fed upon Christ in the Gospel, as the "Bread of heaven." They have eaten angel's food, for Jehovah has sent them meat in abundance. Lord evermore give us this bread, which is made of pure ground flour" and of the

"finest of the wheat."

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Now, for the effect," till the whole was leavened." Here is assimilation. The "leaven" in due time shews itself in its corrupting effects. If you take any part of the "leaven" of which I have spoken, it was small and apparently insignificant at the first. But now look abroad at all the professing Christian Churches. The Church of Rome was once a Church of saints and beloved of God. But what is she now? If she looks beautiful without-What is she within? The Mystery of iniquity is inscribed upon her forehead. Her anathemas and curses-Her sales of indulgences and pardonsHer pride and arrogancy-Her idolatrous worship of images and saints-Her sacramental confessional and crimes-Her forgeries and falsehoods proclaim her, as "the woman with the golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornications." She is "full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness." And what can we say for the Church of England? With her Ritualism! With her Priestcraft! With her Ecclesiastical mummeries! With her Processional exhibitions! With her Latitudinarianism! And with her hosts of Indifferents! There was a time, when she contended for the faith once delivered to the saints, and counted not her life dear to herself, that the Gospel of the grace of God might be preserved in our midst. But now, I fear, she is fast becoming "the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." If you look again at the Christian Sects as they are called. Do you find

anything better in them? Alas! Alas! In one sect, reason is deified. In another, the Godhead of Christ is denied. In a third, there is no Holy Ghost. In a fourth, the Inspiration of God's Word is ignored. And in most, if not in all of them, there is a proud pursed Diotrephes, who loveth to have the pre-eminence. The

words of my text are verily fulfilled in the professing Christian Church of the present day: "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." If the explanation of the text, which I have just given you be Scriptural and true-then, is it not a time for testing and trying professing Christian Churches by the Word of the Lord? What saith the Scriptures?

In conclusion, allow me to say to you, that the true Minister of the Gospel has but one course to pursue : "He is the angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying, fear God and give glory to Him." (Rev. xiv. 6). How can a Minister preach the Gospel faithfully, if he keeps back any part of the counsel of God. St. Paul could challenge the Ephesians: "I am pure from the blood of all men; for I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God." If you want to know what sort of a Gospel he preached to the Ephesians, read his Epistle to them. Woe is unto me, if I preach not the glorious Gospel of the blessed God. Woe is unto me, if I preach not the Father in His sovereign and Electing love. Woe is unto me, if I preach not Christ and Him crucified. Woe is unto me, if I preach not the Holy Ghost in His quickening and saving power. We never need fear the consequences. All will be well! We have God's Word of Promise for it: "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.'

Hallelujah! Praise ye the Lord!!

SERIES VI. No. 5.

"THE CROSS OF OUR

LORD JESUS CHRIST."

Rev. J. BATTERSBY
(Vicar of St. James', Sheffield),

AT VERULAM MISSION CHURCH, KENNINGTON ROAD,

LAMBETH, LONDON,

THURSDAY EVENING, MARCH 3RD, 1881.

In the 6th Chapter of St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians and at the 14th verse, you will read :

"BUT GOD FORBID THAT I SHOULD GLORY, SAVE IN THE CROSS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST BY WHOM THE WORLD IS CRUCIFIED UNTO ME AND I UNTO THE WORLD."

In the 11th verse, the Apostle informs the Galatians, that he had written this Epistle to them with his own hand. "Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand." Several of his other Epistles were written by his companions in the faith, but subscribed by himself. "The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every Epistle: so I write." (2nd Thess. iii. 17). In the 12th verse, the Apostle speaks of, and exposes false teachers, or "false brethren," who had crept into the Church unawares. They were Judaizers, who desired to add to the Christian religion, the Mosaic Ritual. They were a fair type of the Ritualists of the present day. The Judaizing teachers would be proud of their descent from Abraham, of their ecclesiastical privileges according to the law, and doubtless of their learning and eloquence. Still, they were men pleasers, and preferred the "fair shew in the flesh," to "suffering persecution for the

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cross of Christ." 'As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised." And why? Only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ." The Apostle then charges home upon these "false teachers" inconsistency-"For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh." That they may glory among the Jews in having been the means of so many professing Christians being circumcised. This was worldly and carnal glorying. How different from the Apostle's glorying as stated in our text. "But God forbid that

I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me and I unto the world." Here is true glorying, "According as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any. thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. The distinctive mark of a real Christian is a new creature in Christ Jesus.

I

I shall now proceed with the text :-First, the Cross; secondly, the crucifixion; and thirdly, the glorying. Í hope I shall be able to communicate to you under these three divisions, the thoughts which are in my own mind. Some Ministers do not like divisions, I only wish they did, for I am sure, it would be much more profitable to their Congregations. I mean it would be much more profitable to their Congregations, if the Preachers had got anything to say, which was worthy of being heard. I like divisions myself, for I find them a very great help to me in speaking, and I am certain they are equally a help to those who hear me. It is a very great fault in young Ministers of the present day, to begin their Sermons without a beginning, and to ramble and rove along without a plan, and to end without an ending. But conceited youth is slow to learn, and very unready to take a hint. This is a great defect in the rising generation of youthful and inexperienced preachers. I suppose we must not expect to find old heads on young shoulders. If there be any young min

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isters here to night, or any who intend practising preaching, let me advise them to prepare and divide their subjects well, before they venture to trouble other persons with their orations from the pulpit. Let them prepare most carefully always, and let them not attempt to deceive both themselves, their congregations and their God, by saying, they trust in the Lord to give them a word." This sort of speech, is either an apology for a very poor Sermon, or a prelude to a carnal outburst of grandiloquence. Congregations, after all, are not easily deceived. Let me say, Let me say, that if young Ministers have prepared their subjects wel!, and the Lord takes them away from them, He will then give them better subjects, and reveal Himself to them as Sovereign Lord of all their thoughts, words, and works.

Let us now consider, first, what is implied in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word cross is used in the following senses in the Scriptures :-(1) for the literal cross on which our Lord was crucified; (2) for the whole work of Christ in His sufferings and death and (3) for the sufferings and afflictions of the people of God. I shall now endeavour to establish these statements by the Word of God.

First, for the literal cross on which our Lord was crucified. The literal meaning of the word for cross is "stake." It was used as an instrument of cruel punishment, and was either driven through the criminal, or the criminal was bound to it, until death put an end to his awful sufferings. In early times, crosses were made of the rudest and readiest materials, because of the number of victims to be crucified. Trees were often used as crosses. Josephus says, when writing of the siege of Jerusalem by Titus;-"The soldiers, out of wrath and hatred they bore the Jews, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses by way of jest; when their multitude was so great, that room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies." (Wars of the Jews, Book V. chap. xi. sec. 1). The Jews had cried out to Pilate before concerning Jesus Christ, say