but the Word of our God shall stand for ever." The Gospel has been assailed by enemies, and every effort that Satanic power could devise, has been employed to mutilate and destroy it; but these attempts have been in vain. The generations that come after us shall find the Gospel as pure and as unsullied, and as effective as when Paul preached it, or as when the first believers received it. It is the everlasting Gospel. (2.) It is abiding too in its Results.—It abides with a man all through the journey of life, and is his chief consolation in the hour of death. It relieves the grave of its terror, and death of its sting. How triumphant is the language of the Christian believer, as expressed by Paul: "Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." And if the believer has victory when he dies, how great will be the victory when he will be redeemed from death, and ransomed from the power of the grave! "For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory." The life to which we shall be raised will be everlasting life, the crown will be an unfading crown, and the fellowship, and the dignities, and the glories will be unending.

There may be an which revealed the produced such a The pitchers were

II.—THE DISPENSERS OF THE GOSPEL. We have this treasure in earthen vessels. allusion to Gideon's pitchers, the breaking of presence of the lamp within, and which remarkable effect upon the army of Midian. mean in appearance, and of little worth, yet they were of God's appointment, and served a most important purpose. So Paul speaks of himself and his brethren as earthen vessels, like Gideon's pitchers. It has been thought that the Apostle at this time was suffering from bodily sickness, and that he was feeling especially the weakness and frailty of his physical system. If this was the case, it makes the expression all the more forcible and touching. But apart from any special circumstances surrounding the Apostle, the text describes most accurately those whom God has called to preach His Gospel. There is

Limitation of Capacity. It is a vessel, not a fountain, or a spring; not something that is self-originating, self-sustaining, and thus has within itself an infinitude of resource. A vessel is simply a medium of conveyance, which cannot possibly give out any more than it receives, and whose receptive and communicative powers must depend entirely upon its capacity. Vessels, however, vary in size; there are some greater than others, and there is also a

difference in the capacities of those who are doing God's work. Variety is manifest in the whole of material nature. We should not like this world half so well if its mountains were of the same form and height, if its valleys were of the same depth and width, if its trees were of the same shape and hue, and if its flowers were of the same colour and fragrance. The world is all the more attractive on account of the variety that characterizes its different objects. So in the human world: there is not only variety as to form, stature, and countenance, but variety as to mental power, taste, and attainment. One is remarkable for learning, another for eloquence, another for philosophy, another for science, another for poetry. So the ministers of the Gospel vary in their powers, and in their mode of presenting the truth. Some persons are dissatisfied with this aspect of the case. Having their favourite preacher, they think it a great pity that every one does not answer to their ideal. We say it would be a great pity if every preacher were similar to your protégé. You must remember that he who is the best preacher to you, may not be the best preacher to some one else. The variety that is found in the pulpit, is to be found to a much greater extent in the pew, and by this variety in the human medium, the different states and conditions of the community are met. We cannot for a moment imagine that Paul preached like Peter, or that James preached like John, or that Apollos preached like Barnabas. Every man in his own order according to the gifts and graces received from God. But when you have brought all the great divines and great preachers together you find that that the greatest of them all is limited. He is but a vessel. It is but little that he knows; it is but little that he can do. Sir Isaac Newton was regarded as one of the wonders of his age, but you know his confession, "I do not know how I have appeared unto others, but to myself I have seemed as a little child playing on the shores of truth, picking up now and then a prettier shell or a smoother pebble than ordinary, while the whole ocean of truth lay undiscovered before me." Men talk a great deal of the intellectuality of the age, and certainly the productions of this century are truly marvellous; but are there not questions in the natural world, questions in the mental world, questions in the social world, questions in the moral world, that baffle human philosophy, and lay all our boasted wisdom in the dust. "Who can by searching find out God, find out the Almighty unto perfection? Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it."

Physical Frailty.-Earthen vessels. Not vessels of stone, or iron, or brass, or of some other hard substance, but that which is weak and fragile, easily broken and destroyed. This is specially descrip

tive of that human body which all possess.

It was formed out of

the dust of the ground. Paul speaks of it as the earthly house of our tabernacle. We are said to live in houses of clay, our foundation is in the dust. Those, therefore, to whom God has entrusted His Gospel are not superior in nature to the rest of mankind; they are not "angels that excel in strength;" they are human beings; as human in their nature as those to whom they preach. They are as weak and frail as any of their fellows; they are heirs of the same calamities, and there is the same tendency to dissolution and decay. This is painfully manifest to every observant mind. "Your fathers, where are they? and the prophets, do they live for ever?" The voices that proclaimed the sweet sounds of the Gospel from the pulpits of our land in past centuries are silent. Many who have preached to you the Word of Life are now no more; their faces you will never see again until the morning of the resurrection. There are others among us who give evidence of growing infirmities, of enfeebled constitutions, of shortening days. It is sometimes the case that the trials of ministerial work make the preacher's life shorter than it otherwise would be. His familiarity with human sufferings, his sympathy with the distressed, his labours, and anxieties, and prayers for the salvation of sinners, his care for the churches, his exposure to the night-air after addressing congregations, and the journeys that have to be undertaken in all weathers, often undermine a constitution not naturally strong. Such wear and tear much affect the earthen vessel, and when it has been chipped, and broken, and injured so repeatedly, a slight blow is sufficient to accomplish its destruction and shiver it to pieces. Ministers should remember the weakness of the vessel, and not be too free in the expenditure of physical, mental, and spiritual power. Churches should remember it, and not make too great a demand upon their public and private services. We will give you all that a grateful heart, a loving soul, and moderate constitution can give.

Social Manners.—You do not think much of an earthen vessel, not as much as you do of a vessel of marble, ivory, silver, or gold; and there was nothing in the earthly condition of the Apostles to commend them to the world's favour. They were not men of rank, wealth, scholarship, and influence. They were fishermen, taxgatherers, and tentmakers; those who had to toil hard for daily bread. It has been left for the Church in this later age, to turn the ministry into a profession, to gain for it the recognition of the State, to adorn bishops with mitres, to assign them a place in the Legislature, to surround them with the insignia of rank and nobility, and to confer upon them immense incomes. So far as the social condition of some who sustain the ministerial office is con

cerned, you might almost reverse the Apostle's language; and, instead of saying, we have this treasure in earthen vessels, you might read, we have this treasure in golden vessels. We question whether such a state of things is in accordance with the Mind of God. It certainly presents a marked contrast to the condition of the first preachers of the Gospel; and is altogether unlike the condition Christ Himself assumed when He came to be our Saviour. We do not believe any Church has a right to keep its ministers in poverty. Those who preach the Gospel should live of the Gospel; those who serve at the Altar should eat of the things of the Altar. "If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?" There are Churches which are lamentably defective in their recognition of this principle, and many a faithful minister of God's Word has suffered in consequence; but, on the other hand, no man should make a gain of the Gospel, or use the ministry as a stepping-stone to wealth or personal aggrandisement. And, perhaps, it will be found that those whose origin has been humble, and whose circumstances have been moderate, have been those who have rendered the greatest service to the Church of Christ and the world.

III. THE POWER ATTENDING THE GOSPEL.

'That the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." Here you perceive that, while the vessel is weak and insignificant, the treasure is not weak and insignificant; while the vessel is earthly, there is nothing earthly in the treasure. It bears marks of its heavenly origin, and carries with it evidences of more than human energy. Its power is excellent power. This is manifest in

The Personal Experience of the Ministrators.-This treasure was operating in them. (1.) It had wrought their moral transformation. What was it that made these Apostles what they were? How came their bosoms to glow with such intense love for Christ? How came they to give themselves up to the service of Christ, and to the propagation of Christian truth? They were once as alien from Christ as any member of the human race. The hostility of Saul of Tarsus was most inveterate. Nothing could exceed the bitterness of his enmity, and yet this enmity had passed away. There had been an entire revolution of thought and feeling, of heart and life. What was it that wrought these marvellous transformations? It was the Gospel they were now preaching. This "is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." The treasure which they were offering to others was working in them as a vitalising, redeeming, sanctifying element, "bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ," and moulding their characters after Christ's own spirit.

(2.) Look again at the spirit they exhibited in trial.-Their trials were most severe. Read the verses following the text:-" We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake." Why Paul seems to have suffered enough to have killed a dozen ordinary men. His escapes from death were most miraculous, impressing us with the idea that the "servant of God is immortal until his work is done." But how did he bear up under such extreme sufferings? There was nothing like impatience, or discontent; there was nothing like anger, bitterness, or revenge. "Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we intreat." "I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake." "We glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us." Where will you find anything like this, except in connection with Christianity? Do men tell us it is human nature? We reply, it is human nature; but human nature permeated by the grace of God; human nature Christianised; human nature made Christ-like by Christ's own Spirit; human nature sustained by the everlasting arm of God; human nature animated by the sweet hope of everlasting life. Hear how Paul speaks of it in the closing verses of this chapter: "For which cause we faint not; for though the outward man perish, the inward man is renewed day by day." Again, "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens."

The Effectiveness of their Ministrations.-What was the result of their labours? What was the character of the success they obtained? Was it success in winning golden opinions from the world? Was it success in securing for themselves wealth and honour? It was not. It was spiritual success. Its nature and extent are defined by the Apostle, when he says, "Thanks be unto God, who always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of His knowledge by us in every place." Thus, the Gospel which had effected the transformation of the Apostles, was equally powerful in effecting the transformation of others. It had triumphed over every form of error and superstition with which it had come in contact. It had overcome the prejudices of early education,