ments which o.re naturo.1, o.nd the ecluco.tion and associations which Providence has secured to us, 8. Its opportunities; both of acquiring good and of doinc, gc,od. It is to be remembered that, Rtrictly speaking, it is not for thef!e, but for the°'use we make of th~m, tho.t we o.re responsible. We are to bear iu mind that, thouih we live, we do not live unto ourselves. II. How THE TRUST SHOULD BE DISCHARGED, 1. The motive and law of this dis- oho.rge o.nd fulfilment of trust we are to find in Christ. Our life will be lived aric,ht 0 if its principle be grateful love to him who loved us; if hie Spirit and example be 011 ; inspiration, if hie glory and approval be our aim and hope. 2. The rnncre 0 within which this trust should be fulfilled is a wide one, including our fellow-men, for whom Christ died. In the household, in professional and business life, in the Church, in the nation, the Christian finds a sphere for consistent and unselfish service. The lessons of the parable of the talents may be appropriately studied in this connection. III. THAT THE TBUST INVOLVES RETRIBUTION, Christ is a Judge as well as a Lord. Our life must be tested by his scrutinizing, searching eye, hie just and faithful judgment. Fidelity will be rewarded, unfaithfulness will be condemned, by him. For the faithful, the unselfish, the benevolent, the serviceable, there is secured the blessed prospect of sharing " the joy of their Lord." Vers. 7-9.-Li/e unto the Lord. This is language which is doubtless deemed by some the language of extravagance and enthusiasm. But, in fact, it is sober enough. Nothing inferior to the law and principle here enounced can be accepted by the Lord Christ as the law and principle of his people's life. And that the standard is one which may be attained is undeniable; St. Paul himself was a living exemplificatiun of its practicability. What he taught that others should be, he was himself. I. THE PRINCIPLE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. We "live unto the Lord." This persona.I relation between the Saviour and those who a.re saved by him is a. distinctive feature of the new and Christian life. When we consider this expression, what do we find it to involve? 1. We live as in the Lord's sight, wit:. '.:i..is wise, observant, just, and· yet friendly eye upon us. 2. We live under the motive and inspiration of the Lord's love and sacrifice. He has lived and died for us; we live and die unto him. 3. We live in obedience to his will; as the scholar lives to his master, the soldier to his general, the statesman to his country or his king. 4. We live-with the help of his Spirit. 6. We live to our Lord's glory; losing sight of all that concerns ourselves, and become absorbed in and devoted to the extension of Christ's kin2dom, arnl the honour of Christ's name. Even thus we do not exhaust the fulness ~of this uode utterance," We live unto the Lord." II. THE RANGE OF THE CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLE. 1. Life, in all its varied experiences, in all its successive stages, is to the Christian life unto the Lord. No aspect, no period, no interest, is exempt; it is the joy of Christ's servant to devote all energies, and to consecrate all influence, that life confers, unto him who redeemed life and made it a new and blessed thing. 2. Death is embraced within the wide range of this principle. An uninspired writer would not have ventured upon so sublime a representatiou as this. But Paul, who so.id, "To me to live is Christ," was constrained to add, "To die is gain." So here he says, "We die unto the Lord." This was obviously and beautifully true of those who perished in the discharge of offices suggested by Christian benevolence, o.nd of those who "resisted uuto blood, striving against sin," who died as martyrs, as witnesses to the truth. Yet none of any age or condition of life, wh,, died in the discharge of duty however ordinary, were exempt from this privilege of dying unto Christ. It was doubtless often asked concerning a departed brother, " By what death did he glorify God ? " III. 'l'HE DIVINE POWER UNDERLYING THIS PRINCIPLE. A principle so contrary to selfish human nature can only be accounted for by II Divine interposition and provision. The o.postle traces this: 1. In Christ's death, and: 2. In his resurrection, in virtue of which he has become to man not only the univorsal Saviour, but the universs.l Lord.
Ver. 12.-Individual respomi'llility. Men are prone to pass judgment one upon another. It is a tendency against which we have all occasion to watch. For our tu.bit ls to be lenient ~ O\ll'lelves IUld severe towards others. A corrective to th.il THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS, [011, xiv. 1-28.