again as one of a thoroughly honest, wholly unspotted life. He will be harassed by the remembrance of his sin, and harassed by its consequences, yea, though he live long, and be allowed time in which to prove himself an altered man, and to bring forth fruits meet for repentance.

And what I have said of the convicted criminal is true of many classes of offenders. It is emphatically true of those who waste their health by riotous and unclean living when they are young.

After a while-when their sin has found them out: when their strength faileth them because of their iniquity -they see and acknowledge how wrong they have been, how foolishly they have acted. Health gone, innocence gone, they confess too late their mistake. They repent them truly of their sins past.-Had they their time to come over again, they would go on very differently-they will go on differently now they will give up the bad habit-be it drinking, or lewdness, or any other, which has made such a wreck of them-they will live soberly, righteously, godly.

And so far well-a reclaimed profligate is far better than one who goes on still in his wickedness.

But what I wish to impress upon you all-upon the younger part of my hearers more especially, is, that this repenting, this breaking off our bad habits, when our eyes are opened, will not save us from the consequence of our transgressions.

That we must bear to the close of our pilgrimage.-As we have sown so must we reap. Health can never be our's again-innocence can never be our's again—those

blessings, like Esau, we sold for the momentary pleasure of gratifying our appetite for a morsel of meat-for a mess of pottage-and afterwards, when we desire to have them, when we see their value, they are like the birthright, beyond our reach. We shall find no way to change our heavenly Father's mind on this point—we shall not prevail with God to alter for us His fixed law -no-though we seek it carefully with tears!

The moral of this is-hold fast the blessing while you have it. Keep innocency-as by God's grace, which is never denied to earnest prayer-you may. Refrain thy foot, in thy youth, from every evil way. Go in the path of God's commandments. Let these be a wall unto thee on the right hand and on the left. If sinners entice thee consent thou not. Remember-let us all remember-that we are not our own—and may not do as we please with ourselves that we are the purchased property of the Lord Jesus Christ: redeemed by Him from sin, and death and hell-redeemed for this end,-that we might glorify Him in our souls and in our bodies, which are His !

Let us, I say, remember this-and treat those bodies with respect for which Christ died that He might save them-let us yield our members, not to be the slaves of appetite, but to be servants of the crucified One, servants of righteousness unto holiness!

But again. I have shewn you, by two instances, that we are under the same law as that by which Esau suffered that if we let go any blessing of God, such as our health, or our character, when we are young, -we shall in vain seek for them at a later day: we shall

have to live the rest of our life without them; aye-and we shall have to pay the penalty of having lost them.

I would mention one other instance to illustrate this subject—and that is the regret that we lay up for ourselves by omitting opportunities of kindness-opportunities of doing good-of making life's burden easier to those among whom our lot is cast; to whom, by tie of kindred, or place, or business, we are united.

These opportunities, too, never come back. If we fail to profit by them while we have them, we shall surely, one day ask for them in vain.

They are of many kinds, and arise almost every day, and from many quarters: opportunities of proving ourselves good stewards of the manifold grace of God— opportunities of relieving distress-of rescuing our brother from temptation-of instructing the ignorant—of soothing the mourner-of lifting up the fallen-of advancing in some direction the kingdom of Christ in the world.

Such opportunities, I have said, occur continually; and each time we pass any one of them by, it becomes for us a lost opportunity.-We had it-it was set before us to stir us up and quicken us in some working of goodif we have let it slip wilfully, we shall be the poorer for it ever afterwards-it will be a thorn to us in the day when conscience calls us to the reckoning.

But of all opportunities of good, those which come oftenest-those that we most often, I fear, neglect-are the opportunities that occur in our several families.

There, surely, is the best school for the Christian cha

racter. There, be our position in the house what it may, be we master or servant, wife or husband, brother or sister, we have all of us daily opportunities of shewing kindness, and doing good to one another.

In seizing those opportunities lies our real happinessin neglecting them, we heap up to ourselves sharp regrets. Death will bring those regrets into operation. When one member is taken away, when there is a vacant place in the family circle, how commonly does the heart reproach itself with past omissions-"I wish I had been kinder-I wish I had been more patient-I wish I had taken greater pains to please,-if God were to give me back the opportunity I would try and do better-I would be a better child-a better parent-a more affectionate brother-a more faithful servant !"

But no, this can not be, seek we it ever so urgently. There is no place of repentance for past unkindness—no opportunity of making amends, when the object of our regret is once withdrawn.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, let us not be slack in acts of kindness while we are together.-As we have opportunity let us do good unto all. Let us spare ourselves sharp reproach in the days to come, by the exercise of active benevolence in word and deed at present. Let us add to our own happiness by giving to our brother what is just and equal-by defrauding him not of any of those dues of kindness, those thousand nameless acts of courtesy and consideration-that love, that help, that sympathy which we owe to him; and for which that we might mutually render it, God has made us to dwell together in one house.

Let us, I say, God helping us, practice to the utmost, Christ's law of love at home-and then when that home is invaded, and the great spoiler carries off this or that dear member of our company, we that survive shall be free from heart reproach. There will be no torment in the looking back-no sharp accusing cry for omitted kindness-But, on the contrary, there will be much to soothe and console us. The memory of our past intercourse, in those first moments of separation, shall be as healing balm to comfort us concerning our brother!