tion would have rested only on their ignorance of facts which He Himself knew to be real."

Stier says: "Christ could only have uttered such a challenge, in the perfect consciousness of His own sinlessness before God. In truth, He speaks it absolutely and definitely and solemnly; He does not affect before men the semblance of sinlessness. From any other lips than His own, such a declaration could be sincere and permissible only when referred to external sins which may be alleged; but when He so speaks it would be sin, if there were in His mind any reserve of sinful consciousness; this very word would be sin. He who does not feel this, is not to be argued with. What humility, once more, appears in this dignity! He submits to be rebuked by these sinners, if they can convince Him. As the Holy One of Israel He stands and awaits their accusation. We are to suppose here a sublime pause to intervene. He has put the question, and is silent. They also are silent; their slanderous spirits have not a word to allege in His Presence. His question was redoubled: Am I a sinner? If not a sinner, but true, wherefore, wherefore, believe ye me not?"

First Thought.-We often find it hard in our Christian experience to believe the higher doctrines of revelation. The Trinity, for example,

or the Incarnation. How can God be Three Persons while only One in Substance? How can our Lord be perfect God and perfect man at the same time? Then too such doctrines as the Real Presence, the Resurrection of the body, the finality of the judgment passed upon each soul at death, and the doctrine of hell: we come to feel that such teachings cannot belong to the realm of truth because they are so different from our personal experience. May it not be that it is hard for us to believe them just because they are true? Our experience is drawn largely from the untrue things. The circumstances of our present life seem to be permanent; yet as a matter of fact they are most transient and fleeting. The conditions of our present life appear to be most important, and to call for the greatest thought and often anxiety on our part; in reality they are of very little importance, because they affect only the things of the body and not the soul; and the body as we know it is presently to perish, while the soul passes out into an altogether different state of being. If these temporal things become of the supremest interest to us, so that they appear to be the real things, while the things of eternity remain unreal and vague, we are in our lives practically making the true to be false, and the false true. Living in false conditions as if they

were true, we are unable to believe the true things, just because they are true. It is a perilous thing for the soul so to restrict its view to temporal concerns, that the verities of the unseen world become untrue to it.

Second Thought.-We are very apt to take refuge from the keen inquisition of our Lord's words as given us in the Scripture, in the consciousness of the heart-integrity of our lives. We know that we do desire in all things to be loyal to our Master Christ, and with all our failures we are still persuaded that our lives are not in most ways unexemplary. It is well nevertheless to examine ourselves upon this point.

1. We may say, as addressing men generally in our hearts, "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" We ought to try to see ourselves as others see us, to judge our own lives as we would judge the lives of our neighbours. Can we stand this test?

2. Then we should more particularly look into the matter of Christian charity, that point upon which St. John lays so great stress, and our Lord always. We ought to be Christ-like to all men. Well then, let us say to those with whom we are constantly brought into contact, "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" Can anyone

truthfully say of me that I have failed in Christian charity towards him?

3. There remains a yet more searching test; when the soul puts itself in thought in the presence of the whole company of heaven-aye, of the Lord in the midst of His saints, and cries, "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" Then it is ashamed, even though it may have bravely stood the lesser tests of loyalty to Christ. In heaven's eyes, to which the innermost secrets of the heart lie bare, we cannot hold ourselves guiltless, as did the All-holy Master that day in the presence of the Jews. Every one has need to cry, God be merciful to me a sinner.

We

Third Thought.-Such considerations ought to open our eyes to the utter unreality of our lives in very many particulars. The Master cries, If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? We know that He says the truth. know that the only way to attain heaven is the strait gate and narrow way of the cross, the way of unworldliness, the way of heart-purity and self-denial, the way of humility and personal abasement. But we cannot make up our minds quite wholly to choose this type of life. We would temporize. The world is very attractive in many ways, its interests absorb and delight, though they often grievously tantalize us. We

cannot make up our minds to take a really high stand with regard to such things. The flesh is strong within; we have pleasure-loving natures; we are persons of strong affections, of hot passions. One cannot curb natural desires quite absolutely, there must be a little loosening of the reins sometimes. Yet again, it is impossible while we are here among our fellows who do not respect rights that are not asserted, who are ever looking after their own interests, to live humbly, meekly, unresentingly, as Christ lived. And still He cries, If I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? Because Lord, the truth is too hard for us. We cannot wholly surrender the world and the flesh and the devil for Thee-yet.