with a sly touch of quiet sarcasm,

"" 'How much did he

leave? why, of course, he left it all." Yes, he left it all. "This night,”—This night! Oh, how it brings eternity near! That man sitting there thinking of nothing but time, time, time, as we are apt to sit here and think of nothing but our circumstances, our family, our stocks, our shares, our business. Time, time, time; and there in the background is God telling that angel, "Angel, start down to London for the soul of a certain man, to whom I shall guide thee, who is now sitting in Regent's Square Church." While you are saying to yourself, "Much goods," the pocketless shroud is waiting for you; while you are saying to yourself," Many years," your name is being called in the other world; and presently you shall appear to answer it. Have you ever had any experience something like this? I remember one evening when I was staying in the country. It was growing late and dark, and I had not lit the lamp; the house was getting dark, and I was sitting there quietly thinking, when suddenly my whole flesh began to move, and my hair almost to stand on end. It was next to nothing, but it was just the most nervous thing that can happen to one—a sudden look of a face peering in at the window at you-just a moment, and then the face vanishes. May we all get that stagger to-day! May you just get one brief look at God's face, for God looks in at the window of your soul when you are thinking, 'My fruits, my goods, my ease, my abundance! What I am going to do if I can only get the Benediction pronounced and the Sunday turned into Monday." Just then God is looking in at the window; just one brief, swift glance to tell you He is there. And remember, that He who looks in at the window is not far from the door; He can quickly be

in on the floor, with His hand on your shoulder. God is as near as that. He is looking in at the window, and He will be round at the door some of these days, and we will then have to go out whether we like it or no. We shall be "required" to go. Exit, rich farmer! Enter the relatives, to fight about the will! Oh, the sarcasm of such

a life! May the Lord to-day help us to look up to Him, sick or well, rich or poor, young or old, and let us see to it that we are rich towards God, rich in prayer, rich in work, rich in spiritual ambition and in spiritual covetousness!

For death shall only usher us into a more abundant possession.

May the Lord bless the preaching of His Word!

Henderson & Spalding, General Printers, Marylebone Lane, London, W.

THE IMPERIAL STANDARD FOR MEASURING RECRUITS.

A Sermon

DELIVERED IN REGENT SQUARE CHURCH ON SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 20TH, 1890, BY THE

REV. JOHN MCNEILL.

LUKE ix. 57-62.

Ir is evident, then, the very first reflection that comes into one's mind after reading such a passage as this—reading it in the light partly of its own setting, its own date and generation; and reading it also in the light of our own surroundings-our obvious reflection is that Christ's cause and kingdom may not be expected to go on by leaps and bounds.

Not because it is not a grand cause and kingdom, not because He is not a great King and Leader, but simply because men are men. Christ is here to set up His kingdom among men, among us men and women. And therein lies the difficulty. Christ wants to count, not heads, but hearts. It is nothing to Him, evidently it is nothing to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is here to set up His great society, His great eternal rule and sway, with all its personal No. 24.

and social characteristics, with all its beneficent purposes now and for evermore-it is evidently nothing to Him, I say, to have a flock of people coming to-day, if they are going to leave Him to-morrow. He is delivered this great King and Lord and Leader of men, who comes to form His new society-He is delivered from many of those mistakes and false ambitions, which, although for the time they seem to serve the purpose of great leaders, by-andbye become the very destruction of all progress.

See how Christ lifts Himself up to our view as delivered from all mean, low, and petty aims and methods of accomplishing His purpose. He will part company with you, with me, with anybody, in order to be on terms of absolute sincerity with us. He will say to us, "Come, and I am glad to see you; but let us understand the terms. I would rather that you never began than that you should begin on a false notion, a false understanding, and perhaps afterwards have some kind of just occasion to say that I held out bright hopes at the beginning, which were falsified as time went on." And let us remember, that if Christ could afford to deal thus with candidates for His fellowship then, in those small and despised days, when He could count His actual, devoted followers without going very deep into arithmetic; if He could afford to do this then, to put on the riddle, the sieve, so to speak, and sift so thoroughly, much more can He afford to do it to-day. So we need to turn to a passage like this every now and then, especially in times of increase, outward increase, in times of outward prosperity, in times of outward and visible success, in order that we may be delivered from any delusion; for it is utterly impossible to delude or glamour our Master. He is delivered from all wrong use of numbers and figures; from

all that the eye sees, that may fill the ear. Are we?

and from the shouts and hosannas From all that He is absolutely free.

"And it came to pass, that, as they went in the way, a certain man said unto Him, Lord, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head." Now let me test myself, first of all, by this man. The great question for you and me is this: Christ is going through the land. I have heard much about Him, glorious things are said about Him, glorious things are in His gift and offer for me, for whomsoever will. Now let us go back to the beginning. Am I really with Him, am I really in the inner circle of Christ's own true, faithful, devoted followers? For with Him it is all inner circle. Can I encourage myself, then, this morning; can I, dare I encourage my heart with the honest assurance, Through grace I do believe I have heard Christ's call, and from the heart I have obeyed. I am His irrevocably, by my own sincere, honest, day-light decision in His own presence." What kind of man is this? You may be like him.

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The Lord did not fasten him by a "Follow Me," as He I did with others. But neither is he turned away by the Lord saying, "No, My friend; I am going through the land, and whomsoever I wish to have for My purposes, I call individually. I give to each express, clear monition and indication on the tympanum of his own ear that My voice has spoken, and I have called him by his name." Now I believe in eternity that will be found to be true. When all tests have been applied, and all winds of judgment have blown their utmost, and the last speck of chaff has gone drifting away on the last gust that will ever blow out of the