and, ble~sed be hie holy Name, in infinite mercy. He bids us to look ever forward to !he coming ~: that grel\t day, and to estiml\te things in reference to the coming 3udgment.. l he glory of the w~rld seems now, to our short-sighted eyes, very great and magnificent and overpowenng. But look at it in the fierce li"ht that streams from the ~udgment-th:one; the~ it shrinks into nothingness. Its brightness is like the poor little candle m the eflulgent radiance of the noontide sun• you see that its beauty is marred with the traces of decay, rottenness, death. "The world passeth away • • • but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." Let us not lose that eternal life for the sake of this fleeting, dying world. For the Son of man cometh in his kingdom. There were some, the Lord said, standing there who should see that kingdom before they died. 'Three of them soon saw the transfigured Saviour in his gbry. All, save one, saw the risen Lord, victorious over death, manifested as the Lord of life, the everlasting King, to whom all power in heaven and in earth is given. Some o~ them, we know not how many, saw the manifestation of his power in the destruction of J ernsalem; when the old dispensation made way for the kingdom of heaven, the one Catholic C_hurch over which Christ shall reign as King until the end cometh; then, on the rums of the old theocracy, was established that spiritual kingdom which shall reach its consummation in the day of the Lord. In each of these great events the Lord's prediction was in some sense fulfilled. If we cannot define its meaning to our complete satisfaction, let us remember what he snid oi the last survivor of the apostles, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me." LEssoNs. I. The cross is the very emblem of our religion; he .is no true Ohrietian who beareth not the cross. 2. The whole world is worth nothing to him whose soul is lost. No price can redeem the lost soul. "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." 3. The judgment is at hand. Think of this life in the light of the judgment. "Love not the world."
HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Ver. 4.-17ze cry for a sign. It strikes us as somewhat remarkable that the con- temporaries of our Lord should be inquiring a sign; for was not his work teeming • with signs and wonders? Plainly the demand of the sceptical people, and the response with which Christ met it, give us another view of miracles and their relation to the evidences of Chrutianity from that commonly held by apologists. I. MEN DESIRE A C0l":VINCING SIGN OF THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY. This desire is not in itself wrong or unreasonable. To believe without sufficient evidence is a symptom 0f weakness, and such a faith is only a superstition. It is not a mark of pride, ,but -a simple consequence of loyalty to truth, that we should seek for good gro1.1nds •on which to establish our convictions. If this were all that the people demanded, our Lord could not have met the cry for a sign with the anger which we see he displayed against it. But it is evident that the Jews were not satisfied with the signs Christ offered. They wanted a "sign from heaven "-some flaring portent that would compel conviction. Is there not a tendency in the present day to look away from the only .sources of truth that are available, and to demand impossible grounds of conviction? I!. THE DEMAND FOR A SIGN lliUY SPRING FROM AN UNWORTHY 0HABAOTER, It is :nost u □just to accuse doubters of exceptional wickedness. Many people have no doubts simply because they dare not face truth. They would be sceptics if they were not cowards. On the other hand, it cannot be maintained that scepticism is in itself an indication of sanctity. Now, Jesus tells us that the pure in heart are they who .shall see God. But all men-doubters included-have lost the vision of God by their sin. Thus the whole faculty of discerning the spiritual has become dim. Further, an age of self-indulgence must be an age of aggravated spiritual blindness. III. CHRIST WILL NOT SATISFY THE UNW0BTIIY DEMAND-FOB A SIGN. 1. He cannot. With all reverence this must be affirmed. No portent -ean prove a spiritual trnth to one who has not spiritual sight. You might as well expect the blare o~ a trumpet to reveal the beauty of a landscape to a blind man. 2. He would not if he could, Jforced faith has no moral worth. Truth revealed to unprepared hearts is but ae pearl• ou. xvi. 1-28.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 151