flesh and blood, that inflame and disturb the mind, found in those regions of peace; there will be no pride nor ambition, no self-exaltation nor vanity, in heaven; for that sin cast out the angels from thence. There can be no adulterer, no fornicator, no lover of pleasure more than a lover of God, no sensual nor intemperate creature there; no covetous selfishness, no narrowness of mind, no uncharitable or party spirit, can be found in those unclouded mansions of love, peace, and joy. And since the best of Christians have the seeds of these corruptions in their hearts, they must all be mortified and killed by the work of the Spirit of God within us, if ever we hope to live the divine life in heaven. Though we cannot arrive at perfection here, we must be trained to that perfection; we must be wrought up to a temper in some measure fit to enter into that blessedness. And God is training up his children for this purpose all the days of their travel through this desert world. May we be found amongst the number of those happy children! May we day by day feel ourselves, through the sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit, more and more released from the corruption that is in the world, and thus feel within ourselves the growing evidence of a sure and joyful hope.

SERMON XI.

ST. MATTHEW vii. 20, 21.

Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

THERE are two questions of the utmost importance for us to determine. The first is, what it is to be a Christian; and the second, whether, humbly speaking, we can hope we have, in any measure, attained to this character, or are earnestly seeking to attain it. Unless we wish wilfully to deceive ourselves, and that in a point of no less moment than our everlasting happiness or misery, we shall be often putting these questions to ourselves, and examining and trying ourselves with all honesty and impartiality.

The words of the text furnish us with a rule universally and equally applicable to all, of whatever rank or station. "By their fruits ye shall know them." By "their fruits" we are to understand their conduct. The plain and obvious meaning of our Lord then is, that we must judge of our own, and (so far as we are warranted in so doing) of other persons' principles, by the general conduct which those principles produce. Good principles will produce good conduct, just as a good tree will be found to produce good fruit. On the other hand, corrupt principles will produce corrupt conduct, just as a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. To the same effect is our Lord's reasoning in the other part of the text; and, indeed, to the end of the chapter. "Not every one

shall enter into

that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." The will of God is that will which Christ came from heaven to declare, that very doctrine, which in this sermon he had been in part delivering,—that which his Apostles after him more fully made known. Now doing that will must mean practical, sincere, unreserved obedience to the divine law, as it is explained and illustrated by our blessed Lord; and without this, to whatever degree profession in Christ may be carried, however

sound a man's creed may be-if it be mere profession, if it be not accompanied and proved by the holy, regular, consistent fruits of a good Christian life and conversation, it will avail nothing-it will be worse than nothing, for it will only ensure that person's heavier condemnation. That this is our Lord's meaning, is further evident from the conclusion of this discourse: "Therefore, whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell, and great was the fall of it." We cannot expect to find in the Scripture particular rules and directions for every individual case; this would be impossible. Whenever general rules of this kind are laid down, they become useful to us, or otherwise, as we apply them as we form just and Scriptural ideas of their meaning. For example, in the present in

1

:

1 Matt. vii. 24-27.

stance, every thing depends on our forming a right judgment of what is good conduct, what are good fruits.

I hardly need say how much people differ in their idea of what forms a good man; how differently the very term itself is understood. Some, when they speak of a good man, mean little more than a pleasant companion; one who, for the time, may serve to please and amuse them; or, at most, a good-tempered person.

Others, by a good man, mean one who may be just, honest, and conscientious as to his social conduct, in his dealings between man and man; while they neither think nor care (because they little care for themselves on this point) how such a person feels with regard to God; they consider this a matter of little importance.

Others, again, intend by a good man, one who is attentive to the outward forms of religion, as the Scribes and Pharisees were. They were sound, as it would appear, in most of the doctrinal parts of their religion; they were strict in all their ceremonial observances; they were frequent in their devotions; they fasted and gave alms, and were decent as to outward morals: and yet our righteousness must exceed theirs, or we shall never enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Christian holiness is the only criterion by which