Our relations to God demand obedience. "His breath woke us first into existence. Whatever powers of body or of mind we possess, all are His aud of Him. Nothing pertaining to us can we properly call our own. From the first moment of existence to the last, we exercise no faculty of thought or feeling or action, which He has not given us, and which He does not rightly claim as belonging to Himself. The very power to disobey is a power which He has Himself conferred."

The nature of God's requirements is a further argument for obedience. His commands are not arbitrary, but "holy, just, and good." He enjoins only that which is best for ourselves; He forbids only that which it is our highest wisdom to shun. Our duty and our happiness coincide.

5. Love. This one word is the "fulfilling of the law." All our duties may be summed up in love to God and love to man. Without this, every thing else is of little worth. No earthly parent would be satisfied, if his child obeyed him merely like a servant for his wages, or like a slave from fear of punishment. God asks our love. His address to us is," Son, give me thine heart."

Some of the ways in which love manifests itself will be noticed :

(1.) We wish to be near those we love. An affectionate child delights in his father's society. If obliged to leave him, he laments the separation, and desires to return. So should we feel towards God. David says, "My soul thirsteth for Thee." And we may continually realize a sense of His presence. He is indeed always with us. The Psalmist says,

Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising; Thou understandest my thoughts afar off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways." If we truly love

God, we shall rejoice at this, and live continually as in His sight. We should strive to " walk with God.” (2.) We delight to converse with those we love. Can we conceive of a son, living in his father's house and constantly in his sight, yet never speaking to him, or saying only a few heartless words at distant intervals? Such conduct would show that he was entirely destitute of filial affection. God is ever We speak to Him in prayer. If we love Him, it will be a pleasure to tell Him all our sorrows, to seek His guidance, and to thank Him for His goodness.

near us.

(3.) We seek to please those we love. If we are attached to a friend, we try to avoid whatever will grieve him, and seek to do what will give him pleasure. Thus it will be with us if we love God. Before doing anything, we shall think how God will regard it, and act accordingly. His laws will be our guide. Obedience is a great test of love. Jesus Christ says, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."

6. Trust.-An affectionate child has confidence in his father. He will go with him anywhere, even in the dark night; he will take a bitter medicine from him, convinced that it is for his good. There are things in this world which the wisest cannot understand.

Mansel says, "Against this immova

ble barrier of the existence of evil, the waves of philosophy have dashed themselves unceasingly since the birthday of human thought, and have retired broken and powerless, without displacing the minutest fragment of the stubborn rock, without softening one feature of its dark and rugged surface." We must often be content to say for the present, "I know not; God knoweth." All will yet be made plain. "What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.”

7. Imitation.-Children frequently resemble their parents in outward looks; they catch the tone of their voice; they often copy them in their conduct. Even the best earthly parents have their faults, but we are safe in following the example of our heavenly Father. Plato makes "likeness to God" the final aim of man. Jesus Christ says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

The Hindu idea of "absorption" into the Deity is a great error, but it is our highest duty and privilege to become "partakers of the Divine nature," to be like God, to have our will swallowed up in His. Thus we shall, in some faint measure, share in the Divine happiness.

XXV.-MAN'S HEART IN GOD'S SIGHT.

The opinions which people entertain of their own religious and moral character are often very mistaken. The case of Thugs has already been mentioned. After strangling a traveller and burying the corpse, they would kindle a fire near the grave, and feast as heartily, and sing as merrily as if they had committed an act of great merit.

The great

This, however, is an extreme case. bulk of mankind think that all is well if they do no positive harm to any one, and are kind to the poor. They may admit that they are not in all things what they ought to be; but God is merciful, and they need not fear about their future state.

We are naturally biassed in our own favour. Actions which we at once blame in others, we often commit ourselves without scruple, or we quiet our conscience with some paltry excuse. Our own good opinion does not prove that our conduct is

right, or our condition safe. We may be saying to ourselves," Peace, peace; when there is no peace.'

But while most men pass through life satisfied with themselves and unaware of their real character, there have been some, in all ages of the world, who have felt the corruption of their nature, and sighed after holiness. The writings of ancient Greek and Roman philosophers contain numerous testimonies to this fact. There is a remarkable confession of sin which Brahmans ought to repeat daily:

Pápo'ham pápakarmáham pápátmá pápasambhavaha :

The meaning is: I am sin; I commit sin; my soul is sinful; I am conceived in sin. This is very similar to the account of man's state given in the Bible. David says, "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." It is also written: "There is none righteous, no, not one"; "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it ?"

Why is it that the holiest men are the first to admit their own sinfulness? Most people take their neighbours as their standard, and are satisfied if they think that they come up to their conduct. Some, indeed, compare themselves with persons guilty of flagrant crimes, and are proud of their supposed moral superiority. On the other hand, a man whose conscience is enlightened, judges himself by God's law.

Our whole duty is summed up in two precepts. The "first and great commandment," supreme love to God, was noticed in the previous chapter.

The second commandment is, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." It is explained in the words, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.” So greatly has this precept been admired, that it has been called the golden rule.

Some men confine the idea of sin to theft, adultery, and other crimes punishable by the State. It is true that to wish to take anything belonging to another is theft in God's sight. "Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." Still, Christianity does not say that all men are thieves and adulterers in the ordinary sense of these terms. Nor is it asserted that all men are wicked in every respect. But obedience to one set of laws will not save a man from the punishment of another set which he violates. If a clerk defrauds Government, he will not be pardoned because he is temperate or chaste. A soldier guilty of rebellion against the State, is not acquitted because he has been kind to the poor. A person who breaks one of God's commands because he is inclined to do so, would equally break another if similarly tempted.

It is a common mistake to confound amiability with holiness. Some dogs are savage; others are mild in their disposition. Men vary similarly. It is no more merit for a man to obey his instincts without reference to God's will, than for a sheep to be gentle.

The two great sins chargeable against every human being are ungodliness and selfishness.

The verdict pronounced upon Belshazzar, king of Babylon, was: Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting." The prophet Daniel explained the grounds of this judgment when he said, "The God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified." This charge applies to us all. God contrasts the gratitude of the very beasts with the regardlessness of man. "I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me. The ox knoweth his owner and the ass his master's crib;