thirst, the cold and nakedness, and the burden of cares and anxieties which he had endured. These, and such as these, were the marks of the Lord Jesus, by which he was visibly consecrated as a temple of the Spirit of Christ, whose peacefulness it was sacrilege to disturb. And so in a degree even in these unwarlike times it is with him whose days of toil are over. The Christian who is waiting to depart, bears upon him visible tokens of the work he has wellnigh accomplished. Toil of body, and trouble of mind, have left no doubtful impression upon the outward man. The stooping frame, the tottering step, the feeble voice, the failing arm; these are the tokens of past hardships endured. In the order of God's providence they have been endured, as well as those heavier burdens which weigh down the immortal spirit. And if these burdens have been borne in the meek spirit of Christian submission, if the fruit of the Spirit has grown, and strengthened, and ripened in the changeful course of this mortal life; this too has left its own impress, an impress of holiness, on the outer man. In those mysterious lines of the human face we trace the life-long workings of the regenerate spirit. In the very tone of voice is discovered the blessedness of that soul in whom Christ dwells by His Holy Spirit. Whether a Christian's tongue has been employed in praising God and blessing man; or, on the other hand, in uttering pleasant but sinful words, impure or profane; in buying, and selling, and making hard bargains—this is expressed, for those who can observe it, in the very

is

tones of the voice when the character in old age fully formed and settled.

All visible tokens of gentleness, sweetness, resignation, meekness, humility, faith, patience, heavenly-mindedness, purity, and bright hopefulness, are the marks of the Lord Jesus. All outward signs of a ripening wisdom in the things of heaven, are the marks of the Lord Jesus.

Let us then, dear brethren, venerate His marks. Let us treat with reverential love, and respectful tenderness, those whom He has sealed visibly for His own; upon whom He has poured the brightness of heaven before they leave this earth. Let us fear to disturb their peace; and if so be that we have been more highly taught, and endued with more intellectual knowledge than they, let us not presume to suppose for that reason that we are their superiors, or can in any proper sense become their teachers. Let us delight to minister to their wants, to read for them, or speak to them if they require it of us; but always humbled in our own thoughts, before them; and ever watchful to learn that of them which they have no thought indeed of teaching, while they do teach it in the holiest and best manner, namely, how we may hide our life with Christ in God, until we can enter upon its unrestrained enjoyment in a happier world. Thus at length, perhaps, by the grace and mercy of God, the marks of the Lord Jesus may be perceived in us, in our turn; and when our time arrives, He may take us to His

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SERMON XXXII.

THE FRAGMENTS THAT REMAIN.

ST. JOHN, vi. 12.

"Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost."

You will remember, my brethren, that on two occasions our blessed Lord fed great multitudes of hungry people with a small number of loaves, and a few little fishes. In the miracle which was read in the Gospel for this morning,' five thousand, besides women and children, were satisfied from five loaves: and on another occasion about four thousand with seven loaves. The miracles are alike, though the numbers are different. And as the chief action in both miracles is essentially the same, so is the conclusion. In both cases a large quantity of food was left unconsumed: they gathered together, in the one case, "twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained, over and above to them that had eaten;" and in the other case, "of the broken meat that was left, seven baskets full.""

'Last Sunday after Trinity.

2 St. Matt. xv. 37.

And this conclusion of the miracle, my brethren, it seems to me, is quite as remarkable as the miracle itself; and is no doubt intended to convey instruction to all who read it. Now surely no one can doubt that by the whole miracle is signified the riches, the freeness, the fulness, and the wondrous bounty of the grace of God. Indeed, our Saviour signifies as much when He says in the same chapter, "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you."

Let us not therefore, my brethren, fall into the error of the multitude. Let us not miss the spiritual meaning of this great miracle. Let us not see in it no more than the loaves wherewith the bodily appetites were satisfied. Rather let us there behold "the true Bread, . . . . the Bread of God,....which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." 4

Now it was of the nature of bread to fail when distributed from so small a store, among so great a multitude: but Christ by His Almighty Power so changed its nature, that, instead of failing, it was so greatly multiplied that it far more than sufficed to feed those many thousands. And thus it became the type of that heavenly Bread which never faileth, but, spreading through the world, far more than suffices all those who cry from their hearts, "Lord, evermore give us this Bread." The hungry multitude, who waited upon Jesus, receiving from His disciples the bread which He had blessed and broken, 3 St. John, vi. 27.

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Ib. 32, 33.

5 Ib. 34.

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"did all eat and were filled:" but when at His command the fragments that had fallen were gathered up, there remained "twelve baskets full over and above unto them that had eaten." So, likewise, in spiritual things, our Saviour says, "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled;"" but though for the present they are satisfied, though the grace of Christ abound in them, and they have all, and are full, yet is there more in store which they may have for the asking; "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Not merely once or twice, but as often as we ask our requests shall be granted. "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance."

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And so, dear brethren, it may be with us. If we have received rich gifts of grace from our bountiful master, yet still there is more for us according to our needs, according to our faith. The streams of grace continue to flow, and we may drink thereof as long as we suffer the burning thirst which the burden of a sinful flesh produces: the heavenly bread is not exhausted, we may still eat thereof, and be satisfied when the hunger after righteousness returns upon us.

But there is another view of this conclusion of the miracle, a more practical one, perhaps, for most of us, who are so continually falling short of the measure of our duty, and failing to make the most of the grace which God is ever bestowing upon us. The