fasting had long prevailed among the devout Jews. It bad been perverted by nscctic, on the one band, and by Pharisees on the other. Because misused. our Lord dealt with it thus in the way of correction. He assumes that it is quite possible his disciples may desire to fast; he therefore deals with the proper spirit of fasting. I. F ABTJNG IB ill' AOT OF BELP-RESTBAINT. It belongs to the sphere of self-,lisci- pline. And that is strictly a personal and private matter. A man may help hh brother by his example, showing the results of self-discipline. No man is callerl to show his brother the process of self-discipline; indeed, he must spoil the process if he attempts to show it. There is a growth of the plant which must go on in the soil and in the dark. You can never safely expose rootings. Our Lord teaches, tbat all moral discipline and bodily restraint-which may be gathered up and represented by fasting-belong to a man's private .life, and should not even be made publicly known by the man's appearance, It is, indeed, a distinct failure of self-restraint to want to show others our self-restraint. .. Else let 118 keep our fa.et witbin, Till Heaven and we are quite alone; Then let the grief, the shame, the sin, Before the mercy-seat be thrown." (Keble.) II. FASTING AS AN AOT OP EUMILIATION. Distinctly the design of rssttng ls to eufeeble appetite and to humiliate passions. It is noticed that appetites for self- indulgence are strong when the body is pampered with luxurious food. But it is no humiliation to show our humiliation, and get our restrainings praised. That does but change body-pride for heart-pride, which is more defiling. Note this danger: in fasting to restrain bodily appetite we may come to think that evil is in the body.-R. T. Ver. 20.-The treasures of character. "Treasures in heaven." " Here moral excel- lence is put in contrast with material treasure. Men are to seek nobility of character, riches of feeling, strength of manhood, and not perishable wealth." Character is called "treasure in heaven," because it alone goes with us into the unseen world. It belongs to us; it cannot be parted from us, It is not something that we have; it is that which we are, wherever we are. I. THE INSECURITY OP ALL TREASURE IN THINGS. Everything man sets vo.lue on is a perishable thing. To him it is perishable, either by decaying as he holds it, or by removal from him. "The fashion of this world passeth away." " Hicl1es take to them eel ves wings, and fiee away." "We've no abiding city here. n This hardly seems so evidently true in our modem times, when wealth gains more apparent fixity, as it did in Eastern lands, when wealth largely consisted in garments, and governments failed to ensure stability and security. Moth and rust (corrosion) would destroy most things, and the thieves would carry off the rest. 'l'he truth is as true to-day as it ever was- mnn can never guarantee his hold on anything he may possess. He bas it to-day; he is never sure of lt to-morrow. Thie is true not only of purely material things, but even of such things as skill of body and furniture of mind-things that a man may gain, but which still are outside the real man; only things that he has. Whatever a man only has is in peril. II. THE SECURITY OF ALL TBEABUBE IN CEARAOTER. What a man is, and what a man becomes, are unaffected by any known decaying forces. Cbnracter is the investi- ture of the soul, in which it passes to the eternal realms. Illustrate the forces that affect our things, and show how powerless they are against our character. See the case of Job. Try dea.th as age.inst the sanctified character that a man may have become. Death can strip a soul absolutely bare of all acquired things. " We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out.n Deat.!i. can take the soul from the body. But death cannot touch character, which is the soul's garment. So he is rich for ever who has won "character."-R. T.
Ver. 22.-The inspiration of a 11oble aim. "The light of the body is the oye." Different versions give "lantern," or II candle," or " la.mp." Then the idea is, that the aim and purpose a man has in life will be like a light shining on nil his life and 278 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW, [OH, VI. 1~4.