but this does not weaken their faithfulness, it rather confirms it.

66 So run, that ye may obtain." Once more I ask, can you trace your image here? Then you are spending life as you should spend it, for this describes life as it should be; as also do the corresponding passages from the Prayer-book.

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II. What we should be.

Oh! what a powerful witness is the text against the life of sinful indulgence, the life of slothful carelessness. Remember that Christian life is a race, and that God describes it as such. Now, what are the principal features in a real race? Effort in present action. Hope of future reward. So with the Christian race. Effort so great, so earnest, that sometimes the strong feeling of agony is involved in it. "Agonise," (this is our Lord's own word,) Agonise to enter into the kingdom of heaven." I do not say this to dishearten you, if you are an earnest seeker, but to urge you on if you are a slothful one. If you fancy that running your race to-day, and slackening your pace to-morrow; that sleepy prayers, an interrupted contest, and a heart halfyielded to God are enough, then let me tell you you are deceiving yourself, and Satan is deceiving you. All this is not enough. All these are half measures, and just as half measures never yet made a good scholar, a brave soldier, or a faithful servant, no more will they ever make a true Christian.

Whatever you do, pray that you may "shake off dull sloth," and, with the prayer fresh from your heart, rouse yourself to action. Picture to yourself a real race; the earnest, incessant effort of the man engaged in it; his turning neither to the right hand nor to the left, but keeping straight forward; his mind divided between two prevailing ideas, his race and his prize; his regardlessness of present fatigue

and labour; his ardent pursuit of the honour to be awarded him. History tells us that the prizes were set up to view in the middle of the course; this would naturally urge on those engaged in the race, and encourage them to persevere. Our prize is again and again set before us in God's word; only let us keep our eye fixed on it, and it will act as powerfully on us. This is how our Lord ran His race on earth. For the joy that was set before Him, He despised the cross and endured the shame. This shows us that He kept His prize in view, and that He allowed nothing to retard His progress. He met all hindrances with a holy contempt, or a patient endurance. Let the thought of Christ and His travail strike a death-blow to your self-indulgence, self-love, and slothfulness.

If you are living in sin, you are not running your race at all, you are not even in the race-course. There is one running a race for your soul, but that one is Satan, and oh, what energy he puts forth! There is no energy that will bear any comparison with that employed by Satan against you, excepting: the energy employed by Christ for you. You may be a very careless, reckless man: you may be giving yourself up to a life of sin, hating godliness and turning away from all that is pure and holy, but could you only see things as they really are, could the veil that covers the spiritual world be uplifted, could you see Satan's pursuit of your soul, and the soul's ready obedience to him, could you see the fearful amount of woe wrapped up in that one word (so often perhaps on your lips), Damnation; could you see the exceeding greatness of Christ's love for you, yes even now for you; could you see the exceeding glory of that eternal life which you are literally.. throwing away, oh, I do believe you would tremble! I do believe that for a time at least, your careless

ness would vanish, and your soul would desire that prize you have hitherto spurned. Will you not be persuaded to choose now, once and for ever, the Friend who has such a wonderful treasury of gifts for us, gifts that precisely correspond with our need? Do we come to Him as sinful ones? There is the gift of pardon. Do we come to Him as helpless ones? There is the gift of strength. My desire for you is, that before another day closes, you will make your choice for good and not for evil. "Choose ye this day whom ye will serve." Choose between Christ and our great enemy, Satan; heaven and hell; salvation and condemnation. Say, "Here Lord am I, send me.' Here am I, a lost sheep, oh, cleanse away the stains of my past wanderings: then send me to my race, and grant me power to so run that I may obtain.'

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Above all things, bear in mind that our race on earth is begun, continued, and ended in Christ. People sometimes forget this, and consequently suffer disappointment, for, commencing their course in their own strength, failure attends their every step. Start from the true starting-point. At the risk of tiring you by repetition, I must impress this on you. The starting-point of the Christian race is to turn to our gracious Saviour, and lay our heavy burden of sin at His feet, imploring pardon. (We must lay aside every weight, and there is nothing that clogs the steps of some people more than the load of unforgiven sin.) Then resolve in His strength to go and sin no more," at the same time praying for that grace and girding yourself to the life-long struggle of using that grace. Perhaps we can hardly describe the Christian race more clearly, than by speaking of it, as a daily, hourly use of the grace given to us by God. There are two more remarks I wish to make on this subject.

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The prize allotted to the man in actual racing was fairly earned by him, and he could claim it as his right, his due. But such is not the case with our Crown. Do what we will, we can never earn it, never feel that we deserve it. No, the Crown of Life is given, freely given to all who seek it. The Crown of Life is earned indeed, but by the labours of another. Christ has purchased that Crown for you, for me, for us all. Only the way to the Crown leads through the race-ground of the Christian life, and he who would wear the Crown must run the race.. The brow of the victor in ancient days was wreathed with a corruptible crown, composed of wild olive or laurel or parsley; the honours they had were all of the earth earthy, and would fade with time but to us, an incorruptible crown is awarded, one that will last through the long, long ages of Eternity.

And not only did the Crown differ from ours, but, oh! how unlike was the race in one important particular! The man ran his race in his unaided strength. He had nothing but mere human endeavour to rest on; there was no one by to help him or strengthen him. With us, we do not move one step alone, He who is our great forerunner is always close at hand, strengthening us when weak, holding us up when falling, and carefully removing out of our way every impassable hindrance.

"All unseen the Master walketh

By the toiling servant's side;
Comfortable words He speaketh,
While His hands uphold and guide.
Grief nor pain nor any sorrow
Rends the heart to Him unknown,
He to-day and He to-morrow,
Grace sufficient gives His own.
Holy strivings nerve and strengthen
Long endurance wins the Crown,
When the evening shadows lengthen,
Thou shalt lay thy burden down."

My dear friend, may Christ who knows all your difficulties, temptations, and trials, place you in the Christian race, if you are not already there, or urge you on if you are; so that forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth to those things which are before, you may be ever pressing forward toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

M.

In the second part of the subject, I have confined my remarks to the figure employed by the Scriptural text.

A Letter to Christian Soldiers on the Divine

Life.

THE DIVINE LIFE-A YOUTH.
"Let no man despise thy youth."

EAR FRIENDS,-Although the above words were written to a young Christian bishop by an inspired apostle they are quite applicable to the case of such of you as have but recently become aware of the blessedness of eternal life in Jesus.

I have already reminded you that the Divine life is a new life, and as such it has its birth-pangs as it enters on the inclement atmosphere of a sinful world; it has, too, its infancy, needing good and wholesome food, the unadulterated "milk of the Word," if it is to grow at all. And as surely, if it be the true work of the Spirit, and cherished by your own diligent use of the means at your disposal, the Word of God and prayer," it will grow. You will pass from from being babes in Christ into what St. John calls " strong young men." It is just about this vigorous Christian youth that I would write to you to-day.