unto Christ : for he has expressly warned us, that " if, in coming to him, we forsake not all that we have, we cannot be his disciples." We must also fulfil his will in every thing, without hesitation and with- out reserve. Obedience to him must be our delight : and if, for a moment, a wish arise in our minds that is contrary to his will, we must sacrifice it instantly ; and say, " Not my will, but thine be done." Thus, whilst " the mystery concerning Christ and his Church " is mystically fulfilled in our dear friends who are about to be joined together in the bonds of ma- trimony, it will be literally and spiritually fulfilled in us.
THE PERFECTING OF THE CHURCH IS THE END OF ALL THAT CHRIST HAS DONE FOR IT.
Eph. v. 25 — 27. Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
THE morality of the Gospel, though not more extensive than that of the law, is yet more clearly revealed, and exhibited in a more endearing light. Its obligations are not set forth amidst denunciations of wrath, as those of the law were upon Mount Sinai ; but models of perfection are set before us, and we are invited by considerations of love and gratitude to make them the objects of our imitation. Not only our duty to God, but even our relative duties are set before us in this manner. St. Paul, instructing wives in their duty to their husbands, tells them, that the Church's obedience to Christ is the fittest pattern of their obedience to them. Then instructing husbands how to conduct themselves toward their wives, he proposes to them Christ's love to his Church as the model for their love to their wives. It is in this connexion that the words of our text are introduced.