a missionary spirit among all Protestant Churches, — ^the wide-spread interest felt about the Jews, — the evident decay of the Mahometan power, — the shaking of all the kingdoms of Europe by the French revolu- tion, — the extraordinary spread of knowledge and education, — the marvellous revival of Romanism, — the steady growth of the most subtle forms of infidelity, — all these are facts which cannot be denied, and facts which ought to speak loudly to every well-informed Christian. Surely they deserve to be called signs of our times.
Let us remember the words of our Lord in the passage before us, and not err after the manner of the Jews. Let us not be blind, and deaf, and insensible to all that God is doing, both in the Church and in the world. The things of which we have just been reminded are surely not without meaning. They have not come on the earth by chance or by accident, but by the appointment of God. "We ought not to doubt that they are a call to watchful- ness, and to preparation for the day of God. May we all have an ear to hear, and a heart to understand ! If ay we not sleep as do many, but watch and discern our time ! It is a solemn saying in the book of Revelation : *' If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee." (Rev. iii. 3.)
The second thing which this passage teaches us, is the immense importance of seeking reconciliation mth God before U be too hUe. This is a lesson which our Lord illustrates by a parable or comparison. He compares us to a man on his way to a magistrate with an adversary, in conse- quence of a di£Ference or dispute, and describes the course