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young woman; middle-aged man, middle-aged woman; old man or old woman! Whoever you are, death stands before you as a certainty! How are you going to die? God says to you 'Religion is the thing to prepare you for dying. And amongst other things I appoint Churches, that is, buildings of brick and stone, to be dedicated to My service, holy places in which I am to be worshipped, and they are to be sacred buildings, consecrated to Me. And when you enter in at their doors, this is to be the spirit which must, in principle, animate you 'Take off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.' These are My words to you,—‘Ye shall reverence My sanctuary. I am the Lord.'" When the traveller in the Eastern countries arrives at the gate of the palace which he would enter, he lays off his sandals, tarnished with the dust of the way. When the Mahommedan enters his Mosque, sacred to his worship, he, too, takes off his shoes from his feet, in token of his reverence for the place. If Mahomet enlists this reverence, what shall we say

of Christ? One of the most touching Parables of the New Testament, is that of "the Wicked Husbandmen." The Parable represents God the Father, sending His only-begotten Son into the world, and saying,-Surely "they will reverence My Son ?" Can you and I, frail, dying men and women, be irreverent towards One of Whom the Bible so solemnly says: "Holy and Reverend is His Name?" Before Whom the Angels veil their faces, and the Spirits bow, hiding their faces as they say, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty." If angels only dare to utter this "Sanctus with veiled faces, what shall we say of the man who can behave flippantly in the presence of God? Is a Church,-a place hallowed by the presence of God, our Creator, and our Judge, the place for bad behaviour and irreverence?

I suppose all clergymen have the same experience in this, that at times they are grieved and annoyed by witnessing bad behaviour in their Churches? Not always committed by those who lay no claim to being "religious

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people," but sometimes by "religious enthusiasts," who do not agree with all that is being said or done in the services they are countenancing by their presence. It is sad to be obliged to confess that some of the worst exhibitions of bad behaviour in Church are committed by those who hold what are termed "extreme views," both "High Church," and 'Low Church." When some of these visit a church not "after their own heart," they seem to think that this fact entitles them to behave. irreverently in it; and to show their disapprovalby improper outward acts of discontent; in short, that because all that is said or done in that Church is not in accordance with their own creed, that therefore that Church does not demand their reverence, or deserve their respect.

But whoever they may be who profane the Sanctuary, let me use plain English, and say, that I think there is nothing that so disgusts me, as to see bad behaviour in Church. I have the most profound contempt for it. It is pitiable, unchristian, unmanly. I assert it

with all the confidence with which any assertion can possibly be made, that a Church, or any place erected for religious services, whether it be a Church, or a Chapel, or a Synagogue, or a Mosque, are not places for' play and irreverence, and bad conduct. And a Christian Church is the Temple of Christ, and if there was no other argument but that one, it would be enough to demand our reverence; for this Christ is the One you and I helped to crucify, and our sins helped to nail Him to the cross. There is a tradition that when Christ was hanging upon the cross there were men seated on the ground on Calvary, playing a game of dice. Does your mind recoil from such a picture, that when Christ was dying, and the blood was flowing from His hands and feet, there could be hearts so hard as to be able in the presence of such a scene to irreverently play a game for amusement?

And yet, if Christianity be true, everyone in this Church to-night helped to crucify Christ. Your sins and mine helped to drive the nails through His hands and feet. And remember,

this Christ is the One you and I have to meet by-and-bye, before many years have passed away. Can I then come to Church to amuse myself; to play, and behave irreverently, with the cross before me on the altar, reminding me of the dying of the Lord Jesus? What would you say of the man who had a dear friend dying, and went into his room, where the dying man's heavy, quick breathing told that the end was near; and there beside that dying bed began to laugh, and play, and show every act of heartless irreverence? You would condemn such a proceeding. But if it is wrong there why is it not wrong in Church where "we preach Christ crucified ?"

It is said, that on the night before the French stormed the Malakoff, the commanding officers knowing that there would be terrible slaughter on the morrow, ordered some of their men to dig a number of graves; and it is said, that when this was done, they spent the rest of the night dancing, dancing, one might say, over their own graves. Such an act seems repulsive to our minds. But we all stand upon the edge