grace in us at all times; but He loves not to see it la tent. He desire sit to be in exercise. And, in order to bring it into exercise, He uses the instrumentality of suffering. The leaves of the aromatic plant shed but a faint odour, as they wave in the air. The gold shines scarcely at all, as it lies hid in the ore. The rugged crust of the pebble conceals from the eye its interior beauty. But let the aromatic leaf be crushed; let the ore be submitted to the furnace; let the pebble be cut and polished; and the fragrance, the splendour, the fair colours are then brought out:—

"This leaf? This stone? It is thy heart:

It must be crushed by pain and smart,

It must be cleansed by sorrow's art-
Ere it will yield a fragrance sweet,
Ere it will shine, a jewel meet

To lay before thy dear Lord's feet."

The same law is observable in spiritual character, which rules the formation of natural. How often in a smooth and easy life do men, who have something far better beneath, appear selfish, effeminate, and trifling! Suddenly they are thrown into some position of high trust, great responsibility, or serious danger ;-are called upon to face an enemy, or submit to the hardships of the campaign;—and lo! the character shows a stuff and a fibre,-ay, and a tenderness for others,which no one ever gave it credit for. Resolute will, dauntless self-sacrifice, considerateness, show themselves, where before we could see nothing but what was pliant and self-indulgent. Trial has unmasked latent graces of character; and although spiritual character is a thing of a higher order than natural, yet it is developed according to the same laws of the wind.

But the chief reason why suffering is the highest of all vocations, is that in suffering so close a conformity may be attained to Him, who is the highest exemplification of human virtue. The heroes of Paganism exemplified the heroism of enterprise. Patriotism, chivalrous deeds of valour, high-souled aspirations after glory, stern justice taking its course in their hands, while natural feeling was held in abeyance, this was the line in which they shone. Our Blessed Lord illustrated all virtues indeed, but most especially the passive ones. His heroism took its colouring from endurance. Women, though inferior to men in enterprise, usually come out better than men in suffering; and it is always to be remembered that Our Blessed Lord held His Humanity, not of the stronger, but of the weaker sex. The leading idea of Him is the patient sufferer, “ the lamb dumb before its shearers; "-not till after His ascension into Heaven is He represented to us as "the Lion of the tribe of Judah." And it is for this among other reasons, that, while the Evangelists notice different parts of our Lord's History,-while two of them are wholly silent respecting His Infancy and Childhood, and one almost silent respecting the Ministry in Galilee; they all agree in portraying His Death with great minuteness. Not only was this Death the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, and therefore the most important of all events to us, but also, viewing Christ merely as an Example, His Death expresses far more of His Divine Character than His Life. What should we know of Christ comparatively-how very imperfectly should we conceive of Him-if the narratives of the Cross were torn out of the Book of the Gospels? It was the Cross which (to use an expression we should not dare to use, unless

an Apostle had led the way) perfected the human character of Our Lord; for God made the "Captain of our Salvation perfect through sufferings,"-not perfect in the sense of sinless, for that He was from His Infancy upwards, but perfect in the sense in which no one can be perfect, who has not submitted to the discipline of trial. The spotless block of white marble may be perfect, in the sense of being without a flaw; but it acquires a perfection of another sort, when, after being shaped and chiselled, it is converted into a beautiful vase, fit for the palace of a monarch. The Lord, in virtue of His Humanity, had a will which shrunk from a deprecated suffering,a will which we see in operation, when those words flow from Him in the garden; "Father, if it be pos sible, let this cup pass from Me." This will, however, was gradually brought round into complete acquiescence with the higher will,—an acquiescence which expresses itself in that second cry, as recorded by St. Matthew: "Father, if this cup may not pass from Me, except I drink it, Thy will be done." It was this acquiescence which gave to the human character of Christ, sinless all along, an exquisitely finished perfection, and a certain beauty of maturity, which it had not before.

It is to conformity with Him in this high acquiescence that He called His disciple, St. Peter, when He said to him, "Follow Me." He had told him that he should have scope to follow, in a suffering similar to His own, (for St. Peter too should stretch forth his hands upon the transverse beam of the cross,) and now He tells him to copy His spirit in suffering,-" Follow Me."

And does He not tell us the same also? If the

words "Follow Me" were addressed specifically to St. Peter, are there not words of precisely similar import addressed to all disciples to the end of time? Do we not read, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me?"

Ah! there is the word of which we are in search, to express the agency of the sufferer in this matter,— 66 take up his cross." It might not be very clear what the agency of a sufferer, pinned down perhaps to a bed of pain,-upon whom, possibly, silence is imposed,could be. Such an one can do nothing in man's estimation, who looketh only on the outward appearance; but in God's estimation, who looketh on the heart, he can do much. He has a moral choice left him, a will. This will may affirm God's will, or reject it. While no option is left us as to bearing the cross, we may either take it up, or strive to push it off. We may, on the one hand, harbour the thought that we are hardly dealt with; or, on the other, we may, by enforcing upon ourselves such considerations as that God is a tender Father, and never chastens but for our profit; that suffering is a medicine, remedial, though bitter; that we have deserved infinitely more than is ever laid upon us; and that there is no real satisfaction for man except in conformity to the Divine Will,bring round the mind to say sincerely (the highest point of perfection this, which human character can reach):

"O Lord, my God, do Thou Thy holy Will!

I will lie still:

I will not stir, lest I forsake Thine arm,

And break the charm,

Which lulls me, clinging to my Father's breast,

In perfect rest."

Are we striving to bring our minds to this point, when, and as, God calls us to suffer? Are we daily practising resignation as opportunity offers? By a patient and loving endurance of annoyances, are we preparing ourselves gradually for the discipline of trials? Christ comes to us morning by morning to present to us, for the day then opening, divers little crosses, thwartings of our own will, interferences with our plans, disappointments of our little pleasures. Do we kiss them, and take them up, and follow in His rear, like Simon the Cyrenian? Or do we toss them from us scornfully because they are so little; and wait for some great affliction to approve our patience and our resignation to His Will? Ah, how might we accommodate to the small matters of religion generally those words of the Lord respecting the children, "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones? Despise not little sins; they have ruined many a soul. Despise not little duties; they have been to many a saved man an excellent discipline of humility. Despise not little temptations; rightly met they have often nerved the character for some fiery trial. And despise not little crosses; for when taken up, and lovingly accepted at the Lord's hand, they have made men meet for a great crown, even the crown of righteousness and life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love Him.