Is right in the midst of the world and the people. A mountain towers up above the plain, within eight of all ; and eo the gospel Church ilf such a striking and impreeei ve thing that all eyes must be turned to it. Men cannot be blind to it; men dare not ignore it. Like the mountain, it is an indestructible fact, of which men must take account. The buildings erected for ite worship are the symbols of itself; in every village, town, and city, the church tower and cathedral spire rise above the buildings of the people, well in everybody's sight. Show that however men may think to dispel the so-called myths that have gathered round the historic Christ, they must deal with this mountain-fact, the gospel Church exists; it must have had a source; it must have a mission at the heart of it. Surely it is the witness of the truth of C'hrist. II. THE GOSPEL CHURCH IS FIGURED AS ON THE TOP 011' THE M0UNTAINB. Other religious, other social and philanthropic schemes for the elevation of the race, may be figured BB mountains. But let them all be gathered together, and it will be found that Christianity towerH high above them all. Its origin, its character, its provisions, make it the most conspicuous, the most important of them all. Comparisons may be insti- tuted (1) with man-made religions, paganism, Buddhism, etc.; and (2) with previously given Divine religions, such as patriarchism, Mosaism, etc. The points of superiority are such as these : 1. Revelation of God to man under the figure of Father. 2. Mani- festation of God in the person of his Son as a fellow-man. 3. Redemption of man by the intervention of Divine love. 4. Perfect provision for the needs of man, as a spiritual being. 5. A.deq uate and final mastery of all man's moral foes and evils. Show that other religion8 touch some of man's needs. Christianity is at the" top of the mountains," because it reaches them all, and deals with them efficiently. III. THE GOSPEL CHURCH ATTRACTING ALL NATIO~s. They will be drawn, not forced into it. One shall tell another of it. One shall invite another to journey to it. They shall flow to it as streams flow to the sea. "There is an Eastern fable of a great mountain of lodestone, out in the middle of the sea, that attracted, to their destruction, all the ships that came near it. This mountain of the Lord's house is a great spiritual ma,,<TDet, and it draws souls, not to destruction, but to everlasting life" (Dr. Edmond). Illustrate (1) from the various nations attracted by the preaching of the early Church ; (2) from the power of the preached gospel in various heathen lands now ; (3) from its proved fitness to meet the needs of all sinners and all sufferers. Jesus said, "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me."-R. T. Ver. 4:.- War no more. It seems that the reign of Uzziah was famous for the invention of new weapons of war (2 Chron. xxvi. 11-15). Isaiah, observing this, contrasts with it the good time coming, when righteousness rules the relations of kings and kingdoms ; and when Messiah, the Prince of righteousness, and therefore Prince of peace, judges among the nations. If Christ really reigned, and held the allegiance of every man and of every nation, all disputes could be settled by arbitration; if each man, and each nation, only wants what is right and what i8 kind, there need be no more war. Matthew Henry well says," The design and tendency of the gospel are to make peace and to slay all enmities. It has in it the most powerful obligations and inducements to peace, so that one might reasonably have expected it should have this effect; and it would have had it if it had not been for those lusts of men from which come wars and fightings." Christianity has, in some measure, already triumphed over war and the war-spirit. I. THE HORRORS OF WAR ARE RELIEVED. Certainly they are so far as concerns civilized and Christian nations. Compare a.ncient and modern warfare in respect (1) of giving no quarter; (2) of unbridled licence on taking a city; (3) of the treatment of captives; (4) of provisions for the care of the wounded; (5) of the respectful burial of the dead. "So far as the teaching of Christ has influenced international polity and la.w, he has been the supreme .Arbitrator of their disputes." "It is undeniable that Christianity has greatly contributed to ameliorate the political condition of mankind, by diminishing the horrors of war, promoting mutual intercourse, and advancing the useful arts." II. THE IMPLEME:t-.'TB 01!' WAR .ARE DEVOTED TO OTHER. USES, The expression, "beat their swords into ploughshares," is figurative, and what it represents is met by the fact that commerce and manufactures advance faster than the making of war-tools. Time rn THE BOOK 01'' THE PROP.HET ISAIAH. [ CH, 11, 1,--22,
WM when men and energies were given to the manufacture of wel\pone and·implementa of war, and when kings lived to make war. That is all p:ist and gone. -Only a small fringo of human labour is related to war material; nnd kings have di/lcovercd that national prosperity and national peace go together hand in hand. Contrast lhe life in England under the Edwards, and under Vict-oria. "In such states of society 1\8 that among the Hebrews, the peasantry, when summoned to the field, are Qbliged, to provide their own weapons. When, therefore, they were poor, and material for w:c.'\pons was too expensive foe their resources, it would be an obvious thought to turn the plo110-h- share, which was thin, long, and light for such an instrumcLt, into a sword, .which. :as short and thick as compared with our sword. When the war was over, the change might e.asily be made back again. A sword would, of course, with equal facility,,, be e h ~ into a ploughshare. Pruning-hooks may include anything e!]lployed. in. roapip~ or mowmg; ·such as a sickle or scythe, a.swell as the long knives used,Jor. trimming vines." Show that commerce, knitting lands together by mutual interest, is a han~, maid to Christi~nity in her work c,f peace. ... . . III. THE WASTE OF TIME AND POWER IN LEABNIN,G WAR A,RE CHECKED. Illustrate from the formation of our volunteer army, the members of which give :their' best energies to peaceful pursuits, and only their leisure to lea.ruing the art of war. Note the growing feeling that the soldier-class is almost a useless class ; that the money expended on them is a waste ; a.nd that the nation suffers by having so much of her young manhood idle, a.nd getting into the moral mischiefs of the idle. The results we thus can reco,,o-nize have been attained by the triumph of the great Christian principles, of peace, brotherhood, and care for others rather than for self. But we may not rest with any .present attainments; we must witness a.nd work .for that glorious coming time, when the ideal king is to "judge among the nations," and in reliance on his wisdom a.od equity, the nations will refer their disputes to his deQieion, instead of the arbitrament of war.-R. T.