Dut let us not forgot the.t if some may hinder ns there is One more mighty than a.ll tQ holp us.-W. F. A. Ver. 9.-Leaven. A familiar proverb applied in the present instance to doctrinal errors, introduced by e. small party of Juda.izers, but tending to spread through the whole community of Gale.tie.n Christians. The proverb is useful, however, a.s a caution against the spreading of evil generally. I. THE PRINCIPLE, Evil is like leaven. 1. It has a life of its own. Leaven is the yeast-plant.. We must not neglect evil with contempt as an inert dead thing. A low and horrible kind of life infests the remains of death. The lower in the order of life the organism is the more persistent will its vitality be. Yeast may be preserved dry for months and yet retain its power of fermentation. The most degraded forms of evil are the most difficult to destroy. 2. Evil, like lea.ven,spreads rapidly. Leaven is the chosen emblem of evil, just on account of its extraordinary rate of growth. While the Church -slumbers her enemy is sleepless. If we a.re not actively resisting evil it will ·be constantly encroaching upon the domain of goodness. It is folly to neglect a small evil. . A child may stamp out a flame which, neglected, would burn a city. Scotch the young vipers while they are yet in the nest, or the brood will crawl far a.nd wide b<Jyond our reach. 3. Evil, like leaven, assimilates what it touches. The best men are injured by contact with it. All the powers and faculties of the individual, all the resources and institutions of the community, are brought under its fatal spell and turned to_ its vile uses. 4 Evil, like leaven, is associated with corrwption. Fermentation is the first stage of decomposition. The leaven of evil is the leaven of moral rottenness and death. II .. APPLIOATIONS OF THE PRINCIPLE. 1. Doctrinal. A small error unchecked grows into a. great perversion of truth. A lie once admitted spreads deceit a.nd confusion in all. directions. 2. Ecclesiastical. The Jewish custom advocated by a few of the Gala.tia.n Christians seemed to some, perhaps, an .insignificant matter. But if it had been permitted to spread, undoubtedly it would have broken up the whole Church. 3. Moral. (See 1 Cor. v. 6.) The taint of immorality spreads like a noxious con- tagion, (1) in the nation-for the whole country's sake we must not allow " the residuum" to sink into corruption; (2) in the Ohurch-hence the necessity of reviving Church discipline; (3) in ·the individual-small faults breed great sins. Beware of'' the little foxes that spoil the grapes."-W. F. A. V~rs. 13-,-15.-Liberty and not licence. L THE DANGER. St. Paul was no antinomian, No Hebrew prophet ever insisted more strenuously on the necessity of righteousness than did the champion of justification by, faith. With him freedom from the bondage of Law is not release from the obligations of. duty. If tedious ceremonial observances are discarded, eternal principles \)f morality are only exalted into the higher supremacy. If we are not required to shape our conduct according to rigid rules, we are thrown be.ck. on principles of wider bearing and more absolute necessity. But there was danger that this should not be fully recognized. New-fledged liberty is tempted to .take strange flights. This is an inevitable peril accompanying an undoubted boon. . For fear of it many have dreaded to grant the liberty. But such policy is short- sighted and cowardly. The danger is itself the condemnation of the old bondage. The worst indictment against slavery is that it me.kes men servile. Unwise parents, who impose needlessly irksome home restraints, are preparing for their children a terrible peril when the coveted liberty is at length necessarily atteined. The compressed spring is sure to open with violent energy. : . II. THE 0AUTION. How shall the danger be avoided? St. Paul points out the means. 1. Admonition. Let men see clearly the two sides of life. While some dwell exclusively on La.w, others confine themselves too much to the mere foct of liberty. Much gospel preaching is dangerous from its one-sidedness. _In preac~ing "lib_erty to the captives," let us not forget to preach also that" the_krngdom o.l heaven 1s a.t hand;" in offerincr the blessings conferred by Chris.t as the Saviour, let us not neglect to set forth claims ~a.de by him as the King. 2. Instruction. Liberty requires light. 'l'he captive may be led in darkness; the freeman must see where to tum his footsteps. Ignorance may be the mother of the devotion of spiritual slaves, but knowledge is 292 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [en. v. 1-20.
neces811ry for tbe devotion of free men. 3. High principle. It is only the spiritually minded who are fit for spiritual liberty. We are only able safely to use our release from the servitude of Law when we willingly put on the yoke of service one towards ,mother. The unselfish man is the one man who can use without abusing tho privi- lege of the free man. Re who ha.~ Christian charity joined to his Chl'istian liberty will fulfil the essential principles of the Law while exulting in deliverance from its· crushing constraints.-W. F. A.