I say unto you, I say unto all, watch." We shall feel in all our common daily work that we are ever among his meshes: if we sleep, or if we dally, he will close us up again as before.

Therefore, again, we shall be very careful to leave no remnant of old sins, no root of bitterness to hold out a welcome to our enemy, to give him a handle against ourselves. When God's angels opened the prison doors to Paul and Silas, "every one's bands," we are told, "were loosed." And when God has thus been willing to loose our bands, would it not be worse than folly to walk about with the remnants of our punishment, with the tokens of our shame still hanging about our limbs? Shall we spare one sin because it is little, and another because it comes seldom, and a third because it is so nearly rooted out? Nay, then, we might nearly as well abide in our sin, for from this one many others will come; it will be the nest-egg to a hateful brood, therefore we must cast them all out, and leave no link of the fetter behind.

But if we are thus to clear all away, we must begin at once, and with hearty prayer. Prayer has opened prisons, turned aside armies, shut up the heavens, brought down rain, divided rivers, closed the mouth of lions, made the fire harmless,

sent the sun backwards, given food to the famishing. Prayer has done all that we need to have done; but it must be prayer sharply used, and on the instant. It has less power to-morrow than to-day, and less the day after than to-morrow. And why does it thus lose its influence? Because every day we wait adds fresh toils for it to burst through, if it would make its way from the heart to the throne of Jesus Christ; every day strengthens the habits of sin, and throws into the wrong scale our wishes, our customs, and our pleasures; every delay is so much taken from our life, and given to the enemy of our souls.

Well then, brethren, let us up and be doing. We are loosening or tightening the chain which holds us every day that we live through; every day which goes by (though we think nothing of it, and feel nothing) is yet rivetting a new fetter, or shaking off its links from our souls.

On one side our sleepless enemy is ever pressing every advantage to the utmost; our nature gave him a hold, our carelessness has strengthened it, our habits have confirmed it; every sin we so idly commit is woven up, by his cunning hand, into the chain which secures our slavery.

On the other hand, Christ has died, yea rather,

is risen again. He has renewed our fallen nature, He has willed to quicken our mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in us; He that has begun the good work will carry it on to the end. He will help us in all our trials, open our eyes to see our danger, loosen our tongue to pray for deliverance; He will break off the fetters from our feet, and the chains from our hands; He will enable us to leap like a hart, to learn new ways and a new language; He will draw us with the bands of love," and lead us to the land of perfect freedom, instead of everlasting chains of darkness.

Awake, awake, put on thy strength." "Loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Sion." Put away the bands of wickedness, envy, lust, pride, ill-humour, deceit, dishonesty, carelessness, neglect of God, coldness of soul, indulgence, false pretences: these, and such as these, are devil's bands, with which he snares the souls of the unwary. O be thou aware of him; and since one mightier than he is on thy side-since He who fights for thee will conquer for thee, unless thou refuse the victory-reject not Him that fighteth. Scorn the spirit of bondage, the mean slavery of Satan's

service; and since life and death, heaven and hell, slavery and freedom, are set before thee to choose, take the wise, the profitable, the honourable part, and stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath set thee free.

JOHN HENRY PARKER, OXFORD AND LONDON.

Sermons for the Christian Seasons.

TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

CHARACTER DETERMINED BY CONDUCT,

1 JOHN iii. 7. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous.

WE often hear the praise which men bestow on an enquiring disposition. It is true, that to enquire is the first step to wisdom; but to a spirit of enquiry must be added discernment and obedience, or enquiry must end in weakness and perplexity. We see that this is true with regard to all matters of this life; how much more so is it likely to be the case in religion? Take the common example of bodily health. When we consider the proneness of our hearts to deceive us in this respect, ought we to be surprised if something similar takes place in regard of our souls? In the prevalence of any disease, men learn and discuss its symptoms till they are able to point out its appearance in others, yet they doubt the meaning of the same signs in their own case, and prove their doubtfulness by self-neglect.