He who loves father or mother more than Christ, our text declares, is not worthy of Christ: and he who loves son or daughter more than Christ, is not worthy of Christ. But who is worthy of Christ? Is any one, can any one be worthy of Christ? What can any one deserve of Him? In order to be worthy of Christ, we should be able to do something for Christ, to confer some benefit upon Him. But who can do anything of the sort? No one of woman born. We can pain Christ: we can grieve Him: we can rob Him of that which is His due, of the honour which we owe Him, of the hearts and souls which He bought with the price of His blood. But we can give Him nothing, except that which is His already. Therefore, seeing our infinite poverty, Christ in compassion to us declared that He would take our love in place of all merit, that He would account it as worthiness, that he would reward it as such. No, my brethren, even though we loved Christ above father and mother and son and daughter, still we should not be worthy of Him, except so far as in His infinite grace He vouchsafes to account us so.

But look at the other side of the picture. Is not Christ worthy of us? Is He not worthy that we should love Him, even above father and mother and son and daughter? Is He not worthy that we should leave father and mother and son and daughter, when He requires us to do so, and that we should cleave only to Him, and serve Him only, from morning till evening, from the opening blush of spring till winter sinks into its grave. Yes assuredly, brethren, He is worthy. He who left the bosom of His own Father for our sakes, who left

a throne of infinite glory

and unimaginable blessedness, to suffer pain, and reproach, and persecution, and death, He who has done a

thousandfold more for us than any earthly father can do, who has suffered a thousandfold more for us than any earthly father can suffer, who has given us a thousandfold more than any earthly father can give,-He assuredly deserves that for His sake we should do all things, should forsake all things, should suffer all things. Our earthly parents deserve much from us: they deserve everything we can do for them, without trenching on our duty to God. But He alone, the Lamb that was slain, is worthy that all mankind should give themselves up to serve Him, to worship Him, to adore Him. He alone, the Lamb that was slain, is worthy to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

O God, who in Thine infinite goodness didst not place us alone upon earth, but hast compast us about with the blessed ties of family love, ordaining that our affections should be the living spring of our duties, and our duties the preservers and purifiers of our affections, lift up our hearts, we humbly beseech Thee, to Thee, so that the beauty and pleasantness of this Thy precious gift may never tempt us to forget the Giver. Enable us to fix our highest desires upon Thee, and upon the grace which Thou hast manifested to us through the incarnation of Thine Only begotten Son. May the love of heaven so strengthen and hallow all our earthly affections, that our love may never be after the flesh and its selfish lusts, but according to the purity of the spirit of selfsacrifice, which Thou hast made known to us in giving us Thine Own Son to be a Sin-offering for our redemption! Hear us, O God, as Thou allowest us to call Thee Father, for the sake of Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

SERMON XVII.

THE OBJECT OF LIFE.

ROMANS XIV. 7.

None of us liveth to himself; and no man dieth to himself.

None of us liveth to himself. Are we, my brethren, among the happy persons, of whom this may truly be said? To whom, for whom do we live? This is a question of great and deep importance, of the utmost importance to everybody, even when we look at it singly and nakedly, with reference to the rule by which we mark out the course of our lives, and to the aim that we set before us in them. But this importance acquires an awful character, when we cast our thoughts forward from this question to that which is forced upon us by the second part of the text: To whom, for whom shall we die?

To whom, I ask, for whom do we live? You should put this question, each of you, anxiously and searchingly, to your own hearts, and should take care that you get a true answer. Nor will it be enough to ask the question once, and to have it answered once, even though the answer should be just what one would wish. For, as long as we live, we are so surrounded by tempters, who would draw us away from what we ought to live for, that, even if we have ground to feel satisfied that we do so live now, we must not rely on our continuing to do so. Each person will have to make his own answer to the question; and each will too easily be misled into giving that answer a

false hue. I cannot answer the question for you: I cannot dive into your hearts and bring the answer out of them. This is a work which you must do for yourselves. But perhaps I may help you to find out the true answer, amid the disguises behind which it is apt to lurk, by shewing you what would be the true answer to the same question, if we were to put it with regard to the bulk of mankind. To whom then, for whom, do the bulk of mankind live?

St Paul in our text says, None of us liveth to himself. Of whom was he speaking, when he said these words? and in what sense did he use them? Was he speaking of mankind at large? Surely this cannot be. Whatever test we may take to try them by, even though it should be that to which it would cost them the least trouble to give a favorable colouring, their words,-if we judge them by the feelings, which, though mostly hidden from sight, seem to string their words together, or if we judge them by that which is plainly the end and bent of the chief part of their actions, it is too manifest that they give the lie to St Paul's saying: they do live to themselves. The object they are manifestly striving after, the object they believe themselves to be striving after, is something they themselves are to get, something they themselves are to have, something they themselves are to enjoy. The outward things which they pursue are indeed various, according to the variety of the gifts with which God has enricht the world, and which He has made to yield pleasure to man. Some set their hearts another. Some hunt after riches; but it is after riches for themselves: others after pleasure; and that too is pleasure for themselves: others after ease and comfort. . for themselves: others after power. for themselves:

upon one thing, some upon

...

others after honour and a good name . . . for themselves : a few after knowledge; and that too is for themselves. However the tunes may change, the same keynote runs through them all . . . self, self, self. Where does one see any persons, where does one hear of any, labouring steadily, heartily, perseveringly, for the sake of gaining riches for others, or pleasure for others, for the sake of making others easy and comfortable, in order to get power for others, or honour and a good name for others, in order to bestow knowledge on others? unless it be for the members of their own families, the children sprung from their own loins, whom people regard as in some measure a part of themselves, and therefore are ready to labour for as such. There are a few persons indeed here and there, who are not unwilling to spend the odds and ends of their time for the good of others,-who will eat the dinner themselves, and then call in their neighbours to pick up the crumbs under the table, and who, when they have reapt their field, and tied up the sheaves, think they are doing a great thing in letting others come in to glean their leavings. Thus far the natural man has mounted now and then: thus far he may mount. But so long as we are not born again after the likeness of Christ, so long as our natural, carnal heart continues unchanged, so long will self be the idol which that heart sets up and worships; so long too will the taint of selfishness cleave even to our least blamable actions.

For I am not speaking merely or mainly of those, who lead what the voice of the world declares to be a sinful life. I am not speaking of the miserly and the hardhearted: I am not speaking of the glutton and the drunkard: I am not speaking of those who defile themselves