Ill. Illustrate the text In cases of FAMILY BEREAVEMENTS; so bring to view and Impress spiritual consolations. Family sepe.re.tions always causing grief and distress. Different soenee at grave-sides beheld by ministers. Extreme distress may be shown only in noble self-restraints; see Abraham's eo,row over Sarah. What must it be to eever two souls that have grown together in loving, mutual dependence and service through long, long years? It is like tee.ring the climbing plant from the stem round which it be.a clung so hard that the two seemed to share a common life. There are three great sources of consolation that may be urged. 1. The " taken " a.re taken from toil and suffering to rest and peace. All life must be B11ffering toil; all heaven must be restful toil. Illustrate by the friendship of Christian and Faithful in the' Pilgrim'~ Progress.' Faithful was ta.ken away to rest by the fire-chariot at Vanity Fair. 2. Those "left" a.re left with abundant provisions of Divine grace. The Hebrew youths in the blazing furnace were not Iert alone. There are (1) promises to cheer the sadness of the way; (2) there is a lamp to lighten the darkness of the way; and (3) there is a. Friend to guide a.mid the dangers of the way. 3. The " taken" and the "left " will soon be reunited where there is no separation. "A little while;" "We shall know even as we are known;" "They go no more out for ever."-R. T. Ver. 44.-.Abiding rmdineBB. "Therefore be ye also ready." The one point which our Lord seeks to impress on hie disciples is the uncertainty of the time of the great testing-day, and of all testing-days. The fa.et that a. reckoning-day for the Lord's servants must come has to be fully accepted. If there is any sense in which we are now in trust during our Lord's absence, it is certain that his absence can only be temporary. We can never cease to be servants in charge. We can never get a personal right in the things of which we are set in charge. Purposely our Lord withholds from his disciples of every age the date of his return. It is troest kindness to do so. It is moral train- ing to do so. His disciples always go wrong when they try to fix dates. Christ distinctly refuses to allow any du.ta. on which such fixtures can be made. Prophets of the '' second coming," and of the "end of the world," a.re wise above what is written, and let their imaginations run riot over Bible figures of speech. J. THE MORAL INFLUENCE OJ!' J!'EELING THAT THE MASTER MAY COME AT ANY TIME. 1. It keeps the thought of the Master close, near to us at all times. So it takes us out of ourselves. 2. It keeps us thinking what the Master would like to see when he comes. So it makes us ever busy about our work. 3. It sets us upon thinking what pleasant surprises we can give our Master when he comes. So it lifts our work high above the drudgery of service. 4:. It k!leps in our hearts the ever-cheering confi- dence of the Master's smile, if he sees all has been right and is right in his home. .Add that all this filling of our souls with the thought of our Master provides the healthiest deliverance from all self-centred sentimentalism. Illustrate from our Lord's picture of the good servant, who was found "watching," in the sense of being busy about his work. II. THE MOBAL INFLUENCE OJ!' J!'EELING THAT THE MABTEB 18 DELA YING ms OOMING. This represents the most striking contrast. The thought of the Master is lifted a.way, and self rises to fill the vacant space. No need to hurry preparations; it will be soon enough when he sends notice. Meanwhile there can be self-enjoyment. There is no fear of being taken at una.wares. See the picture of the unworthy servant. Whether men think they can, or think they cannot, fix the time of Christ's coming, the fact for them all will be that he will come to them at una wares,· and find them out. -R.T.
EXPOSITION. having and retaining grace tlllto the end. CHAPTER XXV. in order to be able to welcome the advent Ven. 1-13.-Parable of the ten virgin,. of Obrist. The duty of watchfulness and (Peculiar to St. Matthew.) This parable, preparation for the great day is, of course, u a continuation of the teaohing of the implied and set forlh (ver. 13); but the last chapter, sets forth the neoeaslty of point is that the oil of God's gmce alone 472 THE GOSPEL AOOORDING TO ST. :MATTHEW. [OH, U\f, 1-i6.