have us know that the truest friend to our souls, is not the man who is always " speaking smooth things," and agreeing with everything we say, but the man who tells us the most truth.
We learn, firstly, from our Lord's words, how great is the sin of prof easing to teach others what we do not practise ourselves. He says to the lawyers, "Ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, while ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers." They required others to observe wearisome ceremonies in religion which they themselves neglected. They had the impudence to lay yokes upon the consciences of other men, and yet to grant exemptions from these yokes for themselves. In a word, they had one set of measures and weights for their hearers, and another set for their own souls.
The stem reproof which our Lord here administers, should come home with special power to certain classes in the church. It is a word in season to all teachers of young people. It is a word to all masters of families and heads of households. It is a word to all fathers and mothers. Above all, it is a word to all clergjrmen and ministers of religion. Let all such mark well our Lord's language in this passage. Let them beware of telling others to aim at a standard which they do not aim at themselves. Such conduct, to say the least, is gross inconsistency.
Perfection, no doubt, is unattainable in this world. I£ nobody is to lay down rules, or teach, or preach, imtil he is faultless himself, the whole fabric of society would be thrown into confusion. But we have a right to expect some agreement between a man's words and a man's