If: God bids us actively promote His glory, e can do it cheerfully, for we feel and see ur gaining success, we meet with the approba on of all around us, we feel our very interest irthered by it.

It is even easy with God's help to resist ur discontent, our fretfulness, our covetousLess. But to be humbled and despised and et to bear all this cheerfully, to go on serving GOD when all outward circumstances are against is, this is the trial; this shows what our faith s worth. With all his high office as a prophet Jonah could not stand this test; and many a one among us whose reputation is high, and general intentions good, falls equally in the hour of similar trial.

4. But we are to consider, thirdly, Jonah's punishment. He flies to another town. The very ship to which he betakes himself is the means of his ruin and fall. The tempest rises on the waters, and conscience-stricken Jonah confesses his crime and gives himself up to be punished. We see here the servant of GOD throughout his sin, still different to men of the world, at once humbled when corrected, owning the justice of his punishment, confessing hist guilt, and cheerfully bearing his chastisement.

Here are two things for us to dwell on the punishment of God's servants, and their mode of bearing it.

If the servant of GoD sin, he is saved by the blood of CHRIST on his penitence, from the punishment of hell; but he does not escape chastisement, i.e., God does visit the inconsis tencies of His people in this life upon them in many ways, and a man must expect to enjoy peace and calmness in his religious course very much in proportion to his efforts after holiness of living. Perhaps we shall not have peace on a deathbed, perhaps we shall be denied an extensive sphere of usefulness; perhaps we shall have great domestic trials; perhaps we shall be misconstrued and illtreated by others. There are many ways in which God does the work, but the work is chastisement in this life for sins and inconsistencies, while if a man promote God's glory by his own consistent living he may be allowed a more peaceful life and more happy death.

Abraham was blessed throughout his life with peace and prosperity because his life was generally holy and consistent. Joseph seems to have led a prosperous life by his devotion to GOD; while Jacob, though still a servant of

OD, suffered throughout his life by domestic Hiction, for the heavy sins of deceiving a ther, wronging a brother, and indulging his wn feelings. David's gray hairs were brought own amid blood and family alienation to the rave, and tumult was the worldly chastiseent for the sins of the man after God's own eart. Moses entered not the Promised Land, hough his soul was prepared to take its flight o the heavenly Canaan; but he entered not he earthly because of his sins.

I might ame other servants of GOD who in His holy Word are mentioned as receiving in this world he chastisement for their inconsistencies.

And so it is now. We cannot, we dare not trifle with sin. Each idle word, each careless action of GOD's servants may and very likely will meet on earth with its punishment. GOD will give us a sad return, to punish us and to purify us, to keep us from greater sins, to warn us from courses that dishonour Him.

In Jonah's case the mede of his sin was the means of his punishment; the ship in which he took refuge from God's command, was the very means of plunging him to ruin. So with

us.

Plan what scheme we may to evade GOD's will, the device will be made our ruin;

and the vessel by which we strive to escape from God's voice will be the very instrument of our wreck and destruction. Balaam led him to the angel;

to permit Moses to enter his

cut Pharaoh off from

The ass of

and the refusal

presence again

communication with his We cannot escape GOD.

prevailing intercessor. We cannot

If we will not willingly do His work we must against our will work out His designs.

XLVIII.

JEREMIAH.

Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity.

SUBJECTIVE CHARACTERS.

JEREMIAH Ix. 1.

OH THAT MY HEAD WERE WATERS, AND MINE EYES A FOUNTAIN OF TEARS, THAT I MIGHT WEEP DAY

AND NIGHT FOR THE SLAIN OF THE DAUGHTER OF MY PEOPLE!"

. Ir would be difficult to conceive a greater variety than exists between the four major and welve minor prophets. If any such greater difference does exist it would be between the characters of S. John, S. Peter, and S. Paul; as if GOD had intended to show us that inspiration was by no means unaffected by the individual character of him who is its medium; and that we are to recollect that while the Will of God is revealed to us through human instrumentality, it must reach us with certain difficulties and varieties in its proximate approach to our apprehension. The Will of God is one;