1. The inspiration of a joyous influence. Duty, motive, impulse, all exalted into Christian happiness. "Rejoice evermore." Such joy is a glorious power. Let us not make a mistake here. Fine feelings, exuberant emotions, loud hallelujahs, the thrill and shout and ecstasy, may deceive us. If they exhaust themselves in sensational excitement, they do deceive us, and that most awfully. Joy as a fruit of the Spirit is a giving joy, a sacrificing joy, a joy in the cross by which we are crucified to the world and the world unto us.

2. And we learn that even "deep poverty" is no obstruction to helping others. It often hinders us from doing what we would; but in the estimate of the Lord Jesus, the heart of this matter is in the "could," not in the would. "She hath done what she could." Capacity is always a mystery. It surprises us ever, and more and more, and in nothing is it so surprising as in the charitable heart with small means at its command. The glory of giving is in the quality of love, and it never fails to find something to bestow. "She of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had." If this poor widow could spare "two mites," who can plead depth of poverty? Notice that St. Paul emphasizes the depth of poverty in the Macedonian Church. If it had been simply a case of poverty, the example would not have been so instructive, and, accordingly, we find the apostle citing his cases from such as had to make sacrifices of personal comfort in order to aid those poorer than themselves. So that while in the Acts of the Apostles we hear of "possessors of lands or houses" selling them and. laying the prices at the feet of the apostles, this fades from view in the tragic deaths of Ananias and Sapphira. But the image of the poor widow returns to us in the Epistles, with many suggestions as to the class of persons who do the most of the steady Christian giving. What is further noteworthy is the apostle's description of the self-moved generosity of these Macedonians. "Willing of themselves." Liberality is not a common virtue, and self-induced liberality is its rarest form. Men wait to be urged, begged, entreated; special occasions set are for special efforts; fine speakers are engaged; and the whole system of giving, or very much of it, proceeds on the habitual reluctance of giving for the support of the gospel. As to spontaneousness in this matter, who thinks of it, who trusts it? Now, we do not suppose that all religious people in the apostolic age were like these Macedonians. We know they were not. Yet, consider this fact, viz. they were the persons held up as shining examples of what liberality ought to be in the Church of Christ. And this accords precisely with the incidents mentioned concerning Mary of Bethany, and the poor widow and her mites, and the disciples after Pentecost who disposed of their property to hell, the poor. It was cordial and voluntary action, no external agency operating to give inducements. Without pressing this point too far, we must say that whatever utility belongs to the machinery of collecting funds for Church uses (and this seems to be necessary), it is nevertheless clear enough that spontaneous liberality is the truest, noblest, surest, mode of cultivating this grace in our hearts. So, unquestionably, the apostle thought. With what a glow he writes! "According to their power;" nay, it was more than this, for they went "beyond their power [beyond their means];" and so earnest was their purpose that they prayed the apostle to receive their gifts and let them share the grace and fellowship of ministering to the saints. No doubt many of these men found life a hard struggle, and for them, in more senses than one, "without were fightings, within were fears." Yet they deemed it a privilege to give; they coveted earnestly the best gift, which was the gift of giving; they prayed "with much entreaty" that they might participate in a work which was most blessed. To let such an opportunity slip was more than they could bear. And this conduct exceeded his expectations; for they had given themselves first to the Lord Jesus, and then, anxious to show their affection for the apostle, had given themselves in this special matter to him. Heart and property; what a consecration! What a page in spiritual biography! Out of "deep poverty;" what chorus of voices ever rose like this, pleading that these Macedonians might be permitted to share the grace of ministration! "The short and simple annals of the poor" have added much to our English literature, nor is it extragavant to claim that this is one of the most praiseworthy marks of that distinctive genius which has signalized its excellence in so many departments of poetry and fiction. But do we realize our indebtedness to the Bible for this beautiful and humanizing element in English literature? Here, in this single chapter from the Apostle Paul, what a touching picture of Christian poverty, surrendering means it could ill afford to spare, and doing it "with a self-dedication which involved a complete renunciation of all personal interests" (Kling)! - L.

I. THEY GAVE UNDER VERY UNFAVOURABLE CIRCUMSTANCES.

1. They were in much affliction. (Ver. 2.) This might have suggested special care of themselves rather than of others. Suffering often produces selfishness. Our pain often prevents us from realizing the pains of others.

2. They were in deep poverty. (Ver. 2.) How could they give? Charity must begin at home, and does not "deep poverty" demonstrate that it must end there? How inconsiderate, and indeed absurd, to ask them to give! Was it not their duty to be provident? to hold some reserve in store against possibly worse times? No people talk more of duty than those who intend to violate it. The Macedonians saw the high duty of charity, and nobly performed that duty.

II. THOUGH AFFLICTED AND POOR, THEY GAVE LARGELY. (Ver. 3.) Their danger was not that they might give too little, but that they might give too much. "Beyond their power." Affliction and poverty combined could not cramp their large heartedness. Many ask how little they can give; the Macedonian Christians asked how much. A modern curse of the Church is small giving. There are too many threepenny-bit Christians.

III. THEY GAVE VOLUNTARILY. (Ver. 3.) Compulsory kindness is of little worth. And there are other compulsions than physical, "Voluntary offerings" are often anything but voluntary.

IV. THEY GAVE WITHOUT URGENT APPEAL. They gave "of their own accord." They did not require the importunities of a "collection sermon." They required only to know of the need; the charity was spontaneous.

V. THEY BEGGED FOR THE PRIVILEGE OF GIVING. (Ver. 4.) They longed to help, and supplicated for a share of the good work. Giving, to them, was a privilege - a gain, not a loss. Giving was not a thing to be avoided, but a thing to be sought. Perhaps they remembered the words of the Lord, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Had they given in an assembly it would not have been necessary to have the collection in the middle of the meeting to avoid a stampede and empty plates at the close. Much giving of today is not an illustration of charity, but a burlesque of it.

VI. THEY GAVE WITH MUCH JOY. (Ver. 2.) They reaped the firstfruits of charity at the time of the seed sowing! Such are the wonders of spiritual agriculture. The grudging giver defrauds no one so much as himself. To miss the joy of giving is to miss how much! There are few luxuries so sweet as the luxury of charity,

VII. THEY GAVE THEMSELVES AS WELL AS THEIR MONETARY CONTRIBUTION. (Ver. 5.)

1. To the Lord. They solemnly dedicated themselves and their belongings to the Most High. 'Twas easy for them to surrender a part when they had surrendered the whole. We give haltingly because we do not believe the Scripture which saith, "Ye are not your own." Our gifts cannot be acceptable to God if we withhold ourselves or parts of ourselves.

2. To the apostle. As to a servant of their Lord. For service. When they surrendered themselves to God they did not surrender themselves to idleness, but to activity. Many present to God a mass of indolence. Some consecrated people seem consecrated to do nothing. The Macedonian conduct exceeded the apostolic expectation, not the Divine. This was what God expected, and what he expects from us. It was "by the will of God" (ver. 5). PRACTICAL.

1. Here is an example for us. Though we abound in faith, utterance, knowledge, earnestness (ver. 7), yet if we have not this practical love we are no better than "sounding brass" (1 Corinthians 13:1).

2. We can attain to this only as the Macedonian Christians attained to it, by "the grace of God" (ver. 1). We do not want more money in our pockets, but more grace in our hearts. God can work this work in us. Let us commit ourselves into his hands, that this miracle may be wrought in us also. - H.

I. A MODEL AS THE OBJECTS OF DIVINE GRACE. "We do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the Churches of Macedonia." By "grace" here we are to understand the special favour of God, and the precise "gifts" with which they were endowed. The disposition and the power to give is to be regarded as a divinely bestowed talent or trust, and as a special sign of the Divine favour. The gift of benevolence, charity, generosity, is as truly a Divine trust or bestowment as the gift of healing, of preaching, or of tongues. And, like all other Divine gifts, it is dependent on recipiency, preparedness to use such gifts aright. Divine bestowments on Churches are never made at haphazard, upon any kind of favouritism, or in the exercise of any so-called sovereignty. Neither Churches nor individuals can get free from the responsibility of being ready to receive. The loving and thoughtful spirit of the Philippians, and the studious openness of the Bereans, and the suffering experiences of the Thessalonians, prepared them to receive this special grace of God unto generosity and brotherly charity. Illustrate and impress this point, that nowadays Churches lack "grace" because they are not in attitudes and moods fitting them for its reception. We are not straitened in God, in God's provisions, or in God's willingness, but we are sadly straitened in ourselves, in our unreadiness and unfitness to receive. Of God it is said, "He giveth more grace;" but of us it must be said, "Ye have not because ye ask not, or because ye ask amiss." Illustrating how God delays his bestowments until there is the fitting attitude for their reception, the Prophet Hosea (Hosea 2:21, 22) represents God as saying, "It shall come to pass in that day, I will hear, saith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they shall hear the earth; and the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel." When all unite to cry for the refreshing rains, then, and only then, shall the windows be opened, and grace in copious showers descend.

II. A MODEL AS RESPONDING TO DIVINE GRACE. For the grace may come, and be neglected or misused. Compare the expression St. Paul uses concerning himself (1 Corinthians 15:10): "By the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." It is a great and ever working law that all Divine gifts that are unused or undervalued will be taken away or lost. The one condition of the renewal and enlargement of grace is that we have faithfully responded to the grace we have had. We retain the gift of preaching only by preaching, and the gift of charity only by the exercise of generosity and self-denial. The remarkable thing about the Macedonian Churches, the thing which made them a model to other Churches, was that they so nobly responded to the grace that rested upon them, and acted in so earnest and self-sacrificing a manner. So often Churches have more grace than they follow out, and so they lose the grace. The grace abounds, but the response to the grace is set under unworthy limitations.

III. A MODEL AS SELF-DENYING. The apostle notices two things which might reasonably have excused the Macedonians from sharing in the contribution.

1. Their persecution, and the anxieties and distresses which it had brought them.

2. Their poverty, for the Church was not gathered from the rich; the poor of this world were made "rich in faith." So their large and generous gifts were a delightful surprise, and a testimony to the power of Christian principle upon them. Christian motive mastered worldly considerations; and their gifts became peculiarly acceptable to God, because upon them rested the Christly stamp of self-sacrifice. St. Paul commends, in these Macedonians, just what our Lord commended when he directed attention to the poor widow who cast two mites into the treasury - "all her living."

IV. A MODEL AS THOROUGHLY EARNEST IN GENEROUS SCHEMES. St. Paul dwells, in a very delighted way, upon their willingness and their earnestness. It was not merely that they gave, but that they gave in such a hearty way, so cheerfully, under the sway of such high motives, and with such evident warmth of affection for himself. If it is true that "what is worth doing is worth doing well," it is especially true of the Christian duty of brotherly kindness as finding expression in self-denying gifts. The great blessing of a gift is the spirit in which it is made. The value is taken away when it is given grudgingly. God loveth - and so do men - the cheerful, willing giver. - R.T.

I. THE PRIMARY AND ALL-IMPORTANT DEDICATION IS THAT OF THE WHOLE PERSONAL NATURE UNTO THE LORD.

1. This appears when it is recollected that the Lord has first given himself for us. His sacrifice thus becomes the ground of our consecration.

2. Our very constitution, taken in connection with our natural relation to our Lord, points to such a dedication. "No man liveth unto himself." Our "chief end is to glorify God."

3. This spiritual consecration is pre-eminently acceptable to God. His demand is, "Give me thine heart." Every gift which does not flow from this is vain and worthless in his sight.

II. THE DEDICATION OF SELF TO THE LORD SHOULD BE FOLLOWED BY THE DEDICATION OF SELF TO THE LORD'S PEOPLE. Paul looked for the brotherhood, the confidence, the cooperation of his converts, and indeed of all Christian people whom Divine providence might bring into contact with him. The Corinthians apparently wished to be personally associated with him in the ministration to the Judaean Christians who were in poverty, and their wish was a source of satisfaction and joy to him.

III. TRUE CHRISTIAN CONSECRATION INVOLVES THE GIFT OF PROPERTY TO THE LORD'S CAUSE. It is sometimes objected against calls for liberality that God cannot be enriched by our giving. This is true, yet God's people may receive advantage, and Christ has shown us that what is done for his people is done for himself. As most people value their possessions, their generosity is a proof of the sincerity of their love and the reality of their consecration.

"How can I, Lord, withhold
Life's brightest hour
From thee; or gathered gold,
Or any power?
Why should I keep one precious thing from thee,
When thou hast given thine own dear self for me?" = - t.

I. CONSECRATION OF ITS MEMBERS TO THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. Before they made their contribution to the relief of the poor saints elsewhere, the Macedonian Christians "gave their own selves to the Lord." Though poor and afflicted, happy were they and generous, because their conversion was thorough, and their devotion to Christ hearty and unfeigned. By profession all Christians give themselves to the Lord; but alas! in some cases it is a mere profession. Not every one so believes and lives as to entitle him to say, "I am my Lord's, and he is mine." This, however, is the true ideal. "Thy people shall be freewill offerings in thy day of power." And without this spirit in its members no Church is strong or pleasing to Christ, no matter how venerable its history, how admirable its constitution, or how well conducted its services.

II. SUBJECTION TO APOSTOLIC GUIDANCE BY THE WILL OF GOD. Some of the Macedonian Christians gave themselves to St. Paul as his companions and assistants in missionary labour. Such were Sopater, Secundus, Aristarchus, and Epaphroditus; of whom the first was a Berean, the second and third were Thessalonians, and the fourth was a Philippian. But these choice men were only favourable specimens of the Churches to which they belonged, and which were pervaded by reverence for the apostle and gratitude for his labours. Every true Church of Christ must be apostolic. It must stand on the apostolic testimony and doctrine, follow apostolic direction and practice, and both inhale and exhale the spirit of apostolic devotion to Christ. Of the history and writings of the apostles enough is extant to guide and comfort every Church that is, like those of Macedonia, ready to learn of an apostle by the will of God. We are "built on the foundation of apostles and prophets." On the twelve foundations of the wall of the holy city are inscribed the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. EXHORTATION. Follow those of Macedonia. Give yourselves to the Lord, and then to the apostolic word and fellowship. Present yourselves a living sacrifice. - F.

I. ALL OF US ARE, IN OUR MEASURE, RELIGIOUS. There may still be godless audiences, such as Whitefield gathered at the fairs, or Wesley and Hill at the mouths of colliery pits. But in the ordinary assemblies in our Churches there is not a man, woman, or child who is not, in some degree, religious. They are religious

(1) as belonging to a Christian country;

(2) as baptized into mystical relations with the Church of Christ;

(3) as by acts of formal worship making Christian profession; or

(4) as variously related to Christian families.

But the question comes again and again before us - Is our kind and degree of religion satisfactory?

II. IN TOO MANY CASES OUR RELIGION IS WHOLLY MATTER OF ASSOCIATION.

1. We are members of a Christian home, and share in the religion of the home. And this is, for the children, an every way beautiful and hopeful beginning of religious life.

2. We are affected by the tone of the spheres we occupy. Illustrate by young people in situations, where they join in family worship and in attendance at the house of God; also by the influence of Christian friendships.

3. We are swayed by our near relationship with those who are godly, as in the case of the husband and wife. But the question comes - Is this all our religion? Is it enough? Is it saving? Can any reliance be placed upon it? Will it stand in the coming testing day? It is so far good. It is a favourable breeze catching the sails, but it is not safety in the harbour. It is the angel's voice in our ear crying, "Flee for thy life;" it is even the angel's hand on our arm, as on the arm of Lot; but it is not safety in Zoar. There is a familiar old saying that "Hell is paved with good intentions;" it might have been with "good associations." Such associations are good if they are used as helps, but not if they are relied on as sufficient. They are only evil if they are allowed to hinder personal anxiety. Religion is personal or it is nothing.

III. GOD, BY HIS PROVIDENCE AND BY HIS WORD, IS EVER URGING US TO MAKE RELIGION PERSONAL. Providence breaks up our associations. A time comes when the child passes into manhood or womanhood, and must learn to go alone. Then changes and testing times come, which show what the religion of association has been worth. Illustrate by the child going to boarding school; the youth to business; the assistant changing his situation; the man or woman going through times of sorrow. In each God is wanting to lead the soul to personal religion. God's preached Word, with its various persuasions, is ever bearing on the same point. It is a singling out of the individual; a two-edged sword to the individual; a pressure of the personal claims of God on the individual. Its voice is, "Thou art the man;" "To you is the word of this salvation sent." It labours to secure a personal decision for Christ, a giving of "our own selves to the Lord." Is, then, your religion yet no more than the religion of your home and associations? And is your manhood come, your womanhood come? Remember that you are not saved, only associated with salvation. This is the question which should set you upon anxious self-searchings, "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" It is not enough to be close by salvation, to be even on its doorstep. Enter in. Strive to enter in. Strive to enter in now. - R.T.

I. LOVE TO CHRIST IS THE MIGHTIEST OF ALL SPIRITUAL PRINCIPLES, Human life abounds with evidence of the might of love; every family, every society, has some exemplifications of the power of love to overcome difficulties, to prompt to exertion, to sustain under self-denied. And all Christendom in every age has shown that love to Christ is an unrivalled motive to holiness, to patience, to benevolence. The hymns of the Church's literature, and the gifts and labours recorded in the Church's annals, are alike proof of the vitality and efficacy of Christian love.

II. THE PROFESSION OF LOVE TO CHRIST IS NOT ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED BY THE REALITY. The early disciples were admonished to "love unfeigned," were warned, "Let love be without dissimulation." Doubtless in all ages there have been those who have deceived themselves, and have imagined that they loved Christ, because they have felt some glow of admiration towards him, but who in time of trial have made it manifest that they had no depth of love. Weighed in the balance, they are found wanting. The soul is brought face to face with its own weakness and worthlessness, inconsistency and treachery.

III. THE LORD JESUS TESTS IN MANY WAYS THE SINCERITY OF HIS PEOPLE'S PROFESSION OF LOVE.

1. By his bodily absence from them, which shows whether they have an attachment to their professed Lord which can abide even though not fostered by sight and constant personal intercourse.

2. By permitting rival powers and persons to invite the supreme affection of the heart. These, though they cannot satisfy, may please, and the Lord of all suffers their attractiveness; for the love which cannot abide amid rival attractions is poor indeed.

3. By his demand that we should surrender what is dear to us, if to retain it conflicts with our supreme attachment to Christ. The young ruler was subjected to this test. In some form it comes to many. Feigned love will then go away, even though it go away grieved.

4. By our necessary and probationary contact with an unloving world. In the presence of the unspiritual and unsympathizing, the sincerity of the Christian's love is often sorely tested.

5. The trials and sufferings of life not only exercise the faith, they test the Jove, of the professed follower of Jesus. The storm proves whether the vessel is seaworthy or not.

6. By enjoining upon his people obedience to commandments which are contrary to our natural inclinations. Love can vanquish even the attachment to a "darling sin."

7. Love is tested when it is invited to direct itself towards others also, for Jesus' sake. Who can love Christ, and yet hate his brother, for whom Christ died? - T.

I. CHRIST'S NATIVE RICHES CONTRASTED WITH HIS VOLUNTARY POVERTY,

1. His proper rightful wealth is apparent, not only from his nature as the Son of God, but from his evident command, during his earthly ministry, of all the resources of nature. Bread, wine, money, he could multiply or create; the earth and the sea obeyed his will; diseases and demons fled at his bidding.

2. His poverty was not compulsory; it was a "grace." We see it in his incarnation, in which he emptied himself of his glory; in his ministry, passed in a lowly and all but destitute condition of life; in his refusal to use his power for selfish ends; in his cheerful submission to a shameful death. Compare the glory which he claimed to have had with the Father before the world was, with the homelessness and poverty of his life and the desertion and ignominy of his death, and his "grace" appeals to every just mind, to every sensitive heart.

II. OUR NATIVE SPIRITUAL POVERTY CONTRASTED WITH OUR ACQUIRED SPIRITUAL WEALTH.

1. Our natural destitution is undeniable; by sin we have lost our possessions, our inheritance, our powers of acquisition, and are left resourceless and friendless. Apart from the interposition of Christ, and where Christianity is unknown, such is still the state of man.

2. Christ's humiliation was for the sake of man's spiritual enrichment. Only by condescension, compassion, and sacrifice could man be reached. Thus he drew near to us, and imparted to us of his own true and Divine riches, of knowledge, of righteousness, of favour, and of glory.

3. By Christ's mediation all things are ours, God, giving Christ, gives with him all good things. "I have all things and abound," is the testimony of every right-minded and appreciative disciple of Christ. The history of the Church is the history of the enrichment of the race; and this in turn is the pledge and promise of the inestimable and inexhaustible riches of eternity. - T.

I. HOW RICH THE SON OF GOD WAS.

1. In possessions. All things were made by him. All things were his. Not this world only, but all worlds. Not one race of creatures, but all races and orders.

2. In power. Omnipotence untrammelled and unrepressed.

3. In homage.

(1) The adoration of the heavenly hosts; and

(2) their perfect obedience to every command and wish.

4. In the love and fellowship of the Father.

5. In purest happiness.

II. HOW POOR HE BECAME.

1. In condition.

(1) The Godhead veiled in humanity.

(2) The Divine power restricted.

(3) The God of joy transformed into the Man of sorrows.

2. In circumstances.

(1) At his birth. His cradle a manger. An outcast; no room for him in the inn; a foreshadowing of the whole earthly life.

(2) At Nazareth an artisan, earning bread by the sweat of his brow, standing thus so closely to fallen Adam.

(3) As a preacher, dependent upon casual charity.

(4) As a traveller, journeying in penury.

(5) For his triumphal entry, dependent upon strangers.

(6) As a prisoner, stripped of the little he possessed. "They parted my garments."

(7) His dying bed, a cross; his last resting place, a borrowed tomb.

3. In surroundings.

(1) Instead of homage, mockery and insult.

(2) Few friends. One of these a traitor, and the remnant faithless at the supreme moment.

(3) Heaven darkened to him. "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

III. THIS MARVELLOUS TRANSFORMATION AND ITS CAUSE.

1. It was purely voluntary. He gave himself. "No man taketh it from me ... I lay down my life" (John 10:18, 15).

2. It was prompted by love. "Ye know the grace," the spontaneous, unmerited love. The compulsion was the compulsion of compassion and affection.

3. It had for its object the enrichment of men.

(1) Men were poor.

(a) Always dependent.

(b) Through sin, had forfeited all title to things bestowed by God, all title to the Divine favour, all title to brighter prospects.

(c) Thus were poor deservedly.

(2) Through Christ's poverty men are made rich. Those who are redeemed by Christ lose the poverty which is inseparable from sin, and:

(a) Gain holiness.

(b) Become partakers of the Divine nature.

(c) Receive the adoption of children and become heirs of God.

(d) Become inheritors of the heavenly kingdom.

(e) Obtain present and future joy.

(f) Become sharers in the glory which Christ for a while set aside. "The glory which thou hast given me I have given unto them" (John 17:22).

IV. CHRIST IS HERE OUR EXAMPLE.

1. If Christ did this for us, how ready we should be to do what lies in our power for others! In doing it to them, we show our love to him.

2. How small our sacrifice must be compared to his!

3. Self-sacrifice makes us like Christ. He not only said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive;" he himself tasted this blessedness. And he gave what? He gave himself for us. - H.

I. THE SAVIOUR'S WEALTH. Of the riches of his pre-existent glory who can adequately speak? Who can tell the wealth of Divine power and dignity and love in the Word which was with God and was God - all the angels of God his servants, all the works of God full of his praise? But this is not a subject on which to dilate. It is above the reach of our comments and illustrations. Read John 1.; Colossians 1.; Hebrews 1.

II. THE SAVIOUR'S IMPOVERISHMENT. (Comp. Philippians 2:5-11.) Our Lord's participation of the Divine essence was not, could not, be surrendered. But the form of God could be and was laid aside. The form cannot be without the being and nature; but the being and nature may dispense with the form. So the Son of God in his grace toward us assumed the form of a man, and that in low estate - the form of a servant. He accepted a lowly human rank, with no attendants on his person but such as followed him in love, and no house of his own wherein to lay his head at night. In wisdom, indeed, and all that constitutes moral wealth and dignity, Jesus of Nazareth was rich; but in earthly station and treasure he was poor, and poor by choice. See him in youth in the carpenter's house, eating the bread of the working man with cheerfulness. In the little town there must have been many a piece of furniture, and on the farms and vineyards around many a tool, which had been under the human hands of the Son of God. See him on foot on the rough roads of Palestine, while others rode past on horses and mules. See him in the days of his ministry dependent on any who pleased to minister to his necessities; at last deserted by his friends and insulted by his foes - despised and rejected of men. Truly he became poor.

III. THE SAVIOUR'S GRACE. "For your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be enriched." In this short statement the whole work of substitution and redemption is implied. You are enriched through his poverty, blessed because of his suffering, accepted by reason of his rejection, reconciled through his death. It is evident that the riches thus secured to those that believe are not treasures of this world, but of the same order with the riches which the Saviour laid aside for a season. They receive the privilege of sonship with God, and therefore also the heirship of all things with Christ Jesus. The Son of God became man, and a poor man, that they, being men, and poor men, might be owned as sons of God. Dwell upon the riches in redemption, regeneration, forgiveness, justification, adoption, sanctification, comfort, patience, the earnest of the inheritance now, and the inheritance itself at his coming. And all because he became poor for your sakes. You get sweetness out of sorrow, glory out of shame, strength from weakness, wealth through poverty, and life through death.

IV. THE PRACTICAL INFLUENCE OF CONSIDERING THE SAVIOUR'S GRACE.

1. Not to raise a foolish admiration of poverty for its own sake. At one time this text was cited in support of lazy beggary. The mendicant friars quoted it, insisting that the Lord himself was a mendicant, and that this must be the most holy and Christ-like state. Great schoolmen debated this, and papal bulls dealt with this notion. Such questions we can no longer discuss with seriousness. Property is not to be abandoned by Christians, but wisely administered. The rich and the poor are to continue together in the Church, each condition having its own duties and its own attendant temptations.

2. To set our hearts on the true riches - faith and good works, a calm conscience, and affections set on things above. He is rich who has a patient spirit, a pure heart, a heavenly mind, and a hope of glory.

3. To live and give that others may be blessed. Be generous in service and gifts to the Church and the poor. Be willing to communicate, ready to distribute. Otherwise do not allege that you have the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. You have not felt the constraint of his love or the beauty of his example. - F.

(1) from riches to poverty;

(2) from poverty to riches;

but here the apostle contrasts Christ's exchange from riches to poverty with our exchange, through Christ, from poverty to riches, and this is the double exchange on which we propose to dwell.

I. THE FIRST EXCHANGE. Christ - from riches to poverty. Christ's riches may be treated under the headings

(1) rank;

(2) wealth;

(3) pleasure.

Or we may say that he was rich

(1) in his Divine nature;

(2) in the infinite love and acceptance of the Father;

(3) in the adoration of all holy beings;

(4) in possession of all the wealth and joy of heaven.

Christ's poverty, which was a comparative thing, may be brought out by presenting such contrasts as

(1) God - man;

(2) son - servant;

(3) at home - homeless;

(4) rich - empty;

(5) happy - suffering.

He became poor by

(1) giving up the wealth of heaven;

(2) in his birth as a poor man's child;

(3) in his lowly station as one of the common people;

(4) in his death time of sorest humiliation.

Such a condescension in incarnation had never before been conceived. It surpasses thought. It is the exceeding great mystery which the eternal ages will not fathom. It is "so great love;" it is "what manner of love"

II. THE SECOND EXCHANGE. We - from poverty to riches. By our poverty we need not understand our earthly conditions, seeing that poverty is but a relative thing, and depends upon the degree in which a man matches his circumstances. The man who has little and wants little is not poor; the man who has little and wants much is the man who can alone be called "poor." Our real poverties are the conditions to which we have reduced ourselves by our sins. See how much we have thus lost, so that we are become poor indeed.

(1) Lost harmony with the world;

(2) lost peace within;

(3) lost brotherhood with men;

(4) lost fellowship with God.

Then what are the riches we attain through Christ Jesus? They are riches for the souls, which are our real selves; they are not any mere riches of circumstances. They consist in

(1) the smile and favour of God;

(2) the love of a living and Divine Friend;

(3) the prospect of an eternal glory.

Or we may say that we become rich

(1) in the hope that Jesus brought;

(2) in the words that Jesus spoke;

(3) in the love to us that Jesus showed;

(4) and in the salvation that Jesus secured.

But no human words can exhaust our riches in Christ Jesus.

III. THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THESE TWO EXCHANGES. "For your sakes." The one exchange was made in order to accomplish the other. To bless us Christ must condescend to become one of us. Illustrate by the missionary making himself a Chinaman, and living all alone among the people that he might reach them with the gospel message. Or by the Moravian missionary, giving up friendship, love, and hope, to enter the lazar-house and try to teach and save the lepers. And what did Christ do for us when he had thus humbled himself to take our nature on him? It is said that "he went about doing good," and that was his way of making everybody rich with

(1) blessings;

(2) truth; and

(3) salvation.

And St. Paul appeals to the Corinthians and. to us, saying, "Ye know the grace." But do we know? Have we felt the persuasion and attraction that are in such "love Divine, all love excelling"? - R.T.

I. TO WILL.

1. Charity must be voluntary. No one can make us will. We can be made to give, but such giving is morally worthless. God loveth a cheerful giver, because a cheerful giver is in all certainty a voluntary giver. The "voluntary system" is not one form of charity; it is the only form. Unless we willingly give, the less said about our charity the better; for we have none!

2. The "willing must be rightly prompted. True charity means heart love. The coin is base unless it bears this stamp. Though it may pass current amongst men, God will arrest and condemn it. Motives in giving should be carefully studied; not others' motives, but ours!

II. TO DO. Some are charitable in intention, not in action. Fruit trees are sometimes destitute of fruit, but to those thus symbolized there is but little encouragement in the fate of that barren tree which confronted Christ as he walked from Bethany to Jerusalem. Charity must be spiritual, but it must be practical also. Our love will never feed' the hungry nor clothe the naked; and if our love does not prompt us to do, it is of less value than a mote in the sunbeam. Faith without works is dead, and charity without works is dead, buried, and rotting in its grave.

III. TO GIVE ACCORDING TO OUR ABILITY. (Ver. 12.) Not according to what others give. We are apt to give according to the ability of somebody else. Perhaps when we judge of our own ability we had better ask God to help us. There are two occasions when a man's possessions are apt to dwindle - the one when he makes out his income tax return, and the other when he is asked for a subscription. We need much grace rightly to estimate our own resources. Charitable appeals are apt to derange the laws of arithmetic and to lead to astonishing results.

IV. TO GIVE JUDICIOUSLY.

1. The needs of any case should be carefully considered. Not to make them less than they are, but to know them as they are. To give to undeserving cases is not only to waste our substance, but to do a vast amount of mischief.

2. We are not required to impoverish ourselves that others may be enriched. (Ver. 13.) Though, if we had tendencies in this direction, perhaps we should not be travelling away from our Master's example (ver. 9). Our danger probably lies in being content with the impoverished condition of others. But the object of charity is not that the poor should be made rich and the rich poor.

3. An equality is to be aimed at. (Ver. 14.) As to believers especially we should remember that they are members of the same faith, and should seek to make their condition equally healthy with our own. But our charity should not be restricted by the limits of the household of faith." One has well said, "Our luxuries should yield to our neighbour's comforts, and our comforts to his necessities." This seems Paul's conception, who explains what he means by "equality in the expression following: Your abundance being a supply at this present time for their want, that their abundance also may become a supply for your want" (ver. 14); and he illustrates it by reference to the manna given to Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 16:18). How far from approach to this equality is the giving of many!

4. We must not so give as to check the exertions of those whom we help. Paul does not apprehend that so undesirable a result will follow the charity which he recommends; he anticipates that the poor may become so rich as to help those now helping them. Unwise charity hinders, not helps, the recipient, Pauperism is a poor harvest to reap. Still we must see that this argument is not unduly pressed. It is to be a protector, it is not to be a murderer, of charity. - H.

I. THE GENERAL PRINCIPLE HERE PROPOUNDED. It is that the requirements of God correspond to the possessions of man.

1. What men have, they have received from the undeserved bounty of their Creator. This holds good with regard to property and to talents and opportunities.

2. An account is expected from every man by him who is the Judge and sovereign Lord of all. We are to some extent and in some matters accountable to our fellow men, but foreverything to him in whom "we live, and move, and have our being."

3. The rule according to which the supreme Governor will judge mankind is one of absolute rectitude - "according to that a man hath." The feeble man will not be expected to have done the work of the strong; the dull man the work of the genius; the peasant the work of the prince; nor the beggar to have given with the generosity of the millionaire. But each must answer for that which has been entrusted to himself. In all things the disposition, the spirit, the endeavour, will be taken into account; "if there be first the ready mind" - "if the forward zeal be at hand." Such is the universal condition of Divine acceptance and approval.

II. THE SPECIAL APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE HERE DEDUCED.

1. In the matter of gifts there is scope for moral culture and watchfulness. Unless liberality be shown upon definite principle, it will most likely not be shown at all. There is need of watching against selfishness and avarice.

2. It is well for every Christian to anticipate and apply beforehand the Divine principle - to judge himself, that he may not be judged by God; to put to himself the question, "How much owest thou unto thy Lord?"

3. Especially should the inspired rule of liberality be observed by those who are prospering in the world. As means increase, let gifts be enlarged. The Judge cannot accept from the wealthy the gifts which were approved when offered by the poor. - T.

I. GOD DOES NOT ACCEPT INTENTION OR GOOD WILL INSTEAD OF THE DEED WHEN IT IS WITHIN ONE'S POWER TO PERFORM. And God looks behind the excuses that a covetous or indolent heart puts forward, and knows the absolute fact regarding what each man has or has not, can or cannot do. In giving to the poor or for the propagation of the gospel, one may obtain praise of men by bestowing a large sum in answer to an urgent appeal; but he has no praise from God if his contribution has been reluctant, or if it does not bear a fair proportion to the resources at his disposal. Sometimes one cannot give as much as formerly or as much as his neighbours, and therefore prays to be excused from giving anything, expressing a hope that the will may be taken for the deed. But it will not be so taken. He is required to give according to what he has, not what he has not. And the willing offering is just as acceptable to God as a gift a thousand times as large from a man a thousand times as rich. So also in regard to personal service. How many who call Jesus "Lord," when any definite piece of Christian work is proposed to them, put it aside, alleging that they have no turn for it or no time for it! So they stand all the day idle. Because they cannot serve with great ability or in a conspicuous station, they do nothing, and simply wish well to the cause of God and of righteousness. But empty good wishes are cheap and little worth, and God will not in such cases take the will for the deed. He who employs two talents with a willing mind will be commended in exactly the same terms as his fellow servant who has had five. And let him who has only one beware of hiding it in the earth. Men are very apt to take gifts from Christ, but not the gift of his "yoke." They are also not unwilling to own their faults, but do not mend them - merely raise a sort of foolish protest against their own weakness. In like manner they hear with muck satisfaction of the efforts made to purify and reform society, but personally they take no trouble about it; devote no time or pains to such endeavours. The hard work of philanthropy they complacently leave to others. Many act in the same way in regard to the expense incurred in a good cause. They are quite proud of the large sums raised in their church, and of the free handedness of their country. But they do not give. They blandly wave their best wishes over the gifts of others. But where there is power to do something for the good cause, God will not accept a wish for the deed. Where there is power to give, he will not accept a smile for a gift.

II. WHERE GOOD WILL SHOWS ITSELF IN DEEDS OR GIFTS, GOD LOOKS NOT SO MUCH ON THE AMOUNT OF THE OFFERING AS ON THE HEART OF THE DOER OR GIVER. It is the prothumia, the readiness of disposition, which pleases him. He loves the earnest worker and the cheerful giver. He approves that doer of the Word who does not need to be coaxed and pressed to undertake some part of Christian service, and that giver who, instead of waiting to be solicited, seeks out the objects most worthy of help, and makes his offering with a simplicity and a spontaneousness which greatly enhance the gift. In fact, while God does not accept the will for the deed from those who are able to do, he always accepts the will in the deed, and is pleased with the evidence of a ready mind. King David was not permitted to build a temple to Jehovah; but it was well that it was in his heart to do so (1 Kings 8:18), and the preparations which he made for the work are recorded with honour (1 Chronicles 29.). The women who prepared spices and ointments for the dead body of Jesus Christ were not allowed to carry out their purpose, for before they reached the sepulchre he had risen; but their readiness of mind was pleasing to the Lord, and they got something better to do than anoint a corpse. They were made the first preachers of his resurrection (Luke 24:10). The men who had followed Jesus were more slow of heart. They brooded over the disappointment of their hopes about the Messiah's kingdom, and the dark storm of odium which had broken on their Master and on his cause. So they had no thought of an early visit to the sepulchre. But the women thought less of the cause and more of the Master. And so with their ready mind they got the highest honour. Learn that the secret of happiness and usefulness lies in having the same ready mind, fastened, not so much on this piece of work or that, as on the Lord himself, for or to whom all Christian work is to be done. You may not get outlet for your readiness in the way that you planned or expected, but you will get outlet and employment for it; and God will accept it according to what it is, not according to its apparent success. Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks upon the heart. - F.

I. MAN ESTIMATES GIFTS BY THEIR MONEY VALUE. A fair enough standard in view of the institutions that have to be sustained and the work which has to be done. The Church needs large gifts, and is compelled to ask for quantity. She needs the devotements of the rich, and is not wholly wrong in trying to raise ever higher the standard of Christian gifts for Christian uses. But the money estimate of gifts needs to be set under most careful limitations. It fails to take account of the relative circumstances of the givers. A pound is a pound, whoever may give it; but the rich man passes it over, and knows that it will not involve his going without any one thing that he wishes to have. The poor man hands it over, and knows it means wearing the threadbare coat a few months longer, or going without some personal gratification. In really worthy scales that poor man's pound weighs heavy, for there is added to it that self-denial which is, in God's sight, of great price. Man cannot discern or rightly appraise motives. The business principle too often wholly sways men in their Christian and Church relations, and men are accepted by the largeness of their contributions rather than by the largeness of the love with which they contribute.

II. GOD ESTIMATES GIFTS BY THEIR WILL VALUE. "If there be first the willing mind, there is acceptance." God seeth not as man seeth. Man looketh on the countenance; God looketh on the heart. Man appraises the value of the thing; God reads the state of the will and the purpose of the heart. Illustration may be taken from the large gift of Barnabas to the early Church. God accepted it because it was the expression of a willing mind. The gifts of Ananias and Sapphira were smaller; they were not, however, refused on this ground, but only because the will was wrong and the motive mixed and bad. The "amount" of a gift is quite as important in the sight of God as in the sight of man, because a great gift alone can express the willing mind of a man with great means. God judges proportions. He only desires to see Christian love triumphing over disabilities, and making the rich, who cling to fiches, splendidly generous, and the poor making the "poverty which had consumed them even to the very bottom" (ver. 2) yield noble and self-denying contributions. With God the question is - How much did your heart give? It is a second thing, with him, to ask - How much did your hand give? But he does expect the heart and the hand to honourably act together, the hand honestly expressing what the heart feels. - R.T.

I. A GREAT CHARACTER IS BETTER THAN A GREAT NAME. The brother referred to here is unnamed; a better mark than a name is put upon him. A great name may be inherited; may be won by a merely fortunate conjunction of circumstances; may be unmerited; may have no moral excellence associated with it. A great character must be earned. A great name blesses one's self; a great character, others.

II. THE APPROBATION OF HOLY MEN IS VERY PRECIOUS. The applause of a fallen world may be reckoned at a cheap rate. Mere popularity is quite in contrast with the praise of all the Churches. That men who love Christ, and who thus have corrected tastes, can see in us what is lovely should cause us to be deeply thankful to God, who has wrought this good thing in us. When the approval is widespread and general among such, it becomes correspondingly precious. The praise of God, indeed, is what we should strive after; but this may be expressed by the lips of his children.

III. REPUTATION "IN THE GOSPEL" IS MOST TO BE DESIRED. This was the reputation of the brother alluded to by Paul. It was in the sphere of the gospel that he had obtained his renown. And this is the very highest sphere. How can we make known the gospel? How can we exalt it in the estimation of men? How can we show forth its excellences in our lives? These should be supreme questions with us. Reputation in arms, art, science, - what are these compared with reputation in the gospel? What can arms do for men, or art, or science, compared with the gospel? The gospel presents the most magnificent arena for human life and achievement.

IV. OPINION IS TESTED BY TRUST. Here is a test of men's words. Will those who praise us put confidence in us? It was so with the brother in question (ver. 19). The friends who praised him trusted him with money, and this is an extreme form of trust with most men. They praised him for a piety which extended to the secularities of life. His gospel ruled the money bag. We want more pounds-shillings-and-pence religion. If our piety does not make us uncorrupt in practical life, we had better cast it to the dogs, for it is only fit for them. - H.

I. STRICTEST HONESTY IS, OF COURSE, ESSENTIAL. How can a man preach this common Christian virtue if he lacks it himself? How can his ministry in spiritual things be blessed if he is tainted with the slightest dishonesty in things carnal? What peace of conscience can he possess if he knows that herein he is faulty; and without peace in his own conscience how can he minister in the gospel of all peace? Those who bear the vessels of the Lord must be clean. What a fearful condemnation will be theirs who, whilst expatiating upon the preciousness of heavenly treasure, are all the while dishonestly grasping the treasure which perishes!

II. STRICTEST HONESTY IS NOT SUFFICIENT. A servant of God may be perfectly innocent, and yet by carelessness may give occasion to some to denounce him as guilty. It is not only needful to do right, it is needful to appear to do right as well. Whilst no man should be content with satisfying men apart from God, a wise man will not rest content with satisfying God and his own conscience, but will recognize the importance of not giving a handle for reproach to those amongst whom he lives. Prudent, indeed, was the apostle when he resolved to "take thought for things honourable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men" (ver. 21). Through lack of such wisdom on the part of ministers:

1. Many a ministerial reputation has been wrecked. The lie has been believed, and has been believed because it has been corroborated by unwise conduct. A lie thus strengthened is very attractive to many minds. Lies need no help on our part. It is often easier to make a man believe the barest lie than to make him believe the barest truth. It has been quaintly said, "A lie will travel round the world before truth has finished putting on its boots."

2. Powerful ministers have been rendered impotent.

3. Churches have been greatly injured. The shadow falling upon the minister has spread its darkness over the Church.

4. Many have become prejudiced against the gospel.

5. Much dishonour has fallen upon the Name of Christ. Christians dare not be careless; they carry with them the honour of their Master. It is not a question about being careless of our own name; the matter affects his Name. No man can afford to despise popular opinion in such a matter as this. If a false accusation has been brought without occasion given, that accusation will have the elements of weakness in it, and may generally be successfully repelled; but if occasion has been given, the honest man furnishes evidence of his own dishonesty, he forges the chain wherewith he is bound, he signs his own condemnation. Public men have many enemies. Ministers are the targets of the devil, and often of the devil's children. Great wisdom do they need to walk so that they shall not unwittingly furnish their adversaries with a weapon against themselves and their cause. This applies, of course, not only to money matters, but to all matters. 'Tis the utmost folly to present our own sword to the foe. If we fall, let it be by our enemy's weapon, not by our own. - H.

I. THE RULE OF CONDUCT HERE PROPOSED.

1. Things honourable are things actually good, admirable, beautiful, in themselves. The word in the original denotes primarily this. What things are morally excellent and praiseworthy, let these things be done.

2. Things honourable are things reputable and approved. It is especially prudent to be very careful and scrupulous, and very open, in the administration of public money, and so to act that there may be no opening for slander or misrepresentation. And the same rule applies to other departments of conduct. It should not be a prominent motive with us to secure men's approval, yet our conduct should be such as to secure that approval, and even to command it.

3. Things honourable may best be provided by endeavouring to realize the inquisitive inspection of men and the all-searching gaze of the omniscient God.

II. THE MOTIVES URGING TO THE PRACTICAL ADOPTION OF THIS RULE.

1. It will tend to the satisfaction and peace of our own conscience.

2. It will tend to the honour of the religion we profess, when it is seen to be, not a cloak for covetousness, but an impulse to disinterestedness and a principle of integrity.

3. It will be for the glory of God. Actions done in his sight and at his command, from the motive of his love, and with the hope of his approbation, are the actions which the Christian should aim consistently and constantly to perform, in all positions and in all relations of life - T,

I. THE COUNSEL AS APPLIED TO THE APOSTLE HIMSELF. As a fact he had been jealously providing for honest things, and doing everything possible in order to secure the due checking of the gifts and safety of the stored money. Calvin says, "He was not so satisfied with himself as to think it unworthy of his dignity to avoid calumny." Dean Plumptre says, "In this case, had the apostle had only the judgment of God to consider, he could with a pure conscience have taken up the money to Jerusalem by himself. But he had to consider that men were judging him, and might suspect him, and therefore he insisted on having his accounts audited." F.W. Robertson says, "In this is to be observed St. Paul's wisdom, not only as a man of the world, but as a man of God. He knew that he lived in a censorious age, that he was as a city set on a hill, that the world would scan his every act and his every word, and attribute all conceivable and even inconceivable evil to what he did in all honour. It was just because of St. Paul's honour and innocence that he was likely to have omitted this prudence." Archdeacon Farrar indicates the kind of things that were said about the apostle by his Corinthian enemies, which made such an earnest self-vindication absolutely necessary. He represents them as saying that St. Paul was "half demented," and yet there was some method in his madness which showed itself partly in self-importance and partly in avarice, both of which were very injurious to the interests of his followers. What, for instance, could be more guileful and crafty than his entire conduct about this collection which he was so suspiciously eager to set on foot? He had ordered them to get up a subscription in his first letter, had, in answer to their inquiries, directed that it should be gathered, as in the Galatian Churches, by a weekly offertory, and had, since this, sent Titus to stimulate zeal in the matter. They dared to insinuate that all this was only a cunning device to hide his real intentions, and give him a securer grasp of their money." Give in detail the arrangements made by the apostle to secure the due safety and auditing of the collection; and urge that all who have responsible positions in relation to Christian monies should show a similar anxiety to "provide things honest."

II. THE COUNSEL AS APPLIED TO CHRISTIAN GIVING. Those who give must give only that which is honourably their own. The man who is in debt must pay his debts before he gives. The man who has family claims is bound to make adequate provision for them before he gives. To use the familiar proverb, "A man must be just before he is generous." When this rule is neglected, a man's gifts can neither be acceptable to God nor right in the sight of his fellow men. - R.T.

I. HIS OWN ASSOCIATES. The expressions used with this intent are three in number.

1. They are partners, engaged in the same work, under the same Master, and with the expectation of a similar reward, with himself.

2. They are fellow workers, each having his own faculty, his own implement, for labour, but all cooperating to the one end.

3. They are brethren; i.e. bound together by a personal tie, a spiritual kindred, in the Christian family and household of faith. These expressions involve a deep and lasting attachment, such as should unite those who are engaged in one and the same service rendered to the one great Master.

II. MESSENGERS OF THE CHURCHES. The expression in the original is very strong. They are apostles; i.e. sent forth by the congregation as their representatives and plenipotentiaries. This gives a special dignity to the office and work of accredited servants of the body of Christ, and therefore of Christ himself.

III. THE GLORY OF CHRIST. There is something mystical, something difficult to expound, in this epithet. It certainly implies that these faithful men were exalted to a position of very high honour, and were looked upon as related very closely to the Lord himself. Certainly it was to the glory of the Redeemer that a new principle of benevolence was introduced into human society, impelling the Gentile of Europe to display a practical interest in the welfare of the Jew of Palestine. Here was exhibited a moral glory radiating from Christ himself, before which the world might well bow down in wonder, admiration, and reverence. - T.

I. THEY ARE THE GLORY OF CHRIST.

1. They are the monuments of the triumph of Christ. They are "saved" to some purpose. Many assert that they are "saved," but they cannot discover, neither can any one else, unto what they are saved. They seem to be saved unto nothingness, and in this sense to have experienced a singularly complete redemption. But the active, devoted Christian proves the reality of his faith by works following. Christ has not only triumphed over the judgment and heart, but over all powers, which are now willingly dedicated to his service.

2. They resemble Christ. Christ was pre-eminently a worker. He "went about doing good;" they seek to do so. He practised self-denial and endured suffering that others might be benefited; they strive to imitate him.

3. They exalt Christ. They desire that his kingdom may be extended over the earth. Whilst they labour for others, they do this out of their love for him. He is first, all else second. The exaltation of Christ is their supreme wish. Their mission is to speak well of his Name wherever they go.

4. Christ delights in them. They are the fruitful trees which he loves. He cursed the barren tree, but these he blesses. They are the faithful servants of the absent Lord. He loves not idlers who filch the name of "servant;" but those who are servants indeed his soul rejoices in. He glories in these, for they show forth his praise.

II. THEY SHOULD SEEK FULLY TO REALIZE THEIR HIGH CALLING.

1. The dignity of Christian work is not always perceived as fully as it should be. It is infinitely superior to all other work.

2. Nor its privilege. Were this adequately realized, what alacrity there would be in entering upon Christian service! As it is, alas! almost force has to be employed in some cases.

3. Nor its responsibility.

4. Nor how much the work done is affected by the life lived.

III. THEY SHOULD BE HIGHLY ESTEEMED. They are the instruments through which God works. They are the means employed by him for the building up of the kingdom of Christ. They are the special representatives of Christ upon earth. They should be

(1) encouraged,

(2) helped,

(3) honoured. - H.