ciety, and lead a true life," he would have done it. If these things would only have done it, it would have been done. But to-day it required that he should meet all obstacles, and stem social influences. It required that when temptation arose he should have the power of subduing it. It required that when he was thrown among his old companions he should be strong enough to control his appetites. It seemed to him when he was at home as though he had the strength to hold himself back from the temptations which before had been irresistible. He had the desire, he had the will, to do it; but his will deliquesced before the influences to which he had so long yielded. Before he came to the point where a choice was to be made, where a purpose was formed and confirmed, he was gone.

Now, as men get the Divine Spirit, in the first place, to help them to make up their minds to do right, and show them what is right, and encourage them toward the right way; so they need the Divine Spirit when they come to execute their purpose, and transmute purpose into action, into habit, into life. Blessed be God, then, for the encouragement of the declaration, "Work out your own salvation, for it is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure." Well, if it be God that works in men to will and to do both, why is it that men do not generally will? And if he works in them to do, why is it they do not perform? It is because, though the Divine Spirit works upon men, it must needs work upon open hearts, and have access to them.

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I go out to the meadows, in a few weeks, and say, "Now, grass, begin to grow! Flowers, begin to blossom!" The clouds are passing away, and the sunshine is coming. Spring is not far off, and the buds are creeping up. In a few weeks I can go out and say to the dead-lying meadows, "O turf, work! Send forth your green spires and your bright blossoms. boughs work! and lift up your banners. Hold out your fragrant cups of incense; fling them to the sky. Rejoice that the summer is coming. Work, work." And all the meadows hear me and obey. But here lie pieces of plank, and there are roots under them which do not come forth because they are covered up. All the air is full of warmth; but whatever

is hid from the shining of the sun, whether purposely or accidentally, feels but remotely its influence; and that which would otherwise take place does not take place.

Now, if men shut up their reason (and they do), if they turn away their affections (and they do), if they are not honest with themselves and with their God (and they are not), although the whole heaven is full of summer, their hearts will be full of winter. You can make winter. Let him who wants it take an east and west running fence, and on the north side heap snow, and the sun will not strike over there during the whole year; only an atmospheric warmth will be felt there; and there shall be a foot deep of ice there while on the other side of the fence you are gathering fresh vegetables for the table. There will be the same atmospheric conditions on both sides, only the sun, striking on one side and not on the other, will make the difference.

It is the same with men who are contiguous to each other. One is open to the Divine Spirit, and it enters into his heart and resides there. Another refuses to open himself to the Divine Spirit, turns away from the strivings of the blessed influence, and loses it.

It lies with every man whether the divine will shall fructify his will; whether he shall be influenced by the spirit of God; whether the work of the power from on high shall be efficacious with him.

No man was ever converted by accident. No man was ever converted who was not in such a condition that the divine influence could penetrate his heart and stimulate him to the development of a Christian character. No man can become what God requires of every one of us without the help of the Spirit which is freely rendered to every man, and without his own serious and most earnest labor.

You are born low enough, animal enough, worldly enough; you are born of the flesh; you are born in those conditions in order that you may work up out of them into that nobler manhood which is in Christ Jesus; and it demands the whole force of your nature, as it is worthy of the whole force of your nature.

for eternity.

You are not living for an hour; you are living
Your destiny turns on character; and the for-

mation of that character, the upbuilding of it, is one of the most glorious ambitions that you can essay. It requires the divine power and the human power in co-operation. The divine power is ever present; and it is for you to determine whether that divine power, persuading and striving, shall prevail with you and draw you in the direction of things right. If you are willing, in the day of God's power, you will rise by the divine help, step by step, until you stand in Zion and before God.

Now, if there be those here who have thought often and often that they would attempt to be Christians, perhaps you have said to yourself, "If I can, by a few weeks set apart, get a head of feeling, an impulse, that shall shoot me into the experience of a Christian, why then the thing will work itself out. Once converted, always converted. No falling

from grace. If in some revival I could only, by the warmth and enthusiasm of the people about me, be brought to the welding point, I am sure I could hold fast."

My friends, the kingdom of God is lik a grain of mustard-seed, the smallest of all seeds when it is sown; and it sprouts and throws down its roots, and throws up its branches, and grows imperceptibly, little by little, little by little. It is like the leaven which a woman hid in three measures of meal, which was as good as gone, so far as you could see, but which leavened the whole lump. The kingdom of God in the hearts of men begins very small, and works onward and always to the very end. Do not wait for a revival or any other extraordinary influence to give you a start and an impetus. The Christian way is the true way, the Christian character is the manly character, the Christian life is the better life in every respect; and do not wait for dramatic convictions. Do not wait for lightning-like emotions. Do not wait for anything. God is on your side. Your knowledge is abundantly sufficient. Resolve, to-night, "By the grace of God I will endeavor, from this time forth, to overrule my passions and appetites and dispositions that are not consonant with the Lord Jesus Christ. I will enroll myself as a scholar; and to learn the divine will shall be the purpose of my life." You will often fail; you will frequently miss, as the child does

that is learning to spell; you will be like a child that is learning to write, and that scrawls before he writes well; or that is learning to read, and stumbles over the words before he reads fluently; or that is learning arithmetic, and makes many mistakes before he can work the examples correctly. Let every man who undertakes to love God and do his will expect to meet with obstacles; but let him put on the Lord Jesus Christ and persevere, and he will triumph in the end. Take his dispositions and begin to practice them; and if you fail do not be discouraged. Go on, looking to God in prayer for light and strength, and I will guarantee what the result will be.

If the soul that is beginning to live under the influence of the higher impulses knows itself, and realizes its affinities and the dignities that belong to it, and is drawn steadily upward, it shall advance from strength to strength until it stands in Zion and before God. I pray you, do not squander again, to-night, any thoughts or purposes that may have arisen in your mind while I have been speaking. Sanctify the time and the hour. Rise up and go away from here with a sense of your duty. Go with an earnest purpose formed for your life, and with a sense that you must connect this life with the other in order to fulfill your destiny. Men that know how low and ill-bred they are spiritually, and who know that without love to God they cannot rise to their higher manhood, seize the opportunity.

God is shining, and the divine Spirit is striving, and the Word is witnessing, and those who have gone forth call to you from the battlements of heaven, saying, "Come, come, come!" Go ye, begin to live that glorious spiritual life which shall never terminate till the throne of God itself crumbles.

PRAYER BEFORE THE SERMON.

WE rejoice, Almighty God, in thy supremacy. We rejoice that thy power is exerted everywhere. We behold it. Though we cannot perceive all thy truth, yet much comes to us, and more is hidden because we are so imperfect, and do not know how to discern things spiritual. V rejoice that thou art Sovereign, and that thy will is supreme. None can counsel thee. Thou givest wisdom to all that are created; they borrow from thee; and if they return and come to thee with words of wisdom, they but bring back light which is reflected on them. We rejoice that, being the wisest and the strongest, thou art also the best; and that that which we call good in thee is yet botter, and that we may understand thee from the best things which are in ourselves. We rejoice in the truth. Thou art nobly truc in fidelity. And who is faithful like unto thee? In all uprightaess we rejoice; and we rejoice in love; but where is there uprightness and where is there love comparable to thine? We rejoice in patience, and in self-sacrifice, and in long-suffering; and yet these are in us but a faint and reflected light, while in thee they are orbs glowing with original lustre. And we rejoice, more and more, as we grow in stature inwardly, and in the knowledge of the Spirit. More and more glorious dost thou open up to our thought and to our feeling. We rejoice in that which we see and in that which we feel, and we have a blessed assurance that all that lies beyond will, by and by, interpret itself to us so as to be better than we think. Now, we pray that we may be brought near to thy throne by an abundance of love; by a sense of duty and obedience; by filial fear. May we be drawn very near to thee, that thy heart may leaven ours.

We pray that thou wilt keep every one of us from temptation to sin. Open the door of escape to all that are tempted. May they be able to overcome easily besetting sins, and all small sins that lead continually to greater ones.

We pray that thou wilt be near to all those who are seeking to walk in the way of righteousness, and scarcely know where to step. Wilt thou make the path plain to their vision. Wilt thou work in them so that they may feel inclined to walk in the Lord, and to live blamelessly.

We pray that thou wilt help all those who are tempted by their passions by pride, by selfishness, and by avarice. May they be able to know their own estate, to perceive the force that works upon them and in them, and mightily to strive against whatsoever is wrong, to overcome it in the strength of God, and to stand continually under every conflict victorious.

We beseech of thee that thou wilt grant to those who desire to behold thee, the vision of thy goodness. Upon those who mourn the want of faith, breathe thou thy Spirit. To those who desire to rejoice and cannot, give, we pray thee, the spirit of cheer and of song. We pray that thou wilt comfort any whom thou hast greatly tried. May they be able to acquiesce in the Spirit of God. May their experiences come as God's messages to them. May they humble