Jesus, honouring Him cheerfully in His own person, and in His representatives.

But should any refuse by willing submission so to learn humility that it may work their happiness and final glory, there remains for them a more awful fulfilment of the prophecy. For, before our exalted Saviour, "the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down," whether they will or not.

We read in the parable of the nobleman who went into a far country, that those wicked men who hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, "We will not have this man to reign over us," were miserably slain when their Lord returned. So in the last day, the wilful and the proud, and the unbelieving and the hardhearted; those who like the Jews reject Christ, or like the Pharisees deride Him, or like Judas sell Him, or like Demas forsake Him, or like Simon Magus turn His gifts into self-aggrandizement, or like Ananias withhold what is dedicated to Him; these in the last day "shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of His Majesty, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth."" Then their humiliation shall be consummated; but in the meantime the terms of the prophecy have from the very time of Christ's first coming been receiving a partial fulfilment, of which we may here observe a few tokens.

When Christ, as a poor Man, surrounded by His chosen disciples, fishermen, and others of similar rank, went from place to place in Judea or Galilee, St. Luke, xix. 12, &c. 'Isaiah, ii. 19.

and drew around Him the sick, and the needy, and the ignorant, and the unhappy, He gained the attention and incurred the opposition and enmity of the great men of His nation, who disbelieved or explained away His miracles, despised His doctrines, and thought it would be easy for them with their hardearned wisdom to silence Him who had, as they supposed, "never learnt." Accordingly they sought to entangle Him in His talk, and asked Him subtle questions tempting Him, and sought of Him signs from heaven. But always with a few simple words, He who was meek and lowly vindicated the truth, and put them to shame, so that they frequently could not answer Him a word, neither durst any man after awhile ask Him any more questions. Thus the pride of knowledge, and the pride of anger, and hatred, and scorn, fell before His calm and gentle words, in which was a hidden force that all His adversaries could neither gainsay nor resist.

And to those who went forth afterwards in His name He gave like power, though in a different measure for ever in the Church the calm words of the lovers of truth, of those who were seeking when they spoke no selfish end, have had a secret power which worldly men cannot understand. Thus not only have hard hearts been softened and humbled, and perverse wills been bent and changed by the preaching of the Gospel, but the sneers and objections and revilings of the unbelieving world against the Gospel, have been in great part silenced. Martyrs have tamed their persecutors, confessors have shamed their tormentors, the adversaries have been

found liars, and even perverse infidels have been driven to cloak their hatred of Christianity under the semblance of faith and reverence.

Behold, then, how, as the kingdom of Christ has spread, the pride of the world has been humbled before Christ in His Church. The world and its greatest men have bowed themselves in the Church: they have bowed their necks to the yoke, either freely or grudgingly, and they cannot escape. Kings and nobles, and learned men; those who can guide men, and rule them, and give them laws-who can league men together one against another, and turn them to their own purposes; and those who can teach men, and gain their admiration, their love, and reverence; and those who can perceive the weaknesses of men, and take advantage of them for the advancement of their own interests;-all these are more or less bound by the fetters of the Church; all these are, upon the whole, obliged to go to Church with poor men, there to kneel down beside the ignorant, and weak, and despised, and with them confess themselves miserable sinners, and in their hearing, beg pardon; obliged to share their hopes and fears, and to own themselves for their brethren. Thus the loftiness of man has been bowed down, and the haughtiness of man has been made low by the equality in guilt, fear, and hope, between the noblest and the humblest of men, implied in united confession and prayer.

Again, consider the homely truths which all are obliged to hear in Church. What can be a greater humiliation for the proud man than to be obliged to

hear that the lofty looks of man shall be humbled; for the rich man, than to be told "to lay up treasure in heaven," and to be warned against trusting in uncertain riches? How galling for the ambitious man to be told that the meek shall inherit the earth; and for noble and beautiful women to be bid to dress themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety? Yet the proud, and the rich, and the ambitious, and the beautiful, and the noble, have been obliged to hear the truth in Church. They have heard it, and in some the hearing has wrought conviction to the saving of their souls, by a free-will submission of themselves to the humbling law of the Gospel; while others have been wounded, and grieved, and angered, and yet have been obliged to hear it again. For "the lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down." Of old it was spoken, and now it is being fulfilled. But if, as the world appears to us, it seem that there are still many exceptions, if as yet we see not all things put under His feet who alone shall be exalted, yet the day will come that all shall be set right, and there shall be no difficulty in discerning the perfect fulfilment of His Word, when He ariseth to shake terribly the earth. Meanwhile we see enough to assure us that His word has not returned unto Him void, and by its partial fulfilment are led to look forward to the time when it shall have perfectly and prosperously accomplished that whereunto He was pleased to send it. At least we see enough to comfort and encourage exceedingly the humble and meek, according to the Scripture rule, "Let the

brother of low degree rejoice (or glory) in that he is exalted: but the rich in that he is made low." The humbling of the proud is the glory of the humble; for it is the exaltation of Jesus. The fulfilment of the prophecy against the loftiness of the proud is to the humble and contrite-hearted a ground for confidence in those promises which are given for their special consolation. Rejoice, then, ye poor and afflicted members of Christ! Rejoice amid your poverty, your distresses, your insignificance, your want of learning, rank, and honour! Rejoice in Him who is your God and Saviour. Rejoice that He is even now putting down the mighty from their seat, that He may in due time exalt the humble and meek. Rejoice, ye weak and helpless ones, despised of the world, that ye are already in high esteem with those who, whatever their worldly station may be, love Christ. In this rejoice, that willingly, freely, thankfully, humbly, the noblest, richest, wisest, and most powerful, who trusts with a loving faith in Christ, will kneel beside you, acknowledging himself your brother in the Lord, unite his prayers with yours, and ask the benefit of your intercession. And for those miserable men who do not willingly humble themselves before Him whom your soul loveth, for the proud and self-confident, for those who lean on their own understanding, or boast themselves in the multitude of their riches, pray while your prayers may yet avail, that they may be converted, and become as little children, partaking one hope of immortality with the meek-hearted, by partaking their voluntary humility.

8 St. James, i. 9, 10.