In conclusion, let me speak a word of warning to those who may fancy that they are excluded by their station and circumstances from the temptation to pride and haughtiness. Whatever, my brethren, our station in life may be, let us not deceive ourselves by supposing that outward circumstances alone can deliver us from so subtle a temptation. Let not the poor and afflicted console themselves by the thought of the blessedness of poverty and the sanctifying influences of suffering, unless they be poor in spirit and lowly in heart, and so be suffering with Christ. The poor man may be proud as well as the rich, and often is prouder; and in the last day the lofty looks and the haughty spirit of many a man who has had nothing to gain him distinction in the world, shall be miserably brought down. There are two classes of temptations to which we are all exposed; those which move the lusts of the flesh, as gluttony, or wantonness, or sloth; and those which stir the affections of the mind, as pride, anger, envy, or hatred. Those persons who are thoroughly comfortable in the world, those who have riches in possession, are frequently chiefly tempted to luxury and the selfish indulgence of their fleshly appetites. From these the poor man is, by his circumstances, in a good measure debarred; so that, if he escape the sin of drunkenness, it often happens that there remain only the more spiritual sins by which he can be led to ruin; and Satan, ever suiting his temptations to the circumstances of those he would make his victims, tempts him to immoderate anger, or tries to make him

C

envious, or to fill him with hatred towards some one who has offended him.

Days passed in severe toil, short meals, hard beds, scanty clothing, and the care of a numerous family, leave little room for sloth, or luxury, or gluttony : therefore, dear brethren, be sure there is the more likelihood that you will be tempted to some of those spiritual sins which have their root in pride. A feeling of honest independence may be cherished and indulged until it grows up into pride and self-complacency. A lurking discontent and anxious carefulness will, if unchecked, become corroding envy, and dissatisfied self-dependence. Be not, therefore, highminded, but fear. Fear to indulge a proud look ; fear to despise your fellow-man; fear to envy your seemingly more fortunate neighbours. Do not love to contemplate the weaknesses and faults of those who are above you in station, but reflect upon your own; your own faults, for which you must yourself answer, your own weaknesses, your own short-comings; and so, when you are tempted to pride, humble yourself before Him who can make up for your short-comings, compassionate your weakness while He gives you strength, and forgive your faults: and who, whether He pardon and help you or not, will judge you. He will judge us each; and according to our own doings, and our own dispositions, we shall stand or fall. Let us, then, learn humility, while we may, of the lowly Jesus. Let us learn of Him, and He will teach us. By His secret grace He will teach us; and by His providence He will teach us; and by His humblest servants He will teach us; by the humble, humility;

by the ignorant, wisdom; and by the weak, where our true strength lies. By the example of saints He will entice us, and by the example of sinners warn so that of all in turn we may learn lowly mindedness, and escape the miserable degradation of the proud.

us;

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SERMON III.

GRIEF AND SHAME FOR SINS PAST.

ISAIAH, xxvi. 13.

"O Lord our God, other lords beside Thee have had dominion over us: but by Thee only will we make mention of Thy Name."

By an immutable law of our nature, misery is ever the sure consequence of sin: either an acute pang of remorse follows quickly upon the commission of the offence, and is succeeded too often by a lethargy, or numbness of conscience, the awful precursor of the state of reprobation; or that more blessed sorrow which worketh repentance, the chastisement tempered by mercy, which draws again towards God, with the hope of pardon and renewal, the soul that has sinned; finds entrance into the heart and abides there until this life is ended. But even in this case, the misery consequent upon sin is very frequently so great, in the first instance, as to be almost unbearable; and in every truly penitent soul, some portion of this sorrow, endured in the first days of penitence, remains through life, and softens and saddens, at least, all

after-joys, and recurs again at particular seasons with somewhat of its first bitterness.

Consider, my brethren-is it fitting, is it possible, that the sorrow and pain which follow upon sin should lightly pass away from the penitent heart? Is there any sorrow that wounds so deeply as the sorrow of the guilty soul, when it becomes sensible of the misery of its sin against God, its own grievous loss, and the dishonour of its Saviour's blood? Is there any pain more acute than the first bitter feeling of misery which pierces through the Christian's heart, when the fearful vision of guilt first flashes upon him? O, misery unbearable, if there were no Comforter! O, wretchedness overwhelming, if any were left to the hopelessness of his own gloomy thoughts!

Upon a heart thus bowed down, upon a spirit thus wounded and bruised, upon a conscience thus amazed by guilt, the promises of the Gospel fall gently and peacefully, calming the troubled waters, allaying the terror, healing the deadly wounds. For the Lord Jesus is "a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall."1

And yet in those who are so healed and comforted a real sorrow remains, less bitter certainly, less poignant perhaps, but yet a true sorrow, ever deepening, and becoming tenderer and humbler with deeper holiness. The sense of sinfulness grows with the growth of holiness. Never can it be a matter of indifference to a child of God that he has sinned 1 1 Isaiah, xxv. 4.