slide and leave his first faith, he seldom stops short at his first mistake. He seldom makes only one stumble. He seldom commits only one fault. A blindness seems to come over his understanding. He appears to cast over-board his common sense and discretion. Like a stone rolling down-hill, the further he goes on in sin- ning, the faster and more decided is his course. Like David, he may begin with idleness, and end with com- mitting every possible crime. Like Peter, he may be- gin with cowardice — go on to foolish trifling with temp- tation, and then end with denying Christ.
If we know any thing of true saving religion, let us ever beware of the beginnings of backsliding. It is like the letting out of water, first a drop and then a torrent. Once out of the way of holiness, there is no saying to what we may come. Once giving way to petty incon- sistencies, we may find ourselves one day committing every sort of wickedness. Let us keep far from the brink of evil. Let us not play with fire. Let us never fear being too particular, too strict, and too precise. No petition in the Lord's prayer is more important than the last but one, " Lead us not into temptation."
Let us observe, in the second place, in these verses, how much our Lord Jesus Christ had to endure from lying lips , ivhen tried before the chief priests. We are told that " many bare false witness against Him ; but their wit- ness agreed not together."
We can easily conceive that this was not the least heavy part of our blessed Saviour's passion. To be seized unjustly as a malefactor, and put on trial as a criminal when innocent, is a severe affliction. But to hear men