3. God has given you birth, body, soul, support, understanding, knowledge, &c., that you may love and serve him

*

give the fruit of devotion and good works to him. Have you done this? You have brought forth only lust, anger, envy, covetousness, &c. You have been like a mango tree loaded with makhal. Did God give you a fine understanding that you may study only wickedness, hypocrisy, &c. ? Did he give you tongues only to speak lies? hands to steal, and heads to be laid before a wooden idol? He made you and he preserves you, not for such purposes. You are worse than barren trees.

4. What fruit have you for all your pains and expenses with a barren tree? None at all. What good does God reap from you while you thus wickedly do nothing but sin? What pleasure has he by you? He looks on you only with pain.

5. In the fruit season you examine your trees; so God looks to see if you obey and love and serve him, and he remembers from year to year your fruitlessness.

6. As you cut down a barren tree, so will he in a little while cut down every fruitless person, by some disease or accident. He is the ruler of death. He will not delay, but will visit every one, and the barren will be cut down in wrath.

37. As you burn the barren trees, so God will cast sinners into hell.

8. But, remember that while wood can be consumed, your souls cannot be destroyed, but will burn from age to age. Alas! alas! who will be able to endure that burning!

9. God has not yet cut you down but is trying you. So now think upon these things, forsake your sins, and turn to God. 10. Jesus Christ has come to receive and save you. Believe on him without delay. Seek for a new and holy mind. God will give it, and then you may bring forth holy fruits.

11. Do not delay, remembering, that death is continually devouring. You often vow that if this year your barren tree does not give fruit, you will cut it down. So God is trying you. He is sparing you for this. Cease to do evil and serve the true God.t

The Rev. C.B. Leupolt thus illustrated Luke xiii. 24:"Having shown what is meant by the strait gate, and the

* A fruit like the apples of Sodom.

+ Translations of Select Iadian Tracts, p. 315.

disposition required of every one who would enter in, I described the different characters of persons who wished to enter, but could not. The first class were the worldly-minded. Behold,' I said (speaking as a Hindu would speak) behold, here comes a man he cares for nothing; he thinks not on God, or on the salvation of his immortal soul; he cares not for heaven or hell; his mind is engaged in the enjoyment of his pleasures. Yet if you ask him whether he expects to enter heaven, he will look at you with astonishment, and answer, • Of course I do.' Then look at him on his elephant, surrounded by his numerous followers, and in the enjoyment of all the comforts and pleasures of this life. He comes up to the strait gate, and believes that he will pass through without difficulty. But will he be able to pass through? One of the hearers arose, and exclaimed, No, never. He must come down from his elephant, or he will never be able to pass through, for the gateway is too narrow and low.' 'You are right,' I replied; and unless we follow the same plan, and descend from our elephants of carnal pleasure and worldly-mindedness, we shall never effect a passage through the strait gate. The second class were those of whom our Lord has said, that they cannot serve God and Mammon.' They are willing, on one side, to serve Christ; but at the same time, they wish to serve the world. One side of them is quite ready for their Master's service on the other side they have a large bundle of the world. Having described the contents of that bundle, I said, These persons feel confident that they will be able to pass through the strait gate: but will they?' "Never' exclaimed a man, unless they leave their bundles behind.' Yes, my friend,' I replied: "so it is. Unless they leave their bundles behind, they will never effect an entrance; for Christ will not receive a divided heart. Either we must

*

give up our hearts entirely to Him, or He will not accept them at all. He will either drive out sin or sin will drive Him out. He will either reign supreme, or He will not reign at all. The third class were the proud and self-righteous. Here I had only to describe a character which we daily meet with in Benares-a proud Mahometan. See,' I said, there he walks: he is sure of going to heaven; and why? Because he has done no one any harm; he pays every one his due; he says his prayers; gives his alms; and therefore God is bound to admit him into heaven. There he walks stately, and at a quick pace, couscious of his

merits and good deeds, and expects to rush through the strait gate into heaven.' As I said this, another rose up, and, with great emphasis, cried out, Let him stoop, stoop, or he will break his head.' I turned towards the man and said, Do you understand, my friend, what you say ?' He replied,' Yes, I think I do. If I have rightly understood you, that man, if he wishes to enter heaven, must leave his having done no one any harm, his paying every man his due, &c., behind, and come as a poor sinner. By stooping, I mean that he must humble himself, or he will never pass through the strait gate.' I replied,' Perfectly true. If we do not come as poor sinners unto Christ, and entreat Him to help us through the strait gate, we shall never be able to enter in.' "'*

The same principle which our Lord followed may be carried out with regard to Indian objects. Clarkson often made his tent the text of a discourse :

"You see this tent and all its several parts arranged together. You do not come to worship the tent, or offer prayers to it; but you come to converse with and hear me the inmate of the tent. Now this universe is like a tent which the Lord bas pitched : do not then worship it, but that God of wisdom and power by whom it was created."

t

Weitbrecht writes:

"One day, I preached a useful sermon by the help of an ointment. Passing through a village, I sat down before a shop, where some people were talking; the shopkeeper, an old man, seemed much distressed, and unfolding his cloth, showed me his wrist, which was severely injured, inquiring if I could do nothing for him. I got a salve out of the drawer of my palanquin, spread it on cloth, and laid it on the hurt, giving him a supply for the future. This kindness excited the admiration of the by-standers. Look,' said they, these padres are incarnations of mercy. Why do we show mercy ?' inquired I; why do we help the stranger ? Our religion teaches it; our Saviour, Jesus Christ, did the same. Does your religion teach thus? No: if a wayfaring man be sick under a tree, no Brahmin would think of saving his life by a cup of cold water, for his religion forbids it. I then asked the

* Recollections of an Indian Missionary, pp. 70-73.
+ Missionary Encouragements, p. 25.

L

man how he got the wound. By quarrelling; a Mussulman lifted up his club and knocked me down.' 'Then you see sin is the cause of it; do you know where sin comes from?'No.' I told him, and added, 'I have given you a plaster to cure your body, and I know of one to cure your soul.' I then preached the great and good Physician, and I believe a deep impression was left by my discourse about the plaster." Memoirs, p. 345. The Rev. C. B. Leupolt says:—

"We also make use of similes, drawn from the different objects we have before us. Thus, I have heard one Native Catechist speak of the well of sin. The public wells in India are all uncovered, and without a crane. I have made use of

this simile. I have said, 'We are all sinners: our forefather, Adam, fell into this well of sin; we, too, are therefore, born in this well the well is deep, wide, and full of weeds, so that it is impossible for any person to get out without assistance.' Some of our hearers will say, we Hindus have our Saviours.' On which I have replied: Very true; but, my friends, were these gods within the well of sin, or without it? They were, as may be seen from their works, within the well of sin; and if they could not extricate themselves from the well of sin, how is it possible for them to save us? The worst part of the case, however, is, that we in the well are not aware that our condition is so bad, because the well is so very deep that we have no light, and cannot see the condition in which we are; and if we are not delivered by a Saviour from above, we must all inevitably perish. Satan is the lord of the well. In this deplorable condition the Saviour finds us. He, as the Sun of Righteousness,' shines into the well. What do you think will be the first effects of this light? The unhappy creatures in the well will see their wretched condition; that is, Christ becomes their wisdom; but they are not yet delivered; they are merely awakened to their sinful state. Now, Christ commences a deliverance from the well of sin: He throws the rope of the gospel to them, and bids them lay hold of it. With the command to lay hold, He gives them power to do so. Those who lay hold on it by faith, He draws out and delivers from destruction. Having been drawn out of the well of sin, they now live in a new atmosphere: the Saviour does not leave them in the wretched filthy condition in which he found them. He washes and purifies them; not with the waters of their own well, for these cannot cleanse, but by

His own blood and by His Spirit. He commences a new work in them, and this work is sanctification. By drawing them out of the well of sin he gave them a right to live in a new kingdom. Now he proceeds to make them meet for enjoying it. It is now the time for washing. If he had commenced washing while they were in the well of sin, His labor would have been fruitless; but now they must walk and work in this kingdom, for the Saviour saith, Follow me, and bring forth the fruits of the Spirit.' This, however, is extremely difficult; for though the people of Christ are no longer subjects of the lord of the well, and though they are safely delivered from it, yet they are but weak creatures, who stumble and fall. Some desire to run before Christ, some by his side; nevertheless, amid much weakness and many infirmities, they are brought safely to heaven. And then they sing, It is all grace, grace! grace chose us, grace enlightened us, grace enabled us to lay hold on the rope, grace drew us out, grace purified us, and grace brought us safe to heaven. Grace, therefore, shall be the theme of our praise !""*

Lacroix, the "most eloquent of Bengali preachers," "turned to account a natural gift he possessed of devising striking similes, in which some clear analogy could be shewn to some principle of religion. These similes were constantly in his mouth, and as the Natives are very fond of them, his preaching was very acceptable."+

Graphic illustrations have great power even over a cultivated audience, as is shown by the popularity of preachers like Guthrie and Spurgeon.

All men take pleasure in narratives. Hence the historical parts of Scripture afford a variety of suitable subjects, e. g. the Creation and Fall, the Flood, the Call of Abraham, Elijah and the prophets of Baal, Daniel, and especially the Life of our Lord.

Paul's sermon at Athens is a perfect model of an

* Recollections, pp. 67-9.

Memoirs, p. 153. Examples are given pp. 154-156. See also Leupolt's Recollections, Salter's Book of Illustrations, Keach's Scripture Metaphors, Flavel's Husbandry Spiritualized, &c.