go well with mankind, until the last king is throttled with the intestines of the last priest !" As we have just said, whose blood does not curdle in his veins at hearing such a hell-cry? And yet, this is not so horrible as that which happened in regard to Christ. When men suffer innocently-even the best of men-we yet do not forget that they are, after all, sinners; although a very small portion of their own guilt, be it no more than a simple lack of wisdom, may have been proven in the sufferings of the innocent victims. So, too, how often does the burden of the curse which remote ancestors had provoked, first fall with crushing weight upon their descendants. And, however we may shudder at the monstrous cruelties of the French Revolution, let me ask, were not the crying sins of whole generations of bygone kings and priests expiated in that blood-bath? Yet, it must be added, sins from which, indeed, the descendants themselves were by no means altogether exempt. See, now, wherein lies the difference between the impression made by the sacrifice of Christ, and that made by all the scaffolds upon which innocent humanity has bled. Here stands one, of whom it may be affirmed, without fear of contradiction, "He had done no sin, neither was any guile found in his mouth." That Being who said, "He that seeth me, seeth the unseen Father," him have men put to death on the cross as a malefactor!

Here, then, is the human heart first truly laid open, even unto the inmost depths of that corruption which festered in it. If human nature could do this, what is it not capable of perpetrating? But this same nature, which was in the breast of Caiaphas, Judas, and Pilate, is in mine also.

I go yet further. What is in the human heart is revealed to us also amid the circle of Jesus's friends. What an image of weakness and infirmity, even after the sincerest and most ardent protestation, is presented to us in the case of Peter! In respect to that being of whom Peter had testified: "Whither shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life; thou art the son of the living God;" even in respect to Him, could this same Peter de

clare in the hour of danger, "I know him not!" But it was not Peter's nature alone that was here disclosed by the touchstone. The very trials which dwelt in the breast of Peter the fallen, dwell also in my breast. Besides, Peter stands, not alone by the cross, as the only type of our common infirmity. Do you not there see the rest of the disciples, how they all crowd timidly together at an equal remove from their Lord? Not one of them has the courage to speak a bold word in behalf of the man of their heart, who hangs near on the accursed tree. If in the critical hour of trial Peter denies his Master, so do the rest all betray fear in like manner.

It is not necessary, however, that I should dwell only on the melancholy disclosures of the human heart called forth by the suffering Saviour. He was a touchstone to reveal to us, not only to what a degree the human heart was capable of obduracy, and shallowness, and inconstancy, but he also shows us how this same human heart may be rendered teachable and tractable under the influences of divine grace. For in spite of all the disciples' weakness, it was still plain that their faith had a firm foundation on which it fastened. What lay on the other side of the cross was at this time hardly even surmised by them. When Christ was borne to the grave, then was their hope borne to the grave also; but, oh, blessed experience, their faith was not borne thither with it. See how wonderfully this fact is indicated in the instance of Nicodemus. He who ventured to approach a living Christ only by night, now that he is dead, hesitates not, as we see, openly to bury him by day; and, when all hope is over, he confesses him publicly before the world. And then, when the grave has opened-when the cross, this star with shorn rays, touched with the beams of the Easter morning sun, once more is clothed with radiance, how does the hope that was buried with their Jesus, rise together with him! How does the little spark of faith, almost smothered by the burden of the cross, shoot up again heavenward in a flame that was never more to subside. In view of these things, may we not affirm that if

one great drama of humanity was enacting upon the cross, there was still another at the same time acted out beneath it, of hardly less significance! Thus it happened that over against the noblest manifestation of human nature, as well as in it, and through it, there is made known to us what is in man.

If it has been shown that the manifestation of Christ was a touchstone of the hearts of men, oh, how should our love towards him, and also towards his true believers, kindle with fresh earnestness! for it is according to the measure of our affection for Him, that we shall be judged in the end. Oh, thou blessed Saviour, thou hast demanded that we love thee better than father and mother. Thou wouldst not have demanded this of us, had not thy glory, thy grace, and thy truth been indeed deserving of such affection. Reveal thyself to us, then, oh, thou worshipful Redeemer! Reveal thyself to us in thine incomparable glory and beauty, in order that we may be strengthened to love thee with that all-excluding love which thou requirest! And fill us anew also with love towards thy members on the earth! Yea, may all who in this world but confess thy name, and are subject to thee in love and sincere devotion, be also sacred to our hearts; for thou, Lord, art the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth! Amen.

DISCOURSE XVIII.

THE FATHER DRAWING MEN TO THE SON.

My devout brethren, must it not strike us very painfully, to hear the words "My Saviour," "My Redeemer," repeated from so many thousand lips, and yet, if we ask a person, face to face, "Now knowest thou that He is indeed thy Redeemer ?" silence is the only answer we receive? And, strange to say, the very persons whom we are most sure to find in this state, are just the ones who dispute the most vehemently about CHRIST, and to whom much that is related of Him in the Scripture, and believed by the church, is utterly unintelligible. It is on such occasions that the word of the LORD comes to remembrance, which He spake when He once heard people of this sort disputing about Him in the temple; a weighty word in a time like this, when religious truths are so much controverted and so little understood, so much contended for and written upon and so little experienced.

The saying of the LORD, which I refer to, we read in St. John (vi. 43-45):

"Jesus, therefore, answered, and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all

taught of God.

Every man, therefore, that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me."

In entering upon the consideration of this text with you, well might I exclaim: "Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." What deep mystery of mercy is that into which we are led; that He who hath created us, purposes by the powerful yet tender drawing of His Spirit, to lead us to His SoN. That the coming to Christ here spoken of, is not simply an outward coming, is clear. All those to whom Jesus addressed these words had already approached Him on their feet; but He spake of their coming to him with their hearts. In another expression of His, He implies that no man cometh unto Him who does not hunger and thirst: viz., where He says, "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." (John vi. 35.) The coming, therefore, of which He speaks, is that in which a man begins to taste and enjoy Him as a REDEEMER. In this manner it is, He says, that "No man can come unto Him, whom the Father has not drawn ;" that is, as the subsequent words explain it, who has not been taught by the Father, who has not heard and learned of the Father. This drawing of the Father to the Son, we will now proceed to examine more closely, in the light of truth.

I. It is in appearance a gracious gift for a chosen few, and, yet, in truth, it is as wide and universal as the atmosphere.

II. It goes through nature and human fortune; it goes through the human spirit, and human heart.

III. The Father draws, only we do not follow. The Father teaches, only we do not learn.

I. It is, in appearance, a gift of grace for a chosen few, and yet, in truth, it is as wide and universal as the atmosphere.

How like a holy mystery does that expression steal over the