But above all things, that which is required of us is "to walk humbly with our God." Oh, what a world of evil would be avoided, if even in religion itself men were but half as earnest in this as they are about disputes and controversies and matters of division! "To walk humbly with GOD," if this were the one and only desire of men's hearts, then, as in the first ages of the Church, there would only be one religion in the world; for all would seek, and would so seek that they would find, the truth; while there would be but one contention among Christians, who should be most humble in the sight of GOD, and walk before HIM in the greatest meekness.

But this subject of union amongst all Christians and the Churches of GOD is a great matter, which concerns us not, excepting so far as we can do any thing towards it; and the only way in which we can further it is by that which lies about our own path, namely, in the daily improvement of our own hearts and lives, by humility and the love of GOD. This it is which will further our own salvation, or endanger it if we neglect to do it. Each one of us may go home and walk with God more humbly than he has done. Every one of us, if he pleases, may be better to-morrow than he is to-day; and if he does not wish and endeavour to be so, then no doubt he will become the worse.

We may all be well assured of this, that every step we make is a step in eternity—will make us more happy or more miserable for ever; and the steps in this our journey consist of our thoughts, words, and works. This only we know, that none of us are standing still; either forward or backward we must go, every day we live, and that whether we think of it or not: our very thoughts move us on, one way or the other.

We are every day putting forward one step in eternity. It is no doubt in this light we are looked upon by those who are released from the body-by Angels and by GOD HIMSELF: our petty concerns, which we are all so full of, they notice not; but only what steps we are taking each day; knowing, as they do, that those steps are for ever.

In this light our small and trifling concerns are great indeed, as they all weigh in the scale in which our eternal portion depends; our bargains in business, our conversation with others, our manner of praying, of hearing sermons, the turn of our

thoughts all the day, these go forward, and are written down, graven with an iron pen in the rock for ever. They all go on to make up the character of the great change which awaits us.

Light afflictions, which are but for a moment, work an eternal weight of glory2; light joys, which are but for a moment, bring about an eternal weight of shame. Surely we are wonderfully and fearfully made; not in our bodies only, but far more so in our souls; while they are in secret, day by day, fashioned here beneath on the earth; GOD seeth our substance, while yet it is imperfect; and in His Book all our members are written3.

SERMON CCCXII.

ON WAITING WITH PATIENCE.

HABAKKUK ii. 3, 4.

"For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith."

We know that these words are spoken especially of the last Coming of CHRIST; for St. Paul, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, thus introduces the passage: "Ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and HE that shall come will come, and will not tarry." And then the Apostle proceeds to add from the next verse of the Prophet, " Now the just shall live by faith'."

We may consider it, then, as containing some very impressive points for our meditation respecting that Day. "The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie," it shall speak out,-it shall declare and reveal things in some wonderful way of manifestation, such as never before has been known, quite unlike the silence and mysteriousness which there is at present in all God's dealings. "Our GoD shall come, and shall not keep silence," says the Psalmist, speaking of the same: whereas up to that time it is said, "these things hast thou done, and I held My tongue, and thou thoughtest wickedly that I am even such a one as thyself"."

But not only says the Prophet, "It shall speak," i. e. loudly

and distinctly, in a manner quite contrary to the former silence of GOD, but also," it shall speak, and not lie :”—that in this speaking out of God there will be some wonderful truth, throwing aside all falsehoods, and shadows, and unrealities: we shall hear and see things as they really are in GoD, Who is Truth; "we shall know," it is said, even as we are known;" whereas we now see but " as in a glass darkly," but then "face to face;" "GOD will bring all things to light:" and St. Paul compares it to our present knowledge by saying it will be like grown men looking back on the knowledge they had as children: in other places it is compared to our awakening out of a dream; or to the light of day coming on after the night; for our present state is spoken of as darkness in comparison with it: it is spoken of as the substance, whereas we now see nothing but shadows; of the real abiding truthfulness, compared with which all we now behold is " vanity of vanities.” “It shall speak, it shall not lie." Every man is a liar compared with GOD, as we shall know when we hear HIM "speak." It is for this manifestation that all creation waits from the beginning— the manifestation of the sons of God." It waits for it, “groaning and travailing with pain;" and the Prophet would stedfastly turn our eyes towards it, saying, it has " an appointed time;" "that Day and that Hour," as our LORD calls it, which no created being knoweth, but God only.

And all Scripture speaks of patience being especially needful in the looking out for and looking on to this Day; so the Prophet adds, "Though it tarry, wait for it;" from which we might conclude that it would be long in coming, because he speaks of its "tarrying :" and yet what he adds seems to contradict this; for he says, 'Because it will surely come, it will not tarry." And this is the same throughout all the Scriptures, that it will appear to be tarrying, the LORD will seem to be "delaying His coming," and the BRIDEGROOM will seem to " tarry;" and yet (oh, wonderful mystery and awfulness of God's words!) it will come quickly," very quickly, says Holy Scripture; "it will surely come, it will not tarry." It will seem to tarry and delay, and yet will not tarry nor delay; but come very speedily. Surely we must say that it appears to us to delay and tarry; and yet God says, No; that the coming of it is as quick and as sudden as it is most sure and certain.

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How many very wonderful Divine truths are all contained and, as it were, crowded together in this one sentence-" the vision," the appointed and fixed time; its speaking out at the end, and keeping no more silence; its speaking out with some very wonderful truth, "it shall speak out, and not lie:" it will seem to be long in coming," though it tarry," says the Prophet, and therefore will need "waiting" with patience; and yet the certainty of its coming, "yet it will surely come," and its coming quickly. They who are in the flesh say it is long in coming; they who are relieved from the burden of the flesh and are with God, say, No; it comes, and hath come, and will come very quickly. And what does the Prophet add to this wonderful description? words no less remarkable: " Behold," he adds, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him; but the just shall live by his faith." While this great Day of manifestation is thus coming on, if the soul of any man is secretly lifted up, there is something in him not upright, there is a want of fair dealing with himself: in this awful state in which we are in waiting for the certain and rapid coming of that great manifestation of our sinful condition, there must be some deceit in the heart that can be lifted up; and "the just," the upright and good man who deals honestly with himself, will not be able to support life but by faith in CHRIST. And therefore "the SON OF MAN," Who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," showed HIMSELF to us in nothing so much as in His humiliation and meekness; because there can be no truth in man, no life in him, and no way to salvation, but in humbling himself, under a right sense of his own condition, which that Day will reveal.

Surely, therefore, there can be no subject more profitable for our meditation than this passage, which sets before us in so lively and striking a manner our whole condition in this world as a waiting for a judgment of the Great Day, and the temper of mind with which we are to await it. Let us look upon it, and consider it in this light, as a warning and invitation to us to set aside all disguises and deceits, and to look stedfastly in the face the great, real, and abiding Truth; even as they who watch for the dawning day, and because they can behold no streak of light, look again and again; and, on account of their own impatience,