the goodness of God, who furnished such unworthy ones as they were, with an opportunity of self-denial so glorious.

III. And now, brethren, from all that has been stated, ye may collect what your Lord expects from you in the way of duty; and what ye may look for from Him in the way of support ;— what ye must do, and whither ye must betake yourselves, if ye would inherit the privileges purchased for you by his blood.

Ye have not been called to be apostles, nor has your lot fallen in times of bloody persecution. It is no part of your duty, therefore, to do the peculiar work of apostles; and there seems no present likelihood of your being actually called to undergo stripes and imprisonments for Christ's sake. But Christ is as much to you as he was to the apostles themselves-as truly by his blood your Saviour, and therefore as well entitled to be your Master. Ye owe him your hearts as much as they did, and your hearts he must have. To each of you he has given gifts and talents, though not gifts of healing, or of speaking with tongues miraculously. And to each of you he has assigned some special place and work, though not the work of an evangelist. Through evil report and good report ;-whether men oppose you or notwhether for the world you gain or lose by it ;diligently and perseveringly, and in the best use

of

of such talents as you have, you must occupy that place, fulfil that trust, and do the works of your calling, "as unto the Lord, and not unto men." And whatsoever cross lies in the way duty, whether the duty of your particular calling, as members of society; or the duty of your general calling, as members of Christ's body; you must deny yourselves and take up that cross, that so your duty may be discharged.

Thy will be done!" you must say to Christ, from first to last. In whatsoever state you are, whether full or hungry, abounding or suffering need, despised or honoured, prospering or afflicted, you must be therewith content, giving thanks always for all things, as men who know that all circumstances and conditions afford you the constant means of obeying and serving God, and that he can make all things work together for good to them that love him. Especially, ye must " put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness," and let men treat you as they may, never return evil for evil, but to the last lay yourselves out to be useful to them. In all time of conflict, you must have ever upon your minds what conflict your Master underwent for you; and in all toil and trial you must look, by faith, to the "rest that remaineth for the people of God," being well satisfied to toil on till ye are called thither.

And then, in the example of our Lord's deal

ings with his apostles, ye have a pattern of what ye may look for in the way of support. He had told them before, "In the world ye shall have tribulation;" but in me, he had said, "ye shall have peace.' "Was he not faithful, when, as ye have seen, they could so glory in tribulations, and when the joy of their hearts could so superabound, as to drown all discouraging sense both of shame and suffering. He that stood by them, and brought them through, in their heavier trials, can he not do as much for you in your so much lighter trials? Ye will be ashamed, I trust, to complain of this or that trouble-to despond under any difficulty-or to excuse yourselves in giving way to evil tempers, or in yielding to solicitations to sin under any circumstances in which ye can be placed. For hath he not the residue of the Spirit? And did he not declare concerning that Spirit, that when he should be sent, it should be to abide with the church for ever? You see what he did for the apostles. When you think of your own weakness, and of your enemies' strength-of trials and afflictions and crosses in the way to glory; and when you think of your attainments in godliness too, let these only teach you to pray without ceasing, "Put thou thy Spirit within us!" But that lesson let them teach you. You have

* John xvi. 33.

learned nothing till you have learned to wait continually upon God for strength. From the apostle's case you have seen that it is not more necessary to be born again of God, and to begin your course under his guidance, than it is to be kept by the power of God, through faith, unto the very end. Therefore look to the Lord, and pray to the Lord for this gift daily. If you will not fail to do so, the apostle's case instructs you also that you are safe, and as safe in one condition as in another.

VOL. III.

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SERMON XII.

ST. PAUL IN PROSPECT OF DEATH.

2 TIм. iv. 6, 7, 8.

"For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me at that day: and not to me only, but to all them that love his appearing."

THIS second epistle to Timothy was written, as appears from the 8th and 17th verses of the first chapter, when St. Paul was a prisoner at Rome: not, however, during that imprisonment which is recorded in the 28th chapter of the Acts; which was not a rigorous confinement, and from which he was, in due time, released; but during a second imprisonment, when he met with far severer treatment, and which ended in his being beheaded, in the year of our Lord sixty-six, as is