For it is quite a mistake to suppose that all who find consolation in Religion are necessarily good : or that a wicked person is a hypocrite simply because he says he finds comfort in prayer, and in conversation on holy subjects. It is not so, indeed. So powerful is the mere thought of CHRIST to assuage grief and to calm despair; so comfortable are GOD's uttered words ever found to be in the hour of darkness, doubt, and difficulty; that it is not to be wondered at if murderers have sometimes asked for the cup of Blessing, while the stain of blood, unconfessed and unrepented of, has lain upon their miserable souls or again, if a hymn-book has been discovered in the hands of one who only yesterday took the life of a fellow-creature. I say, we require to be reminded of this; and to be warned against ourselves. These people were hypocrites, doubtless, in GOD's sight; for they were guilty of the crime called by that name in the Bible but not in our sight are they hypocrites; nor should we call them so, if by hypocrisy we mean (as of course we do) the pretending to be, or to feel, something which we really are not, and do not feel. These people talk about GOD, and Heaven, and the rest, because it really is a comfort to their souls to do so Let : us then be reminded that no professions of Faith; no confidence of Hope; no, nor approaches to the Holy Table: certainly not the mere attendance in GOD's House, however exemplary and constant; nor yet the habitual talk about holy things-none of these, in and by itself, must be suffered to mislead us. Hopeful signs they are, but they are not proofs, that we are spiritually minded. It is well to say 'LORD, LORD;' but we shall not therefore enter into the Kingdom of Heaven for we may say LORD, LORD, and yet not do the will of the FATHER.' : And let none suppose that this doctrine rests on a solitary text of Scripture. The Bible is full of it. We are again and again reminded, with every variety of expression, that he that 'lusteth to live, and would fain see good days,' must ' eschew evil, and do good. The SPIRIT'S message to each of the seven Churches begins with the same words: 'I know,'-not thy feelings, nor thy frequent cries of LORD, LORD, nor thy good intentions; but,-'I know thy works.' The end of men, we are expressly told, shall be ' according to their works. Again, it is threatened that in the Last Day 'every man's work shall be made manifest:' and that the fire shall b 2 Cor. xi. 15. a Ps. xxxiv. 12, 14. try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide, he shall receive a reward; if any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss.' 'Behold I come quickly,' (says CHRIST,) ́and My reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.' 'Shall not He render to every man according to his works?' asks the wise King: and our Blessed LORD Himself answers the question:-'The Son of Man shall come in the Glory of His FATHER, with His Angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works..' . . . Speaking by the prophet Jeremiah, He had said long before, 'I the LORD search the heart: I try the reins; even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings' And so St. Paul in many places-' He will render to every man according to his deeds".' For we must all appear before the judgment seat of CHRIST, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.' St. James is full of it. He seems to have feared lest any one should that a mere profes c 1 Cor. iii. 13-15. f St. Matth. xvi. 27. i 2 Cor. v. 10. suppose d Rev. xxii. 12. h e Prov. xxiv. 12. h Rom. ii. 6. sion of Faith can save a man; hence, his eagerness to make it clear that Faith without Works is dead.' And St. John heard a Voice from Heaven saying, 'Blessed are the dead which die in the LORD; for they rest from their labours, and their works do follow them .'-When he saw the dead, small and great, stand before GOD, and the books opened, the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works'.'. . . Now, in the face of all these plain, emphatic places of Holy Scripture, we must be mad if we seek to invent some other scheme of safety for ourselves. Let none be so simple as to suppose that we are saying that good Works can win Heaven. We say that they cannot,-any more than Faith can. Heaven is won neither by Faith nor by Works, but by God's free Mercy. It is the gift of GoD that we inherit Eternal Life. But God here promises that He will bestow Heaven on a certain class of persons; and He describes them as the doers of His FATHER'S will. If we covet the blessing, must we not be prepared to comply with the condition on which it is promised? k Rev. xiv. 13. 1 Rev. xx. 12. The Ninth Sunday after Trinity. EARTHLY STEWARDSHIP AND HEAVENLY REWARD. ST. LUKE xvi. 10, 11, 12. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous Mammon, who will commit to your trust the true Riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? come. THERE are moments when every man, unless he be utterly lost and degraded, must have some curious and anxious thoughts about the Life to Thoughts of this very solemn class are often driven away by the bustle of business, and the strong claims of the present hour; but they come back, and force themselves upon us, after a while. We mean, not only that the question, 'Whither am I going? Am I treading the path to eternal Happiness or to eternal Misery ?'-not only that this question forces itself upon us; but another question besides, namely this: What kind of Life will that future Life be to which |