has been termed "men's speculative discoursing knowledge.” There is something wrong, either with the minister or the people, it may be with both, when plain Christianly moral discourses are not delivered, or not relished. It was a proof of any thing but growth in spiritual strength, when the Israelites loathed the daily manna, called it dry food, and required flesh to satisfy their lust. It is a very bad sign of a man if he does not like a plain practical sermon. "There is," as one well remarks, "an intemperance of the mind as well as the mouth. You would think, and may be not spare to call it a poor cold sermon, that was made up of such

plain precepts as those which have been the subject of discourse. And yet this is the language of God; it is his way, this foolish despicable way, by which he guides and brings to heaven them that believe." 1

Let us never forget that Christianity is the religion of love and the religion of truth. The spirit which the Father hath given us is the spirit of meekness and charity. That dovelike spirit dwelt without measure in our Head, and by him is communicated in various degrees to all his members. "If we have not the spirit of Christ, we are none of his."" Let us remember that the true way to put off malice is to put on charity; and the true way to put on charity is to put on Christ: so as that the mind which was in him may be in us.

Let us then "walk in love," and in truth as well as in love. Let us put off all deceits and hypocrisies. There is a meanness in hypocrisy which should make us despise it, a folly in it which should make us ashamed of it, as well as impiety in it which should make us abhor it. Oh, "what is the hope of the hypocrite, when he has gained the whole world, when God taketh away his soul?" "What avails it to wear this mask?" A man may indeed, in the sight of men, act his part handsomely under it; but know we not, that there is an eye that sees through it, and a hand which, if we will not put off this mask, will pull it off to our shame, either here in the sight of men, or if we should escape all our life, and go fair off the stage under it, yet there is a day appointed when all hypocrites will be unveiled, and appear what they are indeed, before men and angels? It is a poor thing to be approved or even applauded by men, while God condemns, by whose sentence all must stand or fall. "Let us seek to be approved and justified by him, and then who shall condemn? It does not matter who do. Oh, how lightly may the contempt and reproaches of men lie on us, if we are but secure of his approbation! It is a small thing to be judged

1 Leighton.

2 Rom. viii. 9.

3 Job xxvii. 8.

of man's judgment; there is one that judgeth me, that is the Lord."1

There is a common, and I am afraid by no means unfounded, complaint, that many hearers of the word are wholly unfruitful, and that others are little edified. Our text furnishes us with the true account of this melancholy fact. They do not "lay aside malice, and guile, and hypocrisies, and envyings, and evil speakings." Till they do so, though they were under the ministry of an angel, they would never receive the sincere milk of the word, that they might grow thereby. Those who wish to get good from the word of God, must guard against all those tempers which war with truth and love.

There is no keeping out of controversy at all times in our world, without sacrificing truth; but controversy is full of hazards. Oh, how seldom is it conducted, even on substantially the right side, without "malice, and guile, and hypocrisies, and envyings, and evil speakings!" And so strangely deluded are men, that they often seem to think that the more they are under the influence of those unchristian principles, while professedly, and it may be really, contending for Christian truth, so much the better Christians are they. They seem to measure their love for the truth, by their hatred of those who they suppose are opposing it. I trust we, my brethren, have not so learned Christ; but that "having heard him, and been taught of him the truth as it is in Jesus: we are putting off, concerning the former conversation, the old man, who is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and are renewed in the spirit of our minds; putting on the new man, who after God is created. in righteousness and true holiness: and putting away all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, with all malice." Then will "the word of Christ dwell in us richly," and then will the light of God, shine in our minds, and "the peace of God rule in our hearts.""

1 Leighton.

2 Eph. iv. 20-24, 31. Col. iii. 15, 16.

§ 2. The Persuasive Exhortation.

The persuasive part of the exhortation comes now before us for consideration: "Desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby." This exhortation refers both to an end, and to the means by which this end is to be accomplished. The end is the attainment of spiritual growth, and the means, the taking spiritual nourishment. Thus the exhortation naturally divides itself into two parts. (1.) Seek spiritual growth, that is the end; and (2.) " Desire the sincere milk of the word," that is the means; for it is by the right use of this appropriate nourishment that spiritual growth is to be attained. Let us look at these two exhortations first separately, and then in their relation to each other.

(1.) The first exhortation is, seek spiritual growth. The figurative view of the state and character of the persons addressed, “new-born babes," and the corresponding view of their daily "growth," suggest the ideas of life, of faculty, and of imperfection. What is dead cannot grow, what is perfect does not need to grow. Life is necessary to growth, vegetable life to vegetable growth, animal life to animal growth, rational life to rational growth, spiritual life to spiritual growth. The still-born babe never grows. It is the living new-born babe that grows. Till a man is "born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,” even of that word which in the gospel is preached to us, he is destitute of spiritual life, and therefore he is incapable of spiritual growth. On all such men the declaration of our Lord must be urged: "Ye must be born again,

1 It is right to notice that the words us wrgia" unto salvation"-follow VOC BY MUTW QUŽNOKTE —“ that ye may grow thereby," in most of the Codd. and old translations, and that all the great critical editors of the New Testament, with the exception of Mill, consider them as entitled to a place in the text. They do not materially change the sense. They mark salvation-complete deliverance from evil in every form and degree-as the end of spiritual growth, and spiritual growth through the use of the yaha deyizes, as the appointed means of salvation. The phrase ως σωτηρίαν may be thus resolved εις το τυγχάνειν ύμας της σωτηρίας, that you may thus obtain salvation."-Eph. iv. 13.