us aim at that which alone is true. We may be sure there is profound wisdom in that saying of our Lord's, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts xx. 35.)
In the third phice, we learn that the Lord Jesus Christ is intended to he the example of all true Christians. What saith the Scripture ? We ought to serve one an- other, "even as the Son of man came not to be minis- tered unto, but to minister."
The Lord God has mercifully provided His people with everything necessar}' to their sanctification. He has given those who follow after holiness the clearest of pre- cepts, the best of motives, and the most encouraging of 2)romises. But this is not all. He has furthermore sup- plied them with the most perfect pattern and example, even the life of His own Son. By that life he bids us frame our own. In the steps of that life He bids us walk. (1 Peter ii. 21.) It is the model after which we must strive to mold our tempers, our words, and our works, in this evil world. — " Would my Master have spoken in this manner ? Would my Master have be- haved in this way ?" — These are the questions by which we ought daily to try ourselves.
How humbling this truth is ! What searchings of heart it ought to raise within us ! What a loud call it is to " lay aside every weight, and the sin which most easily besets us V What manner of persons ought they to be who profess to copy Christ ! What poor unprofitable religion is that which makes a man content with talking and empty profession, while his life is unholy and un- clean ! Alas ! those who know nothing of Christ, as an example, will find at last that He knows nothing of them