sleep on the edge of a precipice, a sleep over a mine, a mere dance of death. The sooner it ends the better. Let us, therefore, consider- . II. ~im:eotJL'e. AWAKENmG THROUGH THE_ L~w_. The ~w comes claimin~ cr,n- s1dero.t1on and belief, and the moment we receive 1t ID good faith, the sense of security is at o.n end. Now, by the Law the apostle has in view the Decalogue and he here directs special attention to the tenth commandment and its forbidding co~etousne.~s or "lu~t" (l,r16uµl11). I~ is, in fact,.the spiritual rider to _the .":'hole La.w, carrying the receiver of the Law mto the region of the heart, and mqumng how its desires and passions a.re regulated, A Pharisee, such as St. Paul had been, could complacently contemplate the other commandments and regard himself as having kept them from his youth up-that is, of course, so far as outward, overt act is concerned. But the moment the tenth commandment comes in to forbid "desire" of a selfish character, the self- complacenoy is levelled to the dust and genuine conviction begins. Here, then, we have the first step in the awaJi::ening of the soul, when the Law searches the heart with Its lighted candle and exposes the selfish "desires" which lay behind all the overt acts. Not onfy so, but, secondly, the Law becomes the occasion, not the cause, of inlimm.fied lust-" all manner of coveting" (rcitrlll' l,r16uµl1111). By contrariety, the soul becomts more disposed to the "desires" which have been forbidden. The holy command evokes unholy resistance. Sin is intensified through the very denunciation which the La.w contains. And then, thirdly, the aoul realizes through the Law its death in sin. For, as one alrea.dy quoted has further observed, "the Law not only shows 1lll our sin, but makes us feel that we are lost-as good as dead. A man is in a room during the dark; he -sees nothing, hut imagines that he is safe. At length the day breaks. Through the window of his apartment sunlight enters; and behold, he is, though be knew not till now, in the midst of wild beasts which, like himse~ have been asleep. They awake, and put on a threatening aspect. There is a serpent, nncoiling iu horrid length, and there a tiger, watching its opportunity for a fatal spring. The light has come, and the man now sees his danger-he is but a dead man. So, when the Law comes, there is seen guilt now in the past life, in every part of it. There is felt now sin in the present condition of the heart. Every moment there is a discovery of sin. Everything past and present cries, as it were, for vengeance. Death everywhere stares him in the face." III. THE LAW THUB BEVEALB THE REAL NATURE 01!' Sili. As a selfish disposition, it seems to the unawakened soul a simple "taking care of number one," as the world puts it. But the Law comes with its searching light, and lo, sin is found to be an enemy of our real interests. It anta.gonizes our welfare; it takes the Law and uses it as a weapon against us. In short, we discover that self-seeking in any form is mutiny ago.inst the real welfare of the soul. We discover that we a.re beguiled and deluded by sin ; that all this self-centring is treason to the true interests within. Not only so, but the intensification of sin through the Law's advent leads us to rightly regard it as " exceeding sinful" ( ,c116' ~•p/3011.~11 aµcrpr ..11.bs). How dreadful and mali,,<7Ilant sin must be when it takes a good and holy Law and works death in the soul thereby I We have thus set before us what the Law can do. It can break up our refuge of lies In which we were trusting; it can awaken the soul to a sense of its sin and danger; but it cannot give us either "the remission of our sins or the Holy Spirit." The salvation must come from o. higher source than Law. It comes from the Saviour, who has satisfied the demands of Law and offers us delive.rance in himself. The Law serves its purpose, then, wheu as a schoolmaster it conducts us to Christ that we may be justified by faith.I May we be led by Law to him who can save us from all our sin 1-R. M. E. Vere. 14-25.-771e principle of prog1-ess tliro11gh antagonism. Iu last section we enw how the soul is awakened through the Law. This La,v-work is a necessity of our timua. And now we have to notice how the soul is kept awake by the au~<TOnislll going on within. For the gospel is not intended to promote at nny time satisfaction with self. So for from this, it is n plan for subordinating self to its rightful Sovereign, 1 Arnot's 'Roots o.nd Fn1its,' on "The Plnoe ,r Law in the Salvation ef Sinner:1; " also
Rougemont o.ud Hewitaon, ut aupra. THE EPISTLE OP PAUL TO THE ROMANS. [oa. m. 1-28,